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She was a mother to all!

2019-08-10T01:22:00.001-07:00

A Mother to All

Date of BirthMarch 24, 1952

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Date of PassingAugust 01, 2019

Legina Ndlovu

from Lupinyu, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Obituary

Legina Ndlovu, 67, was born in Village 29, Victoria Falls. She is survived by her brother, Douglas Ndlovu; brother, Over Ndlovu; sister, Iris Ndlovu; firstborn son Mandlenkosi Mkwananzi (Angelina); son Joseph Mkwananzi (Sithabile); daughter Lingi Moyo (Mkwananzi); son Property Ndlovu; daughter Mercy Shavunga; grandchildren of Firstborn: Themba, Ayanda, and Nandi; Five Grandchild of Lingi: Goodluck and four younger siblings.

She was a mother to many of her nephews and nieces, some of whom lost their parents at a young age. She lived her life to the fullest without regret. Her love for the Lord showed in all areas of her life. She was a member of the Wesleyan Church, where she was baptized as a young girl. She never worried about what she didn't have. She had a great sense of humor and was blunt and to the point. When spending time with her, there was never a dull moment. She loved to have fun and play with grandkids and was always in a good mood. She would counsel others in the ways of the Lord.

Legina will be missed by many who knew her in her community and by her many family members. We will all, always cherish the memories we have built with her throughout the years.

Donate to Funeral and related expenses in memory of Legina.

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Gloomy out look looms in Mthwakazi and Matabeleland struggle at large!

2019-02-24T18:20:00.003-08:00

Below the famous Looking for the "future statue" which stood at the Bulawayo National Art Gallery for many years being taken down on orders of the govt. (This happened 7 years ago of so) I have no rights to this picture.

By the rivers of Babylon and there we wept when we remembered Zion. We hang our harps and they that captured us required of us a song, saying sing us one of the songs of Zion! How shall we sing the Lords songs in a strange land? This piece of scripture in Psalm 1:37 captures exactly the situation that the people of Matabeleland are facing right now. Despite great heroism and activism spearheaded by young people in the past few years, no sooner did we see all those fruits of the great awakening come down crumbling down that in the past few weeks. We find ourselves in a gloomy situation so to speak. Mthwakazi people are like a sheep without a sherpared. Sinjenge zimvu ezingela melusi. Mthwakazi and indeed cultures of Matabeleand as a whole scattered all over the globe has a lot of energy but find herself suffering from many years of slumber and disorganization and will urgent need to convene and map a new radical plan if she has to survive for the next century!

Indaba convined to highlight plight of ZIPRA Vets Welfare!

2018-11-05T18:59:00.005-08:00

Today, Sunday 04 November 2018 a contingent of ZPRA War Veterans, ZAPU Armed Wing of Zimbabwe Liberation Struggle descended in the City of Kings, Byo at YWCA Conference Centre for a crucial Meeting to deliberate on their Welfare since 1980 when the country attained Independence. Cdes from all ZPRA Organisations / Formations :- National, High Command, Trusts & Associations, trooped in from the country's provinces of Matabeleland. The Meeting was organised by ZPRA Veterans Association, an affiliate of the current ZAPU led by President Dr Dumiso Dabengwa.
The Meeting discussed among other things the following, ZPRA Veterans Welfare, War Veterans Act, Vetting, Heroes Status, School Fees, Current Affairs (Status), Properties, Projects, Structures & Programmes. The Meeting was open to all concerned including ZPRA Veterans who crossed the floor to join ZANU PF (ZANLA).
A very pertinent Question was posed, "Who is a ZPRA War Veteran?" This question was explicitly clarified, that all who participated in the War of Liberation are considered including their spouse, widows & offsprings (dependents). Also included are Detainees, Restrictees, Prisoners & all those who fell in battle. This raised the Question of the current Legislation :- ZPRA War Veterans Act and its preceeding Bill yet to sail thru Parliament & Alignment of Laws with the current Constitution.
A milestone was made today as Cdes agreed to form a Committee / Taskforce comprising representatives from all current ZPRA Formations, and this Committee was given the mandate to spearhead the lobbying of all ZPRA Grievances to Govt as a matter of urgency and report back to the People.
Our local News Media was missing in today's Meeting, however the CIO was present and as protocol demand Govt has been informed. From the deliberations it became apparently clear that most ZPRA War Veterans were greatly disadvantaged during the Vetting Exercise as most were not vetted and lost out on all the Benefits, worse still with the current Economic Turmoil as they have suffered almost 38 years of depravity. Just imagine out of 17 000 ZPRA Cadres who were once assembled in different locations during the Armed Struggle, only 4 000 ZPRA Veterans were vetted and benefitted, leaving the rest in the cold. A call was made to mobilise all Cadres dead or alive, across the country for Vetting. This is to necessitate them & their dependents alleviate their suffering thru life stress and their offsprings in their educational endeavours.
The selected Committee has to push Govt in addressing their Grievances. All the Cdes were urged to be united & work together and map the way forward so as to achieve their intended objectives. School Fees for their has been paid in Bonds into their individual bank accounts as of this week.
The Minister of War Veterans Cde Mutematanda who visited Byo two weeks ago promised that Govt was prepared to fund Projects for War Veterans, however ZPRA Veterans demanded the return of all confiscated ZAPU / ZPRA Properties and then Funding of Projects can be done on those returned Properties. So Structures in all Provinces have to be put in place for easy Co ordination on Programmes to do with the Welfare of ZPRA Veterans. All Stakeholders will be called to come forward and brief Cadres on all Developments to do with the Welfare of ZPRA Veterans. * Check the second instalment on this Meeting tomorrow (today). #Mandla Khanye ZAPU Secretary for Information, Publicity & Marketing, Byo Province, in Southern Region.

Mkhwananzi lambasts the double standards in Civic society

2018-11-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

The Wisdom Terrance Mkhwanazi Case: The Sickening Double standards of Zimbabwe Civil Society

George Mkhwanazi

The Zimbabwe Civil Society has proved itself to be a conflicted bunch of useless donor-funded entities who are not driven by the cause they purport to fight. They have proved that they have no business with the oppressed and democratically suffocating masses and activists from Matabeleland but are merely grandstanding and even extending their sympathies to those who contradict their stated cause.

From around 2000 I can demonstrate that the so called pro-democracy elements in both Civil Society and independent media react differentially to Matabeleland violations of human rights compared to the rest of the country. When activists who are fighting a tributary cause to the MDC or even Zanu PF factions get arrested they scream their lungs out whilst maintaining a loud silence when activists from Matabeleland get arrested for fighting for their localised cause.

This collusion by these forces (the axis of evil) which claim to be on opposite sides even takes open condonment of the brutalisation of Matabeleland activists in their quest for justice.

Check how they reacted to the following human rights abuses which which deservedly attracted their responses:

1. When Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 others got arrested for their treason case in 2011 they came out guns blazing.

2. When Jestina Mukoko got abducted and subsequently tortured by State agents they decisively acted and forced the a regime to release her.

3. When Evans Mawarire briefly got arrested for his ill-fated "This Flag" Campaign they wasted no time in drumming up support for him.

4. When Solomon Madzore and other MDC youths got incarcerated for their treason case they whipped public sympathy for them.

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5. When Last Mayengahama and others got arrested for the alleged murder of a Police Officer they did everything possible to win sympathy for them and present them as heroes.

6. When Victor Matematanda and Douglas Mahia were arrested for factional fights within Zanu PF Civil Society mourned bitterly for them.

Contrast that with the following deafening silence when activists in Matabeleland were in similar circumstances.

1. In 2002 Paul Siwela and George Mkhwanazi got arrested for condemning the Zanu PF Grand Plan and were incarcerated for a month without bail. Civil Society was conspicuous by its silence. In an article written by Mduduzi Mathuthu, The Daily News even mocked them for their arrest just because their activism was not tributary to the MDC cause.

2. When Mthwakazi Youths got arrested and tortured in 2015 for the Makuzeze School incident in Mangwe District in which they sought protection for the local community from being academically molested by outsiders, Civil Society kept quiet.

3. When Paul Siwela, John Gazi and Thomas Gumpo got arrested for their views about Matabeleland as a colony of Zimbabwe, ZLHR (a Civil Society body) didn't just keep quiet; they condemned them and refused to represent them in court. The despicable behaviour of ZLHR caused the the emergence of the Mthwakazi Abameli (Thanks to Advocates Matshobana Ncube, Sindiso Mazibisa, Kucaca Phulu etc for that revolutionary initiative).

4. Just recently 5 youths died on the Gwanda Gold mines after being attacked by State organised and armed hordes of invaders from outside Matabeleland. Like the Zimbabwe government, Civil Society has kept mum. Only members of MRP tried to agitate against the incidents. Neither Government nor Civi Society officials visited the bereaved families or the injured in hospitals. Instead the ZRP arrested the victims and chained them to their hospital beds.

