Book review: Morgan Tsvangirai - at the deep end

Written by Administrator
Monday, 06 February 2012 15:06

From mineworker, trade unionist and one-time Zanu-PF member to prime minister of what some have described as a failed state, Zimbabwean Morgan Tsvangirai ’s book, which rivals former South African president Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom in length, tells the story of an ordinary man who dared. Dared to defy an autocratic leader of a “democratic” state. Dared to defy his own poor rural background and lack of credentials. Dared to defy logic by winning an election and agreeing to share power with the loser... for the sake of the people. 

Tsvangirai’s book, At the Deep End (ghost written by William Bango and published by Penguin Books) begins with a rather detailed and extensive history of the man himself – starting from his birth in rural Gutu and ending in the power-sharing period of Zimbabwe’s transformation, post-independence. It also offers an equally detailed history of Zimbabwe, the transition from Southern Rhodesia to present-day co-governed Zimbabwe. While the history lesson is the unofficial and seemingly truthful political history of the nation, it becomes rather tedious as every little detail is included. It takes almost half of the hardcover book, which spans 552 pages, to get to “the deep end”.

The book portrays a man who has the interests of Zimbabweans at heart. At a time when we as Africans are desperate for leaders who will put our interests as a people and not their own greed or petty power squabbles first, Tsvangirai emerges with the potential to lead authentically. Of late Tsvangirai’s personal life has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, but the book gives a sense of a man who is sincere and determined to restore the dignity of the people of Zimbabwe. His insistence in the book, and in a subsequent radio interview, that his intention is to bring about change through democratic means sets him apart in a time of violent change in many states that are unhappy with a lack of democracy. While many might criticise this approach, Tsvangirai, who lived through a time of war in Southern Rhodesia, is well aware of the harsh effects of war and is cognisant of the need to transform the nation through peaceful and democratic means, as far as is possible, when faced with an opponent like Zanu-PF.

Tsvangirai’s book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the history of the nation and the motivations of the man who has bravely stood in the face of Zanu-PF on behalf of Zimbabweans who desire change.