"Consequences Far Outweighed What We Did," Olonga Speaks On Black-Armband Protest
Former Zimbabwe cricketer, Henry longa has said that the government’s response to his and Andy Flower’s famous black-armband protest which was held in their opening match against Namibia at the World Cup was to mourn the “death of democracy” in Zimbabwe was uncalled for.
The protest came as the Mugabe administration had started implementing the fast track land reform programme.
Speaking to Forbes India in an interview, Olonga said that they were aware of the consequences of staging that protest adding that the cause made them do the dangerous thing. He said:
But we were young and bold. We had a cause and we stuck to it. But I will say that the consequences far outweighed what we did. What we did was to criticise the government and their reaction was way over the top. But that’s politics for you in Zimbabwe. Some people love us for what we did, some of them hate us.
Olonga and Flower never played for Zimbabwe again, and Olonga retired prematurely from international cricket. Initially charged with treason (punishable by death in Zimbabwe), Olonga faced multiple arrest warrants and death threats. He fled the country in 2003 and lived in exile in Britain for 12 years.
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