5. Last Week in Bulawayo, Wisdom Terrence Mkhwanazi gave a verbal testimony before the Kgalema Montlhante led Commission which is investigating the deaths of 6 people who got killed in Harare last August in the post election violence. He recounted how he lost his parents to Gukurahundi in the 1980s when soldiers murdered them in the same style as those killed in Harare. For that testimony Mkhwanazi earned himself a cell in Grey Prison for a week in leg irons. Thanks to the intervention of Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo for aŕranging legal representation. Other than just that representation Civil Society is once again quiet. These double standards by the Zimbabwe Civil Society are sickening.

We are observing all these things and making a Roll of Shame.

Indiana based Zimbabwean soccer referee recognized at a banquet!

2018-10-31T18:28:00.003-07:00

Mandla Mkwananzi a Zimbabwean soccer referee based in Indianapolis Indiana USA was recently acknowledged by the Crossroads Soccer Officiating Association for getting into a new and higher level of High school Soccer Officiating. Mkwananzi who does soccer officiating as a way of contributing to the local sport was caught by surprise when he got the invitation to reserve the date for such a prestigious recognition. He was recognized among others officials different sports disciplines such as basketball and football. He and one other guy were in the soccer category for this year's acknowledgement. "It was a joy to share this moment with my wife" I was privileged to be in the same room with many other professionals that I look up to!

Names of Bulawayo townships and their meanings!

2018-10-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Amabizo koBulawayo lemitsho yawo

BULAWAYO,
Lobhengula chose this
name because there was some
opposition to him succeeding his
father Mzilikazi. Two turbulent
years passed before he was
enthroned. It was so named to express Lobhengula's feelings that
he was the one meant to be killed
(ngingobulawayo ). It was common at that time to refer to
Bulawayo as 'kobulawayo
umtanenkosi.' Mbiko Masuku
wanted Nkulumane to be King
instead of Lobhengula- his wife was
sister to Nkulumane.

MZILIKAZI
named after the founding
king of the Ndebele nation King
Mzilikazi.

Makhokhoba, was derived from the
actions of Mr Fallon who used to
walk around with a stick. The name come from umakhokhoba, the
noise of the stick ko-ko-ko made
by the old man who stayed there.

BARBOURFIELDS
was named after a
Bulawayo mayor H R Barbour

NGUBOYENJA
was named after one of King Lobhengula's sons who was
whisked out of Rhodesia by Cecil
John Rhodes to give them western
education in the Cape Province.

MATSHOBANA
named after King
Mzilikazi's father. Matshobana was the son of Mangethe.

SIZINDA
was named after one of the
Ndebele villages called iSizinda, at
one time iSizinda village was
stationed where the present
township is site

IMINYELA
the township built for
men only was named after the tree
species that abounds in the area.

MABUTHWENI
sometimes referred to
eZinkabini , there lived men who
were not supposed to bring in their wives, frequent searches were
carried out to flash out women.
Amabutho refers to conscripted
men, ready to be trained as
soldiers during the heyday of the
Ndebele State.

NJUBE
was named after one of the
royal sons of Lobhengula, Njube
was the first to be born after
Lobhengula had become king. He
alongside Nguboyenja were taken
to Cape by Rhodes in order that there be no rallying point in
Matabeleland that could lead to the
resuscitation of the Ndebele
mornachy.

MPOPHOMA
was a favourite of
many residents in Bulawayo, it provided a long term lease and
accomodated lodgers. Mpophoma
in isiNdebele refers to a waterfall.
The name is derived from a stream
further west which flowed towards
the Khami river and the stream in question had a waterfall.

PHUMULA
was built further west and its
name captured the ongoing
struggles to gain longer and more
secure housing tenure for Africans
in Bulawayo since the Rhodesian laws stipulated that town belonged
to whites and Africans were to live
in reserves hence Africans had to
rest and phumula the struggles.

PHELANDABA
became the name that
immortalised the struggles for more secure tenure. The matter (of
the struggle) is over, indaba
iphelile. Phelandaba became a
prestigious township where big
names lived, Joshua Nkomo had a
house there.

MAGWEGWE,
this suburb was named
after King Lobhengula's senior
induna, Magwegwe Fuyana. When
King Lobhengula fled north under
attack from Cecil Rhodes' forces,
Magwegwe was killed in place of the king and his remains, disguised
as those of King Lobhengula, were
interred in a cave at Pashu in
Binga.

LOBHENGULA
was named after the
last Ndebele monarch, the very king who gave the last Ndebele monarch, the very king who gave the name
koBulawayo. It was Lobhengula's
contested accession to the royal
throne that led to the name
koBulawayo. When soldiers
arrayed by Mbiko kaMadlenya Masuku the Chief of Zwangendaba
fought him, King Lobhengula
would say 'ngingobulawayo .'

ENTUMBANE
comes from King
Mzilikazi's burial place, a small hill
off the old Gwanda road.

EMAKHANDENI
is a name that
derives from one of the four
generative villages at the time of king Mzilikazi. It was the third to be
established following the
integration of the Dlodlos into the
Ndebele State. A number of villages
were part of aMakhanda that is,
iNzwananzi, iNxa, iNdinana, iNsinda and iNsingo.. Amakhanda was also
the place where amabutho were
undergoing millitary training.
Emakhandeni is the isiNdebele
name for Fort Rixon.

NKULUMANE,
the name derives from Nkulumane, King Mzilikazi's heir
apparent, Nkulumane was born
during the visit of Dr Robert
Moffart. By then King Mzilikazi was
then resident at Mhlahlandlela
where Pretoria stands today. Dr Moffat was coming from Kuruman
but that name was corrupted by
the Ndebele to Nkulumane.

EMGANWINI,
the name derived from
aa tree found in the vicinity. The
marula tree is called umganu in isiNdebele hence place name given
in locative form. The last tree
where traders and missionaries
from the south usually stopped
and outspanned their wagon

TSHABALALA
was the totem of King Lobhengula's mother a woman of
Swazi extraction Fulatha
Tshabalala. This was also a reason
to bar Lobhengula from succeeding
his father that Fulatha his mother
was not a pure Nguni. After ascending the throne, Lobhengula
rightly treated his mother as the
queen-mother.

FAMONA
was named
after one of Lobhengula's
daughters Mfamona but the name
was corrupted to Famona.

MAHATSHULA
bears the name of a
senior member of the Ndebele
royal circle, Mahatshula Ndiweni
who lived in the Nhlambabaloyi
village.

KHUMALO
was named after the Royal Clan of the Ndebele

LUVEVE
named after chief Luveve

GWABALANDA
named after one of
the Ndebele Chiefs Gwabalanda
Mathe. During the heydays of the
Ndebele State there was indunankulu, chief of chiefs and
under King Mzilikazi it was
Gwabalanda Mathe.

MALINDELA
was Lobhengula's
ma

Izinto zika Mpandula

2018-09-22T19:20:00.001-07:00

Gregorian Calendar

Months

January: Zibandlela (Zib, Z)

February: Nhlolanja (Nhlo, N)

March: Mbimbitho (Mbi, M)

April: Mabasa (Mab, M)

May: Nkwenkwezi (Nkw, N)

June: Nhlangula (Nhla, N)

July: Ntulikazi (Ntu, N)

August: Ncwabakazi (Ncw, N)

September: Mpandula (Mpan, M)

October: Mfumfu (Mfu, M)

November: Lwezi (Lwe, L)

December: Mpalakazi (Mpal, M)

Days

Sunday: Sonto (Son)

Monday: Mvulo (Mvu)

Tuesday: Sibili (Sib, S)

Wednesday: Sithathu (Sit, S)

Thursday: Sine (Sin, S)

Friday: Sihlanu (Sih, S)

Saturday: Mgqibelo (Mgq, M

Ikhonaindaba celebrates Ten years today May 2!

2017-05-02T14:53:00.006-07:00

Fuzwayo speaks out on Matabele genocide reburial

2017-04-03T04:35:00.001-07:00

Been reading news that Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko is promising that government will soon be engaging in a program to rebury people killed and buried in shallow graves during the Gukurahundi atrocities of the mid eighties. He also says that government will construct monuments or shrines on mass graves and disused mines where victims were literally dumped after being killed.

Mphoko suggests that by so doing they will be doing a national healing process which will appease both the spirits of the dead and their surviving loved ones.

I am not really sure if this is a well thought out process and can only take solace in that it is maybe one of those usual ZANU PF good boy statements made ahead of any elections.

There was a time that I highly valued VP Mphoko's commitment to the troubled regional politics of this region when he was speaking to issues exactly as they are and exactly as felt by the people on the ground but of late he is in a shocking about turn speaking precisely as a messenger against his people not the ambassador he had been.

I do not presume but I know that VP Mphoko knows as much as everyone who cares does that the reburial and monumenting of the graves of over 20 000 Matabele people killed during these atrocities is not what the people of Matabeleland want.

We have been on the ground, we speak to people and am definite government through its agents has done the same and they got the precise message of what people on the ground want. These people know to who all the shallow graves belong to. They know all their relatives and loved ones who were taken to Bhalagwe Mine and never came back.

Nothing ever stopped people from reburying their loved ones after the "cease fire" nor stopped communities gathering to do traditional rituals and making "monuments" at the mass graves except the bleeding hearts of the people. A third force coming in believing that reburial and monuments will heal these hearts, guaranteed will be taken as arrogance by the people and will not be a healing but making worse the wounds.

