Henry Olonga's Heartbreaking Story: From Being Zimbabwe's First Black Cricketer To Singing On Ships

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Last Updated:May 22, 2025, 10:29 IST

Henry Olonga, ex-Zimbabwe cricketer, present performs euphony connected cruises and tiny venues, reflecting connected his vocation and 2003 World Cup protest.

Henry Olonga was exiled from Zimbabwe for protesting against the authorities (Picture credit: AFP)

Former Zimbabwe pacer Henry Olonga has revealed that years aft retiring from cricket, helium present sings connected cruises, successful tiny status villages, for schoolhouse kids and successful small bars, adjacent if determination are conscionable 3 radical present, arsenic beingness has taken a monolithic crook for him implicit the past decade.

Olonga ever had a knack for music, and his opus Our Zimbabwe was released astatine a clip of governmental unit 24 years agone arsenic the Robert Mugabe authorities went astir grabbing lands and invading farms.

Olonga past played cricket successful 2008, successful a T20 tourney successful New Zealand, and since then, helium has gone connected to effort unusual jobs.

“One of the lines goes: ‘Though I whitethorn spell to distant borders, My psyche volition yearn for this my home, For clip and abstraction whitethorn abstracted us, And yet she holds my bosom alone.’ And past different is: ‘As we each basal to physique our nation, This is our land, our Zimbabwe,’ Olonga said, arsenic quoted by The Telegraph. 

“Literally immoderate of the words successful that song… they talk of wherever my beingness is now, but erstwhile I perceive to the opus again, it’s somewhat triggering," Olonga added.

Two years aft releasing the song, helium and erstwhile cricketer Andy Flower wore achromatic armbands during the 2003 World Cup to protestation astatine the ‘death of democracy’ successful the nation.

Olonga got decease threats, was thrown disconnected the squad autobus and forced to tally distant from Zimbabwe.

“Our Zimbabwe was a telephone for Zimbabweans to enactment together. I effort to beryllium a peacemaker, but a batch of radical deliberation I’m the opposite. I don’t cognize why, but if you look astatine my lyrics, if you look astatine things I’ve done successful my life, I deliberation generally, I’m trying to animate radical for amended outcomes," Olonga said.

“I’m not conscionable wagging a digit astatine people, and that’s what the achromatic armband protestation was about; we tin beryllium amended arsenic a country, we tin beryllium amended arsenic politicians, we tin beryllium amended arsenic citizens," Olonga added.

This week, helium volition beryllium astatine Trent Bridge moving arsenic a summariser for Test Match Special during their sum of Zimbabwe’s archetypal Test successful England successful 22 years, not agelong aft his enactment of defiance.

“It was a struggle, mate. I had this astonishing platform, this springboard to past hopefully, you know, spell connected to record, and it each conscionable came to nothing," Olonga said portion speaking astir a world amusement that helium participated in, which unopen down due to the fact that of COVID-19.

“It’s not needfully the highest of euphony show being connected a cruise ship. Some radical deliberation that singers spell to dice connected cruise ships. It’s similar wherever you spell erstwhile you haven’t made it anyplace else," Olonga added.

He was the archetypal achromatic Zimbabwe Test cricketer and the youngest arsenic well, erstwhile helium made his debut aged conscionable 18.

Olonga was 27 erstwhile helium wore the achromatic armband, a protestation that began astatine Zimbabwe’s archetypal radical lucifer successful Bulawayo and continued passim the World Cup.

“I’ve been accused of being scared. I’ve been accused of being a chicken; that I should person stayed successful Zimbabwe. The precocious commissioner pulled maine aside. The archetypal happening helium said was: ‘Why are you denigrating the authorities of Zimbabwe?’ I thought: ‘My gosh, that’s a beauteous mode to accidental hello," Olonga said.

“I tried to beryllium respectful. I excused myself, but helium had that old-school mentality and thought I’d betrayed the state similar nary 1 other had ever done. And truthful the full cricket, Zimbabwe’s governmental scene, was precise triggering for maine due to the fact that the cognition was that I was a troublemaker," Olonga added.

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