LydiaI Will Not Be Silenced- Lydia’s Defiant Stand at 83

As the crowd gathers outside the Leonard Royal Hotel, banners wave, hugs abound, and from the heart of it all rises a voice — steady and soulful — singing “Ishe Komborera Africa.” The crowd surrounds her, encouraging her on. A woman wrapped in a blanket of the Zimbabwean flag lifts her fist. She is 83, and her name is Lydia.

Lydia Makombe is no ordinary protester. She is a living archive of Zimbabwe’s turbulent history — born during colonisation, a young woman when the liberation war raged, a mother during Mugabe’s rise, and now, an elder resisting the oppression that has followed decades of unfulfilled promises.

Last week, Lydia stood tall outside the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London to protest the visit of Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Auxilia Mnangagwa. Her message was clear: the voices of Zimbabwe’s oppressed will not be muted — not in Harare, and certainly not in London.

I have seen Rhodesian bullets. I have danced in independence rallies. I have wept through Gukurahundi. And now, I see a nation strangled again by greed and fear,” Lydia told reporters, her eyes sharp with clarity. “We didn’t fight to replace one devil with another.

Her presence electrified the demonstration. Younger activists, some of whom have never set foot in Zimbabwe, gathered around her for inspiration. She spoke not only with words, but with the weight of lived truth — a truth that spans Smith’s rule, Mugabe’s grip, and the present Mnangagwa dynasty.

Lydia’s activism is not about bitterness. It’s about justice. At 83, she walks slowly, but her voice carries far. She is proof that activism knows no age — and that courage can echo across generations.

As chants continued to rang out and with the placards lifted , one woman stood unshaken in her conviction — singing, protesting, and leading. Her name is Lydia. And she is still fighting.

And perhaps the most powerful testament to her presence? Auxillia Mnangagwa never showed up to give her scheduled speech at the Flair Summit. The embarrassment of facing demonstrators is alien to her. For Lydia and her fellow demonstrators, it was a small but significant victory — a reminder that truth spoken boldly can still rattle power.