Charles Cobb Jr.
22 February 2004
(Page 2 of 2)
Sam Nkomo: Also, don't forget, in Zambia a government was ousted by a trade union headed by [Frederick] Chiluba, and he might think that if it happens in Zimbabwe, it is coming to South Africa. If he fears that, then he is penalizing us for things that he shouldn't be doing.
What role should the United States government be playing?
Sam Nkomo: We very much appreciate the help that we get from the United States. They've been very helpful, but I think that the United States should actually increase its support for human rights activists, NGOs, and the independent press to bring about democracy in Zimbabwe.
What do you think is going to happen in Zimbabwe?
Sam Nkomo: I can only speak from experience, having been in the liberation struggle myself. I spent 15 years in [Ian] Smith's prisons. My view is that there is no way that you can stop an idea. The yearning for freedom has started, and nobody can stop it. It will happen. My prayer is that it doesn't happen violently, like it did during Smith, that we will lose fewer people than we lost during Smith's time.
Bill Saidi: I agree with Sam that change will definitely come. It has happened in Zambia and Malawi and in Kenya. It won't be different here.
My last question takes us back to where we started. How secure is your paper given the fact the you spent the last half hour criticizing President Mugabe?
Sam Nkomo: From the perspective of management, I can't tell you about tomorrow. I don't know. But I can safely say, when the paper was closed I told my staff 'we are in the hands in God.' We have no control over anything. We can simply go about our business and trust that He will see us through.
Bill Saidi: I agree with Sam that we are all in God's hands. I think that the future of Zimbabwe itself has to be linked to the future of the Daily News. What the Daily News has done is to bring a new kind of journalism. I have seen this in many countries. People see it as something which has almost a missionary kind of spirituality.
What we are saying is that the people of Zimbabwe deserve something better than they are getting. The independence of Zimbabwe should mean more than what it means today. It should mean more than suffering, hunger and persecution.
There's no way Mugabe can stand up and say "I've done for you what I promised." I don't think he can say that. Every journalist I know of the independent press knows that the struggle is going to be tough, but we've got a genuine cause. A genuine cause for the people of Zimbabwe where we can talk of independence as beautiful. It is not beautiful today, not at all.
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