Black armband protest
| Duration | 2003 Cricket World Cup |
|---|---|
| Venue | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Cause | Protest about democracy in Zimbabwe |
| Participants | Andy Flower, Henry Olonga |
The black armband protest was made by Zimbabwean cricketers Andy Flower and Henry Olonga during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The pair decided to wear black armbands to "mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe". The protest received condemnation from senior Zimbabwean political figures, and also some senior Zimbabwean cricket figures, but was praised by the international media. The International Cricket Council deemed that Flower and Olonga had taken a political action, but refused to charge the pair with an offence. Their initial protest was during Zimbabwe's first match of the tournament in Harare, and the pair wore armbands to protest at all of the matches. As a result of the protest, Flower and Olonga were forced to leave Zimbabwe, and both men later settled in the United Kingdom.
The 2003 Cricket World Cup was awarded to South Africa, however they decided to award six of the group stage matches to Zimbabwe, and two to Kenya. Due to security concerns in Zimbabwe, the British and Australian governments both advised their players against travelling to Zimbabwe. In the end, England forfeited their match, whilst Australia played and won their match.
The idea of a protest was started when Andy Flower was taken by a friend, Nigel Huff, to see a farm impacted by the government's land reforms. In 2000, Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwean government had begun a plan of land reforms for redistribution of 3,000 farms, and began compulsorily seizing land from white farmers, with forced evictions and arrests on the basis of "illegally occupying their land". By 2002, it was estimated that around 80% of the 4,500 farms that had been white-owned had been forcibly seized. Another related issue was human rights abuses and violence, particularly against political opponents in the leadup to the 2002 Zimbabwe presidential election. The EU had imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe's ruling elite, which, as of 2017, are still in place. Flower was particularly appalled by the torture of Zimbabwean MP Job Sikhala.
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