Matabeleland People need to talk. They need to be talked to. They need answers. They need explanations. They need apologies. The rest will follow up after.

VP Mphoko is dead right that in our culture both the spirits of the dead and the bereaved never rest until a descent burial takes place. He unfortunately deliberately avoids mentioning that no burial or reburial will be considered descent in our culture unless exhaustive talks and remorse is reached at and at times even appropriate reparation following up.

This is what the parents who lost their children want Cde Mphoko if you are to get healing. This is what the children and siblings of the dead want. This is what the communities housing the graves want, in case you didn't know which I know its known. Let the people talk, let them be talked to and let them hear the painful realities and cry their hearts out.

What is being planned here by government is not the first step to take but the very last when all else has been done. These are human beings being dealt with here not animals where one of their own is killed and life goes on.

The Matabeleland message remains clear and unchanged ever since - Hands off Gukurahundi until its talked about. Kuthulwe kuzekube nini?

Truth and reconciliation commission is a prerequisite and in our lifetime for our children and a peaceful country. Enough of tribal hatred and segregation because of one issue which is continuously abused for political expedience.

The devastating impact of Xenophobia

2017-02-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

The devastating impact of Xenophobia

Turning to the issue xenophobia, I am surprised why you only point out to its impact and consequences rather than the source. Xenophobia goes with the territory Mr Mabhena. The adage that charity begins at home is true. It is normal not only for human beings but the entire animal kingdom to start with feeding their families before they can share the left overs with strangers. What makes you think it is a right for a stranger to come to your home and eat the food of your children before yours can eat it?

In the case of America,xenophobic sentiments are openly advocated for and advanced by the incumbent President Donald Trump. The same situation is experienced in France and as that country prepares for Presidential election. The question of immigrants and strangers coming to steal jobs, houses and the like is at the heart of the election campaign and will undoubtedly influence the voting patterns and results. This is happening too in Britain and basically across Western and Eastern Europe. As you will know already, Europe is becoming a fortress against African migrants in particular, thousands of whom have been swallowed and drowned by the seas.

The question of Xenophobia illustrates vividly why we in the MLF want our country back, a country where we will be safe from any sort of dictatorship, violence, infliction of genocide and ethnic cleansing, rape, torture, any form of brutality, disappearance and any other form of intended harm. There is no sane person (akulamuntu olengqondo ezikwanileyo) who can choose willingly to be a slave; who can leave his home to be humiliated; who can literally entertain any sort of abuse and at times death at the hands of a mob; who can choose to be labelled as an undocumented unit (I mean statistically who is referred to not as a human being but a number just like being in prison); who can choose to be raped by the police in the host country so as not be deported; who can turn into prostitution simply because of lack of identity; who can choose not to be educated for the simple reason of being a migrant, and so on and so.

The question of Xenophobia is very emotive Mr Mabhena. Many of our boys and girls (pardon me for focusing on our people, it goes with the territory) having escaped the brutality of your Zimbabwe (which in due course you want to turn to a socialist entity) arrive in the neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana alive, only to go back to their motherland dead.You Mr Mabhena can attest to that as you clearly point out that at the time of starting a conversation with myself, you had already received threats of ‘xenophobic attack in Mamelodi, Diepsloot’ and elsewhere.

It is in terms of the foregoing that I agree entirely with you that it xenophobic attacks do‘not discriminate in terms of ethnicity, but attacks everyone who is said to be a foreign national in South Africa’.But what you fail to recognise is that the infliction of genocide and ethnic cleansing by Mugabe’s Zimbabwe on the people of Mthwakazi was in effect and practice a higher variant of Xenophobia, so is the Grand Plan, so is the violent dispossession of our land which has been given to the chief drivers of Zimbabwe’s Xenophobia. There is no escaping the fact that xenophobia affects the people of Mthwakazi, not only in South Africa, but elsewhere in the world as well. Xenophobia is essentially a result of the unintended consequences of those who put us in this hell-hole pot called Zimbabwe.

In the final analysis, it is the Organisation of African Union (now the African Union) that must be ultimately be held responsible for xenophobia, not only as it affects the entire African population in Africa, but in other continents as well. Just like those thieves that you easily identify as being responsible for ‘looting’ your ‘wealth in Harare’, the AU (through its member states) has been nothing but a disgrace club from inception, as it not only protected but actively participated in promoting all forms of violence meted out by dictatorial and brutal regimes against own citizens and those ruled by conquest throughout Africa. The AU has been a looter of human consciousness, well-being and the survival strategies of all the citizens of the African continent, with impunity, irrespective of identity, ethnicity, and nationality.

Had the AU been concerned about the imposed unitary boundaries, governance, human rights, rule of law, infrastructural development, free speech and free press, employment, poverty, and a range of equally important developmental issues affecting the people of the this continent, instead of paying attention to the pursuit of looting and endless corruption, no one throughout Africa would have been forced tocome to South Africa, or to go to any other country for that matter to irk a living. Rather only those in pursuit of greener pastures and skills development without having been compelled by life and death situations to survive on mother earth, would be migrating out of their countries.

Mr Mabhena, why is it that it is only in Africa that millions of people are forced out of their countries and habitat, not because of poverty, but because of the brutish nature of their governments or those that rule them by conquest, but this is not happening elsewhere in other continents? Fundamentally of critical importance to this conversation is why did you think as argued in your letter, it was important for OAU to resolve to, and I quote: ‘support the then Southern Rhodesia and other African States that were still under colonial occupation’ without this support being tied to the respect of human rights, rule of law, recognition of diversity of ethnic groups, freedom of speech and so forth?

Specifically, as also mentioned Mr Mabhena, why do you think, and I quote; ‘It was resolved that theliberation movements would respect the new colonial boundaries without any changes to them’, without there being a recognition that within those imposed boundaries there were different ethnic groups and nationalities with own identity, culture and way of life? I posed this question elsewhere within the context of this conversation. Whether you agree with me or not, I have demonstrated that by invoking the OAU in your letter as one of your major planks, you only exacerbated your weakness in political discourse and analysis.

The OAU is one of the worst disasters to have been witnessed on mother earth. It has not only condoned but also supported the slaughter, rape, torture, and disappearances of millions of Africans in this continent, and in so doing has singularly aided the domination and underdevelopment of this continent by the Caucasian (White) race. Why? Because it has been run most of the times by despots who are under the payroll of former colonial masters and, to use your own words ‘thieves and looters’ whose only concern has been fat bank accounts, hundreds of properties and violation of the sanctity of women with impunity.

If we are to develop and put an end to the xenophobicattacks throughout the continent and abroad, we in the MLF strongly argue for the establishment of a new continental body, a rival organisation if you like, which will vigorously pursue several strategies simultaneously. Of these, the first would be to accord recognition to the different ethnic groups and nationalities whose countries were woven together in unitary state systems that suited and benefited the Rule by Conquest of the powers that be. Why? Because, genocide, ethnic cleansing, brutality and rape, including being given a false identity like Rhodesian, Zimbabwean, and all that pain does not wash away our identity as the people of Mthwakazi.

Even if, in your own thinkingMr Mabhena, you believe that struggling for the restoration of Mthwakazi is ‘a myth’; that alone still does not and would never ever change our inner feelings of belonging to the Mthwakazi community in soul and spirit. Even the holocaust did not change the identity of the Jewish people. Similarly, even under an imposed ‘socialist Zimbabwe’ overMthwakazi,that situation will not change who we are; on the contrary we continue to remain as a people of Mthwakazi perpetually. Put differently, no amount of pain or of happiness can ever change our proud Mthwakazian identity.

Secondly, the recognition of ethnic groups, and nationalities and their original boundaries within Africa by such a new continental body (and not the OAU or AU) would reverse all the biased development strategies that favoured the political community in power, such as the Zanu-pf regime. Mthwakazi would therefore be in charge of its resources. We are equally capable of charting a new destiny for ourselves and we don’t need a ‘so-called socialist Zimbabwe whatever that means’ to chart a developmental paradigm for us. In this way, the Shona dynasty under Zanu-pf or socialist Zimbabwe would not have any opportunity in imposing its will over the people of Mthwakazi. Likewise all the colonised nations and ethnic groups throughout Africa, including the people of Barotseland would be free to chart a developmental path that would benefit their citizens.

It is only in this way that the incidence and scourge of xenophobia as it affects all of us can become a thing of the past. Sadly, as things stand, there is a lot of money to be made out of our misery through various corrupt activities that include human trafficking, prostitution and outright bribery for the procurement of documentation. Clearly therefore such a Continental body, for which I am one of the people who is ready to not only formulate its framework and synopsis, but to actually drive it together with like nations without states in Africa specifically in order to found our own states (Mthwakazi included). It is only in this way that we would pursue both the perpetrators of the brutality that was inflicted on our people and the recovery of our resources that were, again to use your own words, ‘looted by the thieves in Harare’.

