A Call to Action: 45 Years of Stagnation – The “Walk to Nowhere” Campaign
On April 18, 2025, Zimbabwe will mark 45 years since its historic Independence, a hard-won victory achieved through the sacrifices of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) and the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). This milestone should be a time of celebration, reflection, and pride in the promise of a free and prosperous nation. Yet, for many Zimbabweans—both at home and in the diaspora—the reality of independence feels hollow.
Decades of misrule, corruption, and repression have left the country in a state of stagnation, where the dreams of 1980 have faded into a "nowhere" of unfulfilled potential.
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- Written by: Charles Kanyimo
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I Will Not Be Silenced- Lydia’s Defiant Stand at 83
As the crowd gathers outside the Leonard Royal Hotel, banners wave, hugs abound, and from the heart of it all rises a voice — steady and soulful — singing “Ishe Komborera Africa.” The crowd surrounds her, encouraging her on. A woman wrapped in a blanket of the Zimbabwean flag lifts her fist. She is 83, and her name is Lydia.
Lydia Makombe is no ordinary protester. She is a living archive of Zimbabwe’s turbulent history — born during colonisation, a young woman when the liberation war raged, a mother during Mugabe’s rise, and now, an elder resisting the oppression that has followed decades of unfulfilled promises.
Last week, Lydia stood tall outside the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London to protest the visit of Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Auxilia Mnangagwa. Her message was clear: the voices of Zimbabwe’s oppressed will not be muted — not in Harare, and certainly not in London.
“I have seen Rhodesian bullets. I have danced in independence rallies. I have wept through Gukurahundi. And now, I see a nation strangled again by greed and fear,” Lydia told reporters, her eyes sharp with clarity. “We didn’t fight to replace one devil with another.”
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- Written by: Mellisa Mbavarira
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17th June 2025 — A day I had long awaited.
I sat inside the FLAIR Summit, ready to see Auxillia Mnangagwa face to face and ask her the hard questions Zimbabwean women are desperate to have answered. But that moment never came.
And perhaps that’s for the best—because what could she have possibly said to justify the shameful hypocrisy?
She flew in on a private jet, dressed in dignity she hasn’t earned, to speak about empowering women—while back home in Zimbabwe:
- Women are giving birth on cold hospital floors, with no pain relief, no doctors—sometimes no hope.
- Mothers are dying in childbirth from preventable causes.
- Girls are being married off as children, robbed of their futures.
- Others are missing school simply because they can’t afford sanitary pads.And yet she dares to speak on women’s rights?
There is no honour in showing up to international summits while your own people suffer. There is no empowerment in using public funds for luxury, while women bleed and die in silence.We demand real answers:
- How much taxpayer money funded that private jet?
- How many clinics could have been stocked with that?
- How many girls could have finished school?
- How many lives could have been saved?
- This is not leadership. This is theatrics.
We are tired of empty speeches and performative advocacy.
Zimbabwean women don’t need photo ops—they need hospitals, education, safety, dignity.
Shame on you, Auxillia.
We deserve better.
We demand better.
We are not fooled.
#CryOurBelovedZimbabwe 🇿🇼
#ZANUPFMustGoToSaveZimbabwe
#NoJusticeNoPeace
We did however meet some real and inspirational individuals - to help restore our faith in the 'human condition' - Abosede George-Organ Of WILAN global
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- Written by: Claude (AI) and directed by John Burke
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“The people of Zimbabwe deserve more than empty rhetoric and staged displays of governance. They demand a (NEW) leader who listens, not one who silences; a government that UPLIFTS, not one that plunders.”
thanks to @BhudhiGhivhi on X (Twitter).
We began by asking Claude AI to frame some questions for Auxilla Mnangagwa, at her appearance in the UK, which in itself created several contradictory issues and flew-in-the-face of the obvious events in Zimbabwe over the last 45 years or so - when her husband Emmerson D Mnangagwa was close to Mugabe up to 2017 - and now the pair of Mnangagwa's rule with iron fists inside iron gloves!
I understand you’re looking to prepare challenging questions for Auxilla Mnangagwa at the FLAIR Summit regarding the apparent contradiction between her role as “Patron Elect” speaking on women’s empowerment and the documented issues surrounding her husband’s administration.Let me search for current information about the FLAIR Summit and any recent developments regarding the Mnangagwas to help you prepare well-informed questions.
