Olonga: 'I nearly wavered in black-armband protest'

Henry Olonga has revealed how he came close to backing out of his black-armband protest during the World Cup. If he had not been approached by Andy Flower, he would not have had the strength to stage the protest on his own.

Olonga, 26, was forced into retirement after the tournament. He added that others had been willing to take part in the protest, to mourn the "death of democracy" in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe's oppressive regime, but they were dissuaded from doing so to add potency to the statement.

"I didn't know if I had the strength [to go it alone]," Olonga told AFP. "I was wavering at the time. However when Flower suggested it after he had been approached by a third party I decided I would do it. We just thought it was the right thing to do. Not enough people have stood up."

Last week, Flower's brother Grant revealed he had wanted to join the protest, but thought it would look as if they had bullied Olonga into it. More would have muddied the waters," said Olonga. "I believe it added more credibility to the stand with one white man and one black man protesting."

Flower became involved in the protest after reading a newspaper in Zimbabwe. "He read some trite story on the front page," explained Olonga, "and on the inside page there was a story about some man having been tortured which was only a paragraph long and he felt that just wasn't right."

"We weren't particularly friendly before but my conviction came from my [Christian] faith and I don't know where his came from. All I know is we were prepared to make the sacrifices ourselves."

Olonga also praised England's players, but not their governing body, for going out on a limb and boycotting their World Cup fixture in Harare. "I think more people could have taken stances, and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could have been stronger," he said. According to a Channel 4 documentary, the Australians were asked to wear black armbands, and refused.

Olonga said he realised there would be consequences and was warned that his behaviour was gone down badly back home when Zimbabwe travelled to South Africa to play in the Super Six stage of the World Cup. "I knew I would make a lot of enemies and there would be a backlash. That your phones would be bugged and you'd be followed and that always happens to people who dare to voice their dissent. However, during the World Cup it would have been very difficult for them to do something and my profile protected me, but when it declines there could be a backlash."

Olonga said he received an e-mail from Harare which alerted him to the huge problems which awaited him back in Zimbabwe. "My dad got a warning and he told me don't come back. However the e-mail came from a different source who was a cleaner in a minister's office as she had overheard him say 'That guy Olonga thinks he is clever but we'll get him when he comes back'."

Olonga went into hiding after the World Cup and then seized the chance to come to England to commentate on Zimbabwe's two-Test series in England. He rejected suggestions that by agreeing to commentate on the tour meant he was endorsing it.

"I have never endorsed this tour. I agreed to do it because the BBC and Channel Four were the first to help me get over here, and in any case more good can come out of this tour going ahead than bad.

While Olonga yearns to return home he doesn't see it happening soon. "Well the mix of the commentating, club cricket for Lashings and the music contract I am signing should see me here for at least a year. However I don't see the current situation in Zimbabwe sustaining itself, maybe even just six months could see the end of the regime. Zimbabwe is full of nation builders with everyone working together it can be a great nation again, but at the moment it is in the mud."