Only by revisiting the nature and question of separate identities and associated rights to exit as members of the human race on this earth without fear, favour or prejudice; that the scourge of xenophobia could be efficiently and effectively addressed. Sadly, in the meantime, you are unfortunately likely to continue dealing with the effects of the failure by the OAU now AU to accord everyone in this continent respect for human dignity. I am afraid, as long as the South African governmental does not rise to the challenge of assuming its responsibility as a continental power here in the South, in ensuring that all these evil regimes to the north of here are brought to order and accountability, incidents of xenophobia can only continue.

Even the Shona people have finally recognised that ‘the pamberineZanu-pf slogan’ does not put food in theirmouths; hence they have continued to flee that wretched country in millions as well, only to be equally exposed to incidents of violence and xenophobia.Is it not hypocrisy therefore, for you Mr Mabhena to think about fighting for a ‘so-called socialist Zimbabwe’ instead of your own homeland, Mthwakazi? When we fail to interrogate the environment objectively from the heart, one wonders whether it is one’s design or mere self-convincing that says a lot about the complexity of our collective humanity.

Jacob Zuma, for example has been campaigning for a permanent seat for Africaat the United Nations Security Council in New York, with equal vetoing powers, yet he has continued to condone the behaviour of dictators like Mugabe and King Mswati (whose so-called citizens have flooded South Africa in ways never imagined historically) and a resulted triggering xenophobic violence, pain, injuries, disabilities and deaths. How then does Jacob Zuma reconcile the behaviour of his nemesis, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) who has called him so many things with the voiceless of Swaziland, Mthwakazi and elsewhere? Given a chance, would Jacob Zuma be a dictator, if for example he was President of a country without a constitution in which the rule of law is unequivocally embedded?

Answers to these questions should help you Mr Mabhena to rediscover who you really are and not what you want to be. It is painful to live a life that is imaginary, to live a dream that you have been continually warned against, and only with hindsight wish you had taken a different path that is just and unequivocally in the interests of generations of your folks. Do you really think that ifNkomohad foreseenall this mess he would still have continued to lead the people of Mthwakazi in the same direction of a hell-hole which epitomises everything that has been thrown against us? What then are you in defence of Mr Mabhena? Is it only the name divorced from this leadership actions?

13. Understanding the International Political System

It is important to introduce you at this juncture to perhaps the key perspectives in understanding World Politics throughout the world. The first is the ‘politics of power and security’. In terms of this perspective (something which Dr Nkomo should had been advised about),the world is full of anarchy and therefore states are concerned with their national security. In other words, we need to restore the state of Mthwakazi first and defend it before we can pursue any other programmes including your Marxism-Leninism. The second is the politics of interdependence and transnational relations. Under this perspective we co-exist, interact, sign treaties and trade regulations as neighbours both within the region and internationally.

The third is the politics of dominance and dependence in which Mthwakazi has been subjected to for so long. It is as a result of this scenario that we are perceived as nothing, but subjects to be ruled and ridiculed even by our fellow citizens who in order to survive, just like Mpoko, Simon KhayaMoyo, Obed Mpofu, and now of course, the so-called MRP by its collusion with Zanu-pf in hiding the genocide evidence, and indeed your own vision of a ‘socialist Zimbabwe’, we are up against a global system that perpetually disadvantages us and sees us a myth, not as a people of Mthwakazi.

With these perspectives, you can go back to the ancient Greek City, to the times of great philosophers before Karl Marx, such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates right up to and beyond Kant to understand the Peloponnessian War by Thucydides, The Prince by Michiavelli, The Leviathan by Hobbes and others. These primarily answer to what you have referred to and I quote: ‘The Zulu nation was born through military conquest including the Mthwakazi state itself’.That is exactly the point, Mr Mabhena, many states were born not primarily out of power and conquest, but out of the pursuit for power and security. What is true however is that atno time were the people of Mthwakazi ever been conquered by the people of Mashonaland, we have never been defeated historically and contemporarily?

Of course we were butchered but never defeated in battle. The state of Mthwakazi similarly was not born out of conquest, Mr Mabhena, that is simply not true and you are kindly referred to Maphenduka’s book, The Rule by Conquest, The struggle in Mthwakazi, 2015. The emphasis with the history from the Greek City to this day is that there have always been wars, therefore we cannot be confined to something that you clearly state was crafted by so-called nationalists perpetually. We are not and will not be Zimbabweans under what characterisation, whether by capitalist or socialist terminologies. Even Britain was at one time it was under the rule of the Vikings and then again of the Roman Empire. But they did overcome those types of conquest only to conquer most of Africa in the late 19th century, why then must we give up by citing all sorts of unworkable excuses?

14. Conclusion

I only have a few points by way of conclusion and these are, Mr Mabhena: you have failed dismally to present a case in ‘Defence of Dr Joshua MqabukoKaNyongoloNkomo’. As I have clearly articulated in the course of this Treatise on Mthwakazi, there is virtually no shred of evidence that you have presented by way of your argument. Even in emotive terms alone, there is virtually nothing to defend. You know, Mr Mabhena, when you defend you should be able to articulate clearly what are the tangibles that Nkomo’s leadership rewarded the people of Mthwakazi with? Is there anything there we can hold on to as the people of Mthwakazi? What are the benefits and gains that the people of Mthwakazi derived from that leadership? Remember, maybe you are confusing Nkomo’s leadership for the liberation of Zimbabwe with what it ought to have been in relation to that of Mthwakazi.

As far as Zimbabwe is concerned, I myself have argued consistently,citing irrefutable evidence without failthat Dr Joshua MqabukoKaNyongoloNkomo was really was a dinosaur of that country’s liberation without any shadow of down. He sacrificed more than anybody, not even Robert Gabriel Mugabe can match that sacrifice and contribution. But the question is, do the people of Zimbabwe themselves, namely the Shona people recognise that sterling, effortless and towering contribution? If that is the case, what are they doing to defendit? Why must Nkomo’s contribution only be defended by people of Mthwakazi origin, such as yourself Mr Mabhena, and not the Shona people who benefitted most from his tireless efforts?

Is it not the other way round that since inception from 1980, they have all been hell-bent in destroying his legacy;contribution and sacrifice to the liberation of that country? Is it not the case that he is not recognised even in their history books? When exactly are they going to be teaching about Nkomo in all the schools throughout Mashonaland, and for that matter in Mthwakazi? Must it take an eternity for that to happen? Is it not the case that they have continuously pursued a path designed to erase his contribution. Now as defenders of his contribution yourselves, what is it that you are doing about it? Are you shouting over the roof tops in Harare and elsewhere throughout Mashonaland;as well as in Mthwakazi; holding workshops and seminars in order to put the record straight? Of course not; there is absolutely nothing that you are doingabout his legacy!

Apart from people of Mthwakazi origin, do you know of a single Shona person who is defending Nkomo’s contribution as it pertains to the liberation of Zimbabwe? Why then must you find it fitting to defend his legacy only amongst the people of Mthwakazi, and not in Zimbabwe? These are some of the questions that should provide you with a proper accurate perspective when interrogating Nkomo’s contribution for the struggle of Zimbabwe. Because it is only yourselves, namely people from Mthwakazi (as second class, third class, fourth class citizens in that country) who are defending Nkomo’s contribution; but sadly these are distant and very faint voices. The Shona people in power do not hear you.

It is such questions which guide us as the MLF, solely in order to prevent a repetition of history in which the people of Mthwakazi are used only to be dumped in the dustbin again. We are therefore determined to guard against being led astray into believing that Mthwakazi is synonymous with Zimbabwe. It is in that regard that we oppose what the so-called MRP is doing, by on the one hand confusing the people of Mthwakazi into believing that they are evicting Shona teachers in Mthwakazi (something that we do not support); and at the same time saying that they want to be elected into the Zimbabwe parliament. Shona teachers are Zimbabweans. The Parliament that these guys want to go to is also a Zimbabwean Parliament? Why then make people of Mthwakazi fools, and in particular why bring the name of Mthwakazi into disrepute? It is in those terms that we believe that the so-called MRP is a CIO project, a smokescreen, aimed at irreparably damaging the Restoration Agenda of Mthwakazi

It is precisely because of the failure to answer some of these questions as the people of Mthwakazi that we decided; it was indeed a futile exercise to seek to continue to devote our energies in a system that will never recognise us at any time. If the powers that be and their followers are hell-bent in destroying that contribution, why the hack should we waste our time in investing our energies in a system that outrightly rejects us. If a figure of Nkomo’s stature andcharisma can be ridiculed and humiliated, who are we to stand achance of any recognition other than as sell-outs and nonentities?

There is a saying in English that says: ‘once beaten twice shy’. Like many people of Mthwakazi origin, we lost countless loved ones for nothing, not even for a name or walk in the park, in the struggle for Zimbabwe. After that we were brutalised, inflicted with genocide and all other ills, should we therefore pray that one day we will be recognised. Of course not! It is then that we decided to review our history which, by the way we were never taught anywhere: whether in schools or, at refugee camps. What we found was a proud history of a warrior nation with strong human values. Hence we embarked on the Restoration Agenda for Mthwakazi.