Let me search for more specific information about recent controversies and the Zimbabwe government’s record on human rights and democracy. Based on my research, I can help you prepare informed questions for Auxilla Mnangagwa at the FLAIR Summit. The situation presents a clear contradiction that activists and diaspora communities have already highlighted.
Here are some key points and potential questions:
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- Written by: Charles Kanyimo
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Backlash as Auxillia Mnangagwa named FLAIR Summit’s keynote speaker
First published in Zimbabwe on 7th June 2025 in Newsday: See Original article
The upcoming First Ladies of African Impact and Resilience (FLAIR) Summit in London was supposed to be a celebration of women’s leadership. Instead, it has become a lightning rod for controversy. The decision to invite Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Auxillia Mnangagwa, as a key speaker is not just questionable, it’s indefensible, given how entangled she is in corruption scandals and human rights abuses back home.
For Zimbabweans worldwide, Mnangagwa’s inclusion is a bitter insult. The Mnangagwa regime, with Auxillia playing a central role, has presided over a period marked by political repression, media crackdowns, and the siphoning of state resources. Auxillia Mnangagwa was directly implicated in the explosive “Gold Mafia” documentary, which documented how Zimbabwe’s gold reserves were plundered through elaborate smuggling and laundering operations, enriching the elite while ordinary citizens suffered.
The United States Treasury has sanctioned Auxillia for facilitating her husband’s corrupt activities, yet here she is, being given a global platform to pose as a champion for women and resilience. How can the FLAIR Summit, which claims to empower African women and advance accountability, justify such a choice? The answer is as clear as it is cynical: the promise of prestige and powerful connections outweighed principle.
Adding to the summit’s credibility crisis, organisers widely advertised that Dawn Butler, a prominent UK Member of Parliament, would be speaking at the event. But after diligent investigative work by the Zim for All Foundation, it was revealed that MP Butler had never agreed to speak and refused any involvement with the summit. The same pattern unfolded with Barclays and the House of Lords. Both were listed either as partners or participants but later distanced themselves from the gathering after inquiries, exposing an attempt by organisers to inflate the event’s legitimacy.
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- Written by: Diaspora "No to Auxilla in the UK Group"
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FLACID - [First Ladies of Africa's Criminally Insane Dictators]
A spoof on the Flair Summit with Ms Auxilla1 Mnangagwa, Wife and 'First Lady' of the ruthless dictator, Dr(?) Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe2. But, check out the [old] Flair Summit Early Bird Ticket Prices3 Updated: taken from Take2Zimbabwe.com
BREAKING: 8th May 2025: Some initial checking has confirmed one of the speakers HAS NOT given permission and is NOT speaking at this event - more to follow/
Further breaking: we recorded Dr Oxilla Mnangagwa rehearsing the speech for London, in June in a local hospital ward this evening
Whilst we acknowledge and respect the aspirational attributes of this innovative campaign [Flair Summit], the inclusion of Auxilla as "Patron Elect", has damned the event as a Dictators Wive's Club! Take note organisers, you have made a profound error of judgement – or you are being used as a laundry service!”.
Dictatorships and First Ladies - What Auxilla has done to the FLAIR SUMMIT
As of 2025, identifying the exact number of dictatorships in Africa is complex due to varying definitions of "dictatorship" and the dynamic nature of political regimes. Based on available data, particularly from sources like Freedom House and World Population Review, approximately 22 African nations are classified as "Not Free," indicating authoritarian regimes where a single leader or party holds absolute power, often suppressing political freedoms and civil rights. These regimes are commonly associated with dictatorship characteristics, such as repression of opposition, limited press freedom, and prolonged leadership tenures. However, this number can fluctuate due to coups, elections, or transitions, and some countries may be hybrid regimes with partial democratic elements.
Below is a list of African countries identified as having authoritarian regimes (based on recent data) and, where information is available, the names of their "First Ladies" or equivalent figures. Note that not all countries explicitly designate a "First Lady," and in some cases, the leader’s spouse may not be publicly prominent or documented. Additionally, some leaders may not be married, or their spouses’ identities may not be widely reported due to the secretive nature of certain regimes. If no "First Lady" is listed, it reflects a lack of accessible information or relevance in the public domain.
African Countries with Authoritarian Regimes and Their First Ladies (where known):
- Algeria - No prominent "First Lady" documented; President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s spouse is not publicly highlighted.
- Angola - Ana Dias Lourenço, wife of President João Lourenço.
- Burkina Faso - No "First Lady" prominently documented; military junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré since 2022.