Henry Olonga: Cricketer and Political Activist
The story of Henry Olonga is a very interesting one. Not an amazingly great cricketer, but he still managed to put in solid performances for his country Zimbabwe. The most interesting aspect of his life though is the fact that he now lives in exile in the UK because of a political action he and his team mate Andy Flower took at the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He will always be known for that one action and it has been a defining moment in his life.
Henry Olonga made his cricket debut at the age of 17 in a match playing for Matabeleland against Mashonaland. He managed to take 5 wickets in that match and caught the eye of national team selectors. He was chosen for the national team and was the first black cricketer to play on the Zimbabwe team. He did not set the world on fire during his next season but he was chosen to represent Zimbabwe against Pakistan in a test match which saw him being called for throwing the ball. His bowling action was questioned by the umpire.
From 1998 onwards Olonga was a firm fixture in the national side of Zimbabwe and did fairly well for his country. Even though he is not really known for his cricket playing ability, he is better known for the political stand he took against the regime of Dictator Robert Mugabe.
During the 2003 World Cup which Zimbabwe co-hosted, he along with fellow Zimbabwean Andy Flower, who was the captain of the side, decided to wear black armbands. These black armbands represented the death of democracy in Zimbabwe under the government of Mugabe and Olonga instantly made himself a target. It was through sheer luck that he was able to leave Zimbabwe to play cricket in South Africa during the last few matches of that World Cup because he started to get death threats and was actually threatened by members of Mugabe’s government. The cricketer felt that there was a bullet with his name on it and someone was always waiting for him around every street corner.
The act of wearing an armband around his arm in protest of the atrocities against human rights done in his country made him a political refugee because he has not been able to return to his country since he took that stand seven years ago. Wearing that armband was one of the bravest acts of the cricketer’s life and he says he has no regrets about it and if the opportunity presented itself to him again now, he would hesitate but would probably do the same thing again. It was not about making any enemies he says but it was more about protesting something which he felt was wrong and standing up against injustice. This one act of his made him an instant hero and a role model for young cricketers all over the world.
He does have his critics though; some say that he should tone down his recent activism and retract some of his statements because they do not make sense. Olonga recently supported the move by the British government to not allow Zimbabwean cricketers to play in England as a protest against the Mugabe regime. This act by the British government was an odd one because prior to the year 2000 Mugabe was welcome in England, had tea with the Queen, visited the country many times and even invited Princess Diana to Zimbabwe as an official guest of the government.
It is interesting that all of a sudden the British Government has realised that the Mugabe regime is evil and he is a tyrant and now they are taking a stand. It seems the UK government is being influenced by people like Olonga and taking action only now. They should have taken a stand many years ago and people feel Olonga is just exasperating the situation now.
Whatever anyone thinks of the man, Henry Olonga was a good cricketer for his country and he took a very brave stand. The act of standing up to his government and then almost getting killed because of it made him a hero. He is now spending his time writing, trying to forge a music career, commentating on cricket and living with his Australian wife and new born baby in London. This inspirational and controversial man’s story makes one of the most interesting cricketing tales out there today.
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