In a nutshell we heeded Karl Marx’s advice when he observed that before his time, ‘philosophers only interpreted the world as it was’ but the point was to ‘change it’. But in order to change our circumstances as the people of Mthwakazi, we were guided by ‘what is to be done’ question from Vladmir Lenin. It is then that we came up with theidea of Mthwakazi Liberation Front as a vehicle that would assist us endeavour to enter into a conversation such as this one from you Mr Mabhena. And what a conversation has it been, in defence of Mthwakazi Restoration Philosophy!

If Southern Rhodesia died in the minds of the vanquished people of Mthwakazi; then died also the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, followed by the death also of Rhodesia; after which Zimbabwe-Rhodesia also experienced the same death. So why do you think what we about is a myth? Zimbabwe too will also die in theminds of the peopleof Mthwakazi, when the rebirth of the State of Mthwwakazi is realised in our lifetime.

I THANK YOU

Dr Mpiyesizwe Churchill Guduza
MLF Vice President &Mthwakazian Scholar.

IN DEFENCE OF THE MTHWAKAZI RESTORATION PHILOSOPHY

2017-02-25T19:54:00.004-08:00

OPEN LETTER TO A
MR NGQABUTHO NICHOLAS MABHENA
POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND STUDENT OF MARXISM- LENINISM
FROM
DR MPIYESIZWE CHURCHILL GUDUZA
VICE PRESIDENT OF MTHWAKAZI LIBERATION FRONT AND MTHWAKAZIAN SCHOLAR
24thFebruary, 2017

Dear Mr Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena,
Re: Your Open letter In Defence of Dr Joshua MqabukoKanyongoloNkomo
1. Mthwakazi Restoration Greetings.
For the first time in a few days of continuous rainfall, we finally have sunlight shining over the horizon and I can indeed hear the birds singing again in my part of the world. In terms of which I am indeed honoured to receive an open letter from you Sir in your defence of the late Dr Joshua MqabukuNkomo.Without further a duo, let me respond as best l can.
2. Divergent Views
To begin with, there is no question that although we hold divergent political views, we do indeed come a long way as members of the human race who one way of the other have continuously engaged in the struggle for freedom. We have indeed accorded each other equal respect of human dignity throughout the yearswithin the context of the struggle for freedom.
But again there is no doubt that your interpretation of what the struggle for freedom entails is fundamentally different from the views I hold, yet it is the recognition of this dichotomy that has enabled us to respect each other. This of course is natural; we do not have to agree in order to respect each other. It is in this regard therefore that view your open letter as beneficial for us to continuously engage with regard to the political discourse that affects our people (I mean Mthwakazi people by the way) locally, regionally and internationally.
You have stated in your open letter that you find what you have termed our characterisation of Dr Nkomo shocking. It is difficult from where we stand to see what is shocking about our stance (and not what you refer to as insinuation) that had Dr Nkomo put the interests of his people, the people from Mthwakazi first before anybody else, as well as heeded the advice not only from Chief KhayisaNdiweni but from others within Mthwakazi, we would not have indeed found ourselves in this quagmire of suffering, whichever way one looks at it, politically, economically, socially, culturally and so on.
3. What constitutes a Restoration Agenda for Mthwakazi?
Unfortunately history constitutes facts in terms of how a series of events unfolded or transpired; under what circumstances in relation to what, where and why. What we do today in terms of ourown actions or otherwise undoubtedly will constitute history tomorrow. We cannot wish away historical facts because they do not suit us. And as such, there is no way here on earth or in any other planet any person can or could argue that if we had fought for and liberated Mthwakazithat we would have gone through hell inflicted by Zimbabwe and its regime on us. Not in a million years. That would not have happened.
It is in that regard that we did not insinuate anything but stated facts as they are. Added to that we did not write what you have referred to as a long article to the MRP. Rather we wrote an article stating the reasons why we as the MLF had no business in participating in an election of another country called Zimbabwe. Our article had nothing of interest to do with any political formation of Zimbabwe, but against any formation that seeks to identify with Mthwakazi but at the same time stating that it would participate in an election of Zimbabwe.
It was in that light that we vehemently denounced the activities of the so-called MRP, in that it purported to be pursuing a restoration agenda of Mthwakazi, but at the same time being a Zimbabwean political party. This by the way is a raging debate about what constitutes Mthwakazi and it restoration agenda. Therefore it cannot be reduced to anything that it is not, but a contestation of a body of ideas and setting out the direction that the restoration agenda must take to liberate Mthwakazi.
We have observed, for example, that the so-called MRP started by claiming that it was campaigning against Shona teachers in Mthwakazi, but today they are bowing down (as they prepare to take part in that countrys elections) before the very system that is deploying the same Shona teachers. To us that is hypocrisy, and this is not personal, neither is it anything else, but based on facts as they stand.This in a nutshell smacks of double standards; they appear not to know what it is they want. That submission therefore needs to be understood as comprising a series of debating and contestation points against any movement that employs double standards, instead a of firm and clear position. Hence we have said why dont they stop confusing people and come out in the open as the Zimbabwe Republic Party, which of course they really are.
4. Your defence of Dr Joshua MqabukoNkomo
With regard to Dr Joshua Nkomo; we have stated clearly that he preferred advice from the people who were not part of the fabric of Mthwakazi; the people who did not either share a similar history of a brutal annexation with Mthwakazi; the people who did not share the same cultural history and the people of Mthwakazi; and the people whose political outlook was clear from the outset of defining what kind of state they envisaged from which Zimbabwe derives its meaning.
5. The treaty of Versailles
With regard to the formation of states, it is noteworthy that the State of Mthwakazi predated the advent of European colonialism. What the Treaty of Versailles did in 1884 was to carve up Africa and its spoils among the white powers involving Britain, Germany, Belgium, Portuguese and so forth (during the scramble for Africa). These new boundaries were carved up arbitrarily to suit the interests of these European colonial powers and in so doing violated with impunity the existing boundaries of the African states. It does not mean therefore that they are acceptable and that they cannot be challenged with the specific purpose of reverting back to what they were before colonial penetration and conquest. To do so would render the whole struggle for freedom and justice irrelevant. As a matter of fact, it is the failure to address these imposed colonial boundaries that is at the heart of all conflict in Africa.
I am aware that any challenge to colonial boundaries at this time usually means either extending these boundaries by encroaching on neighbouring countries or bifurcating the existing unitary state into more than one new state. The pursuit of some form of a political structure that changes the form and structure of an existing unitary state is fraught with difficulties. In most instances, the groups that challenge the ruling regime usually arrive at such a juncture after genocide had been committed and demonstrable ethnic cleansing policies pursued by the ruling regimes, are seen and perceived to be inimical to the survival life chances of marginalised groups and nationalities such as Mthwakazi, in areas such as language preservation, education, access to employment and contracts, distribution of land, and the like.

I am also aware that the pressure to re-arrange the unitary state invariably has been met with strong arm tactics from the former European colonial powers, regional and the international community with vested interests. It is also met with plain rigid political thuggery from within the ruling regime of the country concerned that normally characterises long-serving dictatorships, aided by a compliant army and political party that is dependent on political patronage. However, for the people of Mthwakazi, the post European colonial years have been anything but daily contact with various forms of genocide, ethnic cleansing and various forms of internal colonialism.

What Dr Nkomo therefore failed to recognise Mr Mabhena, something which you have also failed to recognise as well, but which Chief Khayisa recognised was that:

A nation comprises a strong widespread feeling of identity and solidarity within a political community which equally embodies a sense of wellbeing,
Nationalism is characterised by widespread positive and negative perception of other political communities, and
Several states in Africa lack indisputable legitimacy as they are forcibly constituted by more than one nation.

You will Mr Mabhena agree with me that the Shona people have a natural widespread feeling of identity and solidarity within their political community, so are the people of Mthwakazi. Similarly, the Shona people whilst they express widespread positive perceptions amongst themselves, they equally and fundamentally hold negative perceptions about the people of Mthwakazi. Clearly therefore any country with these divergent positive and negative perceptions lacks indisputable legitimacy and must out of necessity for the ethnic groups or nationalities to co-exist, separate and revert back to what they were before European colonialism.

Mr Mabhena, it is fallacy to say and I quote: historically, the white minority regime used traditional leaders to divide our people. This is the strategy that the Mugabe regime has perfected over the years.The undisputed historical fact Mr Mabhena is that the people of Mthwakazi and those of Mashonaland had always been separate and divided. It is the white minority regime on the contrary who sought tounite them through violence under an imposed unitary state system. Mugabe on the other hand has never at any time tried to unite these two peoples. That is false. Your argument is not supported by a single shred of evidence. What Mugabe has tried to do and done long before he even became the ruler of Zimbabwe was to impose a superiority of the Shona people over those of Mthwakazi. I find your interpretation of history and analysis thereof highly misleading. I return to deal with this issue at great length below.

6. Your denunciation of Chief KhayisaNdiweni

The fact that Chief KhayisaNdiweniwas in Rhodesia as a Chief under the payroll of Ian Douglas Smith is neither here nor there, after all there is no chief even in present day Zimbabwe or for that matter anywhere else in Africa, including here in South Africa who is not under the pay roll of the ruling regime of government. We need to recognise too that not everybody in then Rhodesia was in Zapu or Zanu; others collaborated with the system whilst others did not.

