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| Dennis Mashindi Class of 2021 |
November 15, 2017 was a day that brought a lot of confusion globally. Reports that President Robert Mugabe had been put on house arrest showed the world that the rule of “Uncle Bob” had come to an end. For those not familiar with “Uncle Bob”, he was the 93 year old man who had run Zimbabwe and its people into the ground through economic stagnation, political violence, and exploitation of Zimbabwean resources. He was famous for rigging election, killing off his opponents, and for being anti-west that his people suffered for 37 years for his actions. Now out of the blue, he has been put on house arrest by his very own army with rumors spreading that he was to resign immediately. It was on this day that through the army, the Zimbabwean people took their government back in the most peaceful military coup the world had ever seen.
A week after his house arrest, Mugabe resigned as President and the baton was passed to his Emmerson Mnangagwa, his former vice president. People flooded the streets, singing songs of liberation and celebration, a sight last seen when Zimbabwe had gained its independence in 1980. Citizens now felt that hope wasn’t lost. Time for reformation and progress had now come and people weren’t going to let it this opportunity escape them.
As a Zimbabwean child born in diaspora, the horror stories I had heard about Zimbabwe and its problems fueled me to one day return and help my people rise from the ashes. As I kid, I hoped that Mugabe’s reign would end promptly. I hoped that he would suffer for what he had done to my family and to the people he betrayed. I prayed that Zimbabwe’s chains would be undone and quickly. Though it did not happen quickly, my prayers were answered.
This summer, myself alongside two of my friends will embark on a journey that could change the way sustainability is seen in Zimbabwe. Our vision and hope is that people will be able to use what is naturally abundant to create energy. With that said, we hope to do our part in rebuilding our new Zimbabwe because the time has come for us to move our country in the right direction.
Dennis Mashindi, of Lexington, Ky., is a freshman McConnell Scholar studying political science.