The same situation applied here in South Africa, yet after post 1994 suddenly everybody was either or immediately associated with the African National Congress. In the case of South Africa prominent Chiefs like Bambatha were killed in 1906 supposedly for refusing to pay the poll tax, when in effect they were against the expropriation of their land. A few years after that the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, incorporating Natal, Transvaal, the Orange River Colony and the Cape of Good Hope, various pieces of legislation were passed in the new Republic of South Africa which expropriatedland from the original inhabitants.The same situation happened in Mthwakazi. Not only were Chiefs forcibly used to collect poll tax, hut tax, dog tax, etc; but they were also used in the cattle destocking exercise (inkomozikondenywangabelunguemadibheni) in which millions of cattle were stolen from the people of Mthwakazi.

I am amazed that you locate the utilisation of Chiefs in advancing the interests of those in power only under then Zanu-pf regime. Just as Judith Todd in her book, Through the Drakness, A Life in Zimbabwe, showed how after DumisoDabengwa was humiliated by being imprisoned for no reason, he was later rewarded with bones to chew when he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs by his tormentor, Robert Mugabe. Similarly, after the destruction of the Mthwakazi state by European settler colonialists, some chiefs who did not tow the line were either killed or humiliated with bones. In most cases the original family tree of that chieftainship was totally replaced with a compliant one. President Zuma also does the same by awarding loyalty with cabinet posts; therefore it is not surprising that some so-called communists are in his cabinet. It happens all over the world. That is known as the politics of realism, for how can you have an adversary as your defence minister; that would be a blatant invitation to your own overthrow and demise.

Those Chiefs who did not cooperate were either killed or co-opted to serve the interests of the colonisers. There can be no doubt therefore that throughout Africa, just as in Mthwakazi, the ancient institution of traditional leadership and power was significantly violated, manipulated and altered. It is unfortunate that you try to draw parallels between Chief Khayisa and InkosiMangosutho Buthelezi without actually showing what Khayisa did that was anti the people of Mthwakazi. The reason you cannot do that is simply because Chief Khayisa did not at any time cooperate with the Smith regime to disadvantage the people of Mthwakazi.

To simply point a finger and say a person ngumthengisi without showing evidence ukuthiwathengisabani is unsustainable. In hindsight, it plausible to argue that Chief Khayisa could not join ZAPU because he knew very well that it was not advancing the interests of the people of Mthwakazi. This is perhaps the crucial reason why Chief Khayisa collaborated with the minority white regime of Ian Douglas Smith in pursuit of some kind of homeland for his people of Mthwakazi along the lines of South Africa. The fact this was not achieved has to be seen within the context of labelling considerations and the negative perception that Chief KhayisaNdiweniwas umthengisi.

Besides it important to recognise that at this time Nkomo was a towering political giant in the whole of Mthwakazi, an idol, a saint and a cult like figure whose support base would not hear nor see any evil necessitating them to ditch Nkomo and join Khayisa.The fact of the matter is that there are many instances in which Nkomo himself had been brought into negotiations with the white minority regime, at times such meetings were overt, at other times they were open. The overriding motivation for such meetings included the desire by the white settler regime to cut a deal with him in order to stop the war, but he would have none of it.

Negotiating with the enemy is not necessarily a bad thing. In South Africa we saw how Nelson Mandela took it upon himself to begin negotiating with the apartheid regime even before his own comrades knew about it, as a result of which he was called a sell-out, including from the sections of the communist party. In the case of Rhodesia, the white regime may have realised that handing over power to Khayisa who had no political base whatsoever was not worth the bother.

Yet Khayisa continued to make noises about Matebeleland throughout his tenure within the confines of the white regime.Chief Khayisa still recognised that the Rhodesian unitary state system was:

an imposter and distant;
that there was no legitimate agreement and consensus between state and nation
that the various ethnic groups that constituted Mthwakazi had been compelled through use of force to belong to Rhodesia, and that
the people of Mthwakazi could not continually being forced on the same path to belong to Zimbabwe.

Mr Mabhena, here is a so-called collaborator, Chief Khayisa, who recognised these critical variables in spite of the fact that he was not only a Chief under the payroll of Smith, but most importantly even when he was being denounced as a puppet, sell-out or whatever, he still could foresee that the Shona people and the people of Mthwakazi could only live together as neighbours, certainly not under one roof or country. The fact of the matter is that his views have been vindicated whereas those of Dr Nkomo have not. It is not imagination but a fact that the people of Mthwakazi have been decimated, inflicted with genocide and other horrors, for what, simply for who they are, period.

There can be no doubt therefore, that Chief Khayisa even as a puppet or whatever, like so many who collaborated with the Smith regime, he was able to recognise that the Shona people and Mthwakazi people could not be one nation under what circumstances for the simple reason that they did not share the following attributes that make up a nation:

Common language and religious beliefs,
Organising and acting collectively against other groups or the state nation,
Common ideology, and
Common symbols and attributes.

It is an undisputable fact that the people of Mthwakazi do not share the common language and religious beliefs with the people of Mashonaland, nor do they organise and act together against other groups, nor do they share the same ideology, symbols, etc. The adage that says that it is not what Chief KhanysaNdiweni was called, but what he answered to what matters most. It is in this regard that he did have the interests of the people of Mthwakazi at heart right until his last breath on earth. You all need to engage his son, who has since succeeded him on that throne to discover what he inherited from his late fathers wisdom, a real undisputed Mthwakazian son of the soil.

You see Mr Mabhena, we are not only shouting from the hip when we talk about the Restoration of Mthwakazi. We are researchers and thinkers at the same time, in terms of which we consult broadly with the political actors of Mthwakazi past and present. It is in that regard that we speak not only emotionally but also authoritatively on this matter as some of us actually interacted with Chief KhayisaNdiweni before he passed on, just as we did with the late Dr Joshua MqabukuKaNyongoloNkomo when he was alive.
7. Dr Joshua Nkomos attributes in relation to Mthwakazi

Mr Mabhena, Dr Joshua Nkomo could not recognise the above mentioned attributes of Chief KhayisaNdiweni. He could not when he ought to have had and I quote what you called him a Pan Africanist and Marxist-Leninist revolutionary’. Instead, he was surpassed by a so-called puppet, Chief Khayisa. This is in spite of the fact that early on from the time of the Southern Rhodesian African National Congress, right through to the National Democratic Party, the problems of identities were already a contested terrain within these political movements. RememberMr Mabhena, the idea of Zimbabwe was not born at this stage, it was simply not there yet for a long time it was being debated by these so-called nationalists of Southern Rhodesia.

Mr Mabhena, you need to put your heart, soul and imagination of what is being discussed by these so-called nationalists of Southern Rhodesia at this time, and who are the protagonists. Of course Joshua Nkomo is there, from Mthwakazi, but who else?????? The idea of Zimbabwe is not yet born.But what else is happening around them in the entire world during this period? The Second World War has just been concluded. Hitler is dead and Germany is powerless as it has been forced to surrender and disarm. Western countries are rapidly democratising, so is the rise of Russia which has swept countries of Eastern Europe into submission resulting in the birth of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). There is also an arms race under way during this period between Western Countries led by the United States of America (USA) and the Eastern Countries led by USSR.

Next door to Southern Rhodesia, there is a mass movement led by nationalists of South Africa, notably the African National Congress (underpinned by the Communist Party remember, Abraham Fisher), the Pan African Congress, and others. Decision making which is decidedly influenced by a one man one vote (or so-called majority mechanism) is also new during this period. It is therefore not impossible to imagine that one of the names discussed for post a Southern Rhodesian dispensation,around that time was the Republic ofMatebeleland and Mashonaland. This in imaginary terms alone must have been shot down by those cunning Shona intellectuals, and again by a vote of hands. Whatever names were discussed, the name Zimbabwe was adopted.

Whatever the scenario was, Nkomo must have been outvoted as he was basically alone when the name Zimbabwe was tabled and adopted. It is inconceivable therefore Mr Mabhena that this name/concept or idea of Zimbabwe fell out of the skies. Somebody (obviously a Shona person) introduced it and I suppose other names may have been banded around, but what is indisputable is that Nkomo was alone at this gathering or meeting which endorsed the name Zimbabwe as the future identity of an imposed unitary state comprising Mthwakazi and Mashonaland.

From thence on the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) is born. With that, the contestation of the leadership of the party is intensified resulting inevitably in the split and the birth of the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu) under NdabaningiSithole. By this time Nkomo had already pleaded with Robert Gabriel Mugabe was teaching in Ghana to join the so-called nationalist politics of Southern Rhodesia led by ZAPU.

But with the split, on grounds none other than, the grounds of ethnicity justified at the time in terms of a majority principle in that the writing again was on the wall. Mr Mabhena there is nowhere you can dispute this historical fact that ZANU split from ZAPU because the Shonas did not want to be led by a Ndebele-speaking person. This split actually set the tone to where we are today. Under line the wordsNational Unionfrom ZANU as opposed toPeoples Unionfrom ZAPU.

In 1963, Zanu split from Zapu. The major reason why Zanusplit from Zaputo chart a way forward that would result in the domination of the Shona people over the Ndebele people, was simply because they could not be led by a Ndebele person, from Mthwakazi, Dr Joshua MqabukoNkomo.That was the beginning of the road to genocide and ethnic cleansing by the Shona people led by none other than Robert Gabriel Mugabe. It is not surprising therefore that NdabaningiSitholewas thrown of ZANU and replaced by the power hose of this supremacist ideology Robert Gabriel Mugabe. And when Mugabe commented many years later not as leader of ZANU by as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in the following words and I quote:
‘The solution in Matebeleland is a military one. Their grievances are unfounded. The
verdict of the voters was cast in 1980. They should have accepted defeat then. The
situation in Matebeleland is one that requires a change. The people must be reoriented;

He was simply COVERING THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF MTHWAKAZI DEAD OR ALIVE WITH CEMENT just like want the so-called MRP is doing now with the remains of the victims of Gukuranhundi, following on a process which he (Mugabe) begun, mastered and championed since the birth of ZANU in 1963. Mr MabhenaNOTICE that our EXISTENCE AS A PEOPLE OF MTHWAKAZI ON THIS EARTH WAS BURIED UNDER THE PRETEXT OF NATIONAL UNION by ZANU just as the so-called MRP is today BURYING EVIDENCE OF GENOCIDE UNDER THE PRETEXT OF BURYING SCATTERD BONES. You see Mr Mabhena your thesis of justifying the absurd by stating that and I quote: The revolutionary liberation movements understood clearly that, only unity of the African people across tribes, was key in the fight against colonialism and imperialism does not hold water.
One wonders what unity across tribes you are referring to when there is no evidence whatsoever to justify your assertion. It is a historical fact that since 1963 ZAPU and ZANU were never united. As a matter of fact they prosecuted the struggle differently as separate entities. Not only that, but even the political prisoners of these movements which by the way were never at any one point REVOLUTIONARY but mass movements, were not incarcerated together. The political prisoners of ZAPU for example were incarcerated at Gonakudzinkwa and Wha-Wha prisons whilst those of ZANU were at Goromonzi and elsewhere. They never shared the same prisons or same cells. These innate differences were recognised by the regime of Ian Smith. I personally grew up visiting those prisons holding ZAPU detainees because my father was incarcerated there and there were virtually no ZANU detainees in those prisons. It is not true therefore as you put it in your open letter that these differences emerged in 1980.
Similarly, in the case of South Africa, there never was any unity across what you refer as ‘tribes’, neither was there any unity between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). I find your argument very weak and without any substance that simply because the after event of the partitioning of Africa and the threat it posed, therefore our forefathers resolved, and I quote: the liberation movement would respect the new colonial boundaries without any changes to them.Sir where is that resolution and by whom was it resolved; where was the venue for this resolution; who participated in crafting this resolution; how was the resolution arrived at; what mechanism was applied to reach such a resolution (was it by a show of hands or what; and what date was it resolved?
What you refer to as ZAPU having to wage the struggle and I quote: from Zambezi to Limpompo, Ramquabane to the boundary with Mozambique was not Mr Mabhena as a result of the non-existent resolution that you referred to above, but it was natural and within the proximity of the people of Mthwakazi as we not only shared but continue to share boundaries as MTHWAKAZI with Zambia, Botswana and in the case of Mozambique through the Jameson Line which was signed into a Treaty Not by any Shona ruler leader, but by our own King Lobengula and Leander Starr Jameson.
8. The Cessation of Zambia and Malawi from the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Just before the split between Zapu and Zanu happened there were a series of meetings in Salisbury, Zomba and Lusaka to Review the Federation, under the auspices of Britain, chaired by Rab Butler, the Foreign Secretary of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.These meetings were known as the Federal Review Council Meetings. African nationalist participants at these meetings were Joshua Nkomo representing South Rhodesia, Kenneth Kaunda and Henry Khumbula representing Northern Rhodesia and Kamuzu Banda representing Nyasaland. This was around the time when Africa had begun the decolonisation process with Ghana gaining its independence in 1957.
Among others also present at these meetings was Sir Roy Welensky, former Prime Minister they wanted, it was Kaunda and Banda who are reportedly to have been unequivocally and unambiguously clear about their quest to secede from the Federation, shouting independence now. In one meeting, Banda is quoted to have shouted cessation now three times.But when Joshua Nkomo was asked about what he wanted to be done about Southern Rhodesia, he is reported to have been equivocal and not clear as to what he wanted. (This information is captured from Sir Roy Welenskys book, 4,000 days, The Life and Death of the Federation, 1964).
If ever there was a classic case of seceding from the federation, this is it, as both Kaunda and Banda walked away with political independence of Zambia and Malawi respectively. Northern Rhodesia was thus named Zambia at independence while Nyasaland was named Malawi. Nkomo on the other hand is reported to have shunned meeting in the next round of scheduled talks with Rab Butler on grounds that Britain had not changed the constitution of Southern Rhodesia.
Dr Joshua MqabukoNkomo could have walked away with Southern Rhodesia then and renamed it whatever he so desired, but he did not. It took many more years and bloodshed to bring this conflict to end at Lancaster. The rest you know, it has been a roller coaster of subjugation, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and name it, anything under the Zimbabwe regime. Mr Mabhena, how then, do you compare this leadership style, vision, and direction of Dr Joshua MqabukoNkomo with how you characterisation of Chief KhayisaNdiweni as a collaborator?
This is around the time in which in the former Belgian Congo, MoiseTshombe had literally run away (seceded) with Katanga, and when the plane of the former United Nations Secretary General, Hammarskjorld was shot down between Katanga and then Northern Rhodesia when he was flying in there to seek to stop the secession of Katanga led by Tshombe. At the same time the United Nations troops had been deployed in the Congo to quell fires there, which also raised a lot of concern to the Southern Rhodesian security establishment.
To sum up on Joshua Nkomos attributes, the fact of the matter is that it is the same Zambia (the former Northern Rhodesia in the Federation) which had only been granted political independence in 1964, that would both play a formidable role in the struggle for the liberation of Zimbabwe and, at the same time the one which was pressured primarily through the destruction of its meagre infrastructure as a result of unrelenting bombardments from the Smith regime to bring the war to an end.Effectively what this meant was that however bad the Lancaster House deal was, Zapu had to accept it as Zambia would no longer bear the costs of the war. This climate in turn provided an opportunity for Robert Gabriel Mugabe to inflict genocide on the people of Mthwakazi with impunity with full knowledge that Zambia would not under any circumstances render assistance toZapu.
9. The role of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now African Union (AU)
On the question of the resolution of the OAU in 1963 which you have referred, which opposed the continued so-called minority rule in Southern Rhodesia, I have no bone to chew with you there. It is a factual statement of intent to support liberation movements including of course ZAPU which was led by Dr Joshua Nkomo. But you cannot therefore argue that because when this resolution was taken, the OAU did not subsequently support ZANU. As a matter of fact it was ZANU that received a huge chunk of support from the OAU than Nkomos ZAPU, and the reason for that was the animosity that Julius Nyerere had developed against Dr Nkomo. This again is a historical fact as told and witnessed by none other than Dr Nkomo himself in his book The Story of My Life which of course was banned at one time by Mugabe.
Mr Mabhena; where you are missing our argument as MLF is simply that there was never at any time in history where we were prevented of being who we are, not even by the colonialists or the OAU that you have referred to; but that the only people who have prevented us assuming our own identity are the Shona people led by ZANU since 1963.As a matter of fact colonialists recognised us, this is why you have schools and townships named after our heroes Njube, Lobengula, Mzilikazi and so forth, including of course the capital of the Kings itself, Bulawayo. ZANU on the other hand has sought to change everything and alter the names: of Bulawayo to Buruvayo; Gwelu to Gweru; Kwaduma to (I can even spell the word- Kadoma); Qweqwe to I dont know, and many other such instances, and then you think all this mess can be corrected by what you term Marxisim-Leninism, not in a trillion years Mr Mabhena. But let me return to your OAU theme now before of course dealing with Marxism-Leninism.
Mr Mabhena, I do not think that the OAU is a good example to use especially when some of us are interrogating the question of such huge importance, the question of the restoration of our country Mthwakazi.It is a historical fact, Mr Mabhena, that in many African countries, perpetrators of genocide were and still can be chosen by their fellow despots to be Chairman of the OAU now African Union (AU). One remembers only too well how Idi Amin, Jean-BedelBokassa, Arab Moi , Gaddafi and Robert Gabriel Mugabe, have all been elected to this post.
The fact that the OAU/AU Charter had a clause prohibiting a member state from interfering in the internal affairs of another served all these despots well because they committed genocide, various other atrocities and ethnic cleansing on the poor with the full knowledge that other despots and dictators would never raise an objection. This says a lot about how far we have to strive to prevent those who have committed crimes against humanity in Mthwakazi from achieving the status of leading such a continental organisation as the AU.
This continental organisation is nothing but a mechanism that was set up to pursue the interests of European colonialism in the whole of Africa. Put differently, the former colonial masters continue to rule all of Africa by remote control. The AU is therefore not different to the Animal Farm of Zimbabwe as led by the so-called MRP. Just like this club called the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), there is no basis within which they can be made reference to as both mechanisms are not only dominated by Shona personnel by are there to ensure that domination and the colonisation of Mthwakazi continues unabated.
10. The Notion/Concept of Kingdom of Mthwakazi versus Mthwakazi Republic Party
On the question of why we as MLF oppose the so-called MRP, referring to Mthwakazi as a Republic, you have stated that although you do not speak on their behalf, your interest is against the restoration of a Kingdom. You write: The two remaining Kingdoms in the SADC region, Swaziland and Lesotho, are known for political oppression (with respect to Swaziland), instability, corruption andall the ills you can think of. The assumption to believe that, the defeat of what you call Shonalism will result in the building of a better society, is a myth to say the least. If Kingdoms were the way to go, Swaziland and Lesotho would be an inspiration to all of us. The biggest challenge we have is the looting of our wealth by the greedy thieves in Harare.
Mr Mabhena, I find your thinking around this subject bereft of critical analysis. Your inferencethat all kingdoms are corrupt, and therefore must be rejected out of hand without any shred of evidence, is to say the least a very hollow argument. It is interesting that you only site two Kindgdoms of Swaziland and Lesotho.Why not contrast these two kingdoms with Republics, beginning with Zimbabwe and various others in the North, Central, East and West Africa which are as corrupt as anything ever experienced on this earth. As a matter of fact, Mr Mabhena, if you were to use your own index of ‘political oppression, instability, corruption and all the ills you can think of, to compare all the so-called Republics against Kingdoms, your argument is blown out of the water.

Furthermore, you cannot imply that because the Kingdom of Swaziland which you have singled out of the two, is corrupt therefore the Kingdom of Mthwakazi under both King Mzilikazi and King Lobengula was corrupt, and therefore the way forward would be what you term a ‘socialist Zimbabwe’. Besides, what you have missed from the argument as presented by the MLF is simply this, that the so-called MRP cannot distort history and fool people by implying or indeed stating that historically, Mthwakazi was a Republic. That is a blatant lie and no amount of justification can make it a fact.

With regard to what you are striving for in Zimbabwe; it is already there, a socialist Marxist-Leninist Zimbabwe under Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his Zanu-pf politburo. But to suggest that striving for the restoration of Mthwakazi is a myth is rather stretching it too far. What makes you believe that for the people of Mthwwakazi to exist in this world and therefore lead a better life they must perpetually accept to be dominated, subjugated, humiliated and brutalised by a Shona state? Is that what you envisage as a better life for the people of Mthwakazi? Why then do you think that by challenging this Rule by Conquest we are venturing into mythology or playing games? Do you really believe, Mr Mabhena, that the Rule by Conquest of the Mthwakazi people as perpetrated the Shona elite on behalf of Britain is the way to go?

11. Your Marxism-Leninism thesis

Let me turn now to respond to your thesis and I quote: Dr Nkomo as leader of a Pan Africanist, Marxist-Leninist liberation movement, ZAPU, understood the importance of unifying African people around a common agenda for liberating the oppressed African people and the need of building international support in engaging in the struggle against colonialism. This Mr Mabhena is very loaded. You cannot be serious really by saying Nkomo was a Marxist-Leninist. What informs that assertion?

It is a historical fact that Nkomo was a leader of a mass movement which was never at any time a Marxist-Leninist movement. It may have been perceived as such, but in reality it was not. It is a known fact that ZAPU receivedsupport from the former USSR and other so-called socialist countries, but that alone did not qualify Zapu and its leader to be a Marxist-Leninist movement. Rather it has to be understood within the context of the proxy wars that were fought and supported by the super powers at the time consisting of Western Countries led by the USA on the one hand and the USSR on the other. It is true that we in Zipra were indoctrinated with this baggage of Marxism-Leninism at the time as we were not at any time made aware of our historical beginnings. On the other hand as you may be well aware, Zanu received its support from Maos Zedongs China.

This in a nutshell was precipitated by the doctrine of intended and unintended consequences. The intended consequences in this case effectively meant that as Zapu was fighting against the so-called white minority rule, there was no way in hell Britain could render military support to groups that were fighting against the status quo. The unintended consequences in the sense that, what was being imported into the mass movement of Zapu (whether by way of what you call Marxism-Leninism or Socialism had never been implemented even in the USSR itself. It was simply a pie in the sky kind of poisonous ideology that had no practical applicability in reality.

As a Marxist-Leninist student yourself Mr Mabhena, you should know that it may have been the intention (consistent with the doctrine of intended consequences) of Vladimir Lenin to implement socialism or communism in Russia following the 1917 October Revolution which swept the Tsars away, but that changed in 1924 following the death of Lenin. The person who was supposed to have succeeded Lenin, Trotsky, and thousands of other Bolshevik revolutionaries found themselves being hunted down like dogs by Joseph Stalin. Some were exiled, but thousands, and thereafter millions were butchered by Stalin.

In order to spread this terror far and wide Joseph Stalin deified Lenin into some kind of God. Almost overnight the Statues of Lenin were developed and mounted all over the place throughout Russia; freedom of speech became synonymous with invitation to be shot; firing squads became the norm; the stench of death was everywhere, disappearances, torture and untold brutality as the concept of human rights had been outlawed with impunity. This modus operandi was exported and applied throughout all the countries that Russia had annexed or liberated such as Azerbaijan, Chechenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Estonia, Poland Hungary and so forth, following the defeat of Nazi Germany and death of Adolph Hitler. German itself was divided into east and west, and so of our comrades actually trained there in what was known as the German Democratic Republic.

In all these countries which became part of the USSR, Lenin was the tool that was invoked in order to instil in each and every soul the stench of death. Likewise liberation movements such as Zapu also employed those tactics, where any dissent was met with outright imposition of a death sentence or disappearance. This after all was what was called the vanguard of the proletariat. Almost every person in those so-called Socialist Republics of the USSR had a file on them; in terms of where they were going, who they talked to and why. This is the kind of system that Mugabe employed and applied in his country Zimbabwe as well as imposed by proxy in Mthwakazi. As a matter of fact Mugabes rule is defined by himself and others as Marxism-Leninism, hence his picture is everywhere: in the toilets, on trees, on walls, and virtually everywhere.

The difference with Josephs Stalins Russia or USSR is that Lenin was reproduced in statues, whilst Zanu could not afford such a colossal cost, hence pictures and frames of Mugabe were deployed everywhere, and that Mr Mabhena is still the case. Let us not forget that Zimbabwe continues to embody the Politburo Structure copied from the so-called communist countries. Is this the type of system that you envisage for the people of Mthwakazi in what you call a socialist Zimbabwe, Mr Mabhena? Genocide, ethnic cleansing and all the hell imposed on the people of Mthwakazi has been driven by these so-called Marxist-Leninist of Zimbabwe, so is the Grand Plan, and everything under the sun that the Zanu regime has robbed the people of Mthwakazi.

I am really amazed and extremely shocked Mr Mabhena, that you would wish for an oppressive system such as the one you purport to belong to and a student of, for the people of Mthwakazi. But most important of all, I am shocked to my knees that you would invoke a system like this one (Marxism-Leninism) as a justification not to play your part in the liberation of the motherland, Mthwakazi. What is even more shocking is to want to take cover under a system that does not recognise individual talents of human beings. How would, for example, Marxist-Leninist treat the inventor of a mobile or cell phone, what about of the internet with which I am communicating with right you right now, or a lap top would such a person have to share the wealth derived from any of his/her inventions with everybody else? What about a bottle of whiskey which is a darling of so-called communists?

What about pent houses, aeroplanes, cars, etc; all inventions that Karl Marx, including Lenin died without having been exposed to. How would you control the means of production of these products, including those that comprise the food chain in the supermarkets: yogurt, amahewu, pencils, rulers, books, matches, and so forth, just to mention a few? The point of the matter is that, today, all the products in the capitalist world are no longer labour intensively produced, but through some mechanisation processes and technological innovations.

This same production process has been embraced by former communist regimes such Russia, China and so forth, and as such capitalism and indeed its highest form, imperialism are effectively globalised without any exception. What about the thinking part of individuals that results in the production of what you call the means of production? Must that too be nationalised, communalised or socialised, whatever Marxist-Leninist terms are applicable?

Surely, to invoke Marxism-Leninism when communicating with me is to invoke a beast out me. I became a s-called Marxist more than 40 years ago, and within Zipra I am among the first critics of this dogmatic ideology as especially because it lacked relevance and applicability on the ground, unless of course you were imposing your will on others. It is an excellent song, but that brings about all hell when applied. There is basically no synergy between theory and practice; in other words where theory and practice meet they remain diametrically opposed to each other.

This is why even in the USSR this system finally collapsed in 1989 during the time of Michael Gorbachev, whowas himself rescued by Boris Yeltsin after an attempted coup de tat. Millions of people marched from Russia right up to the Berlin wall that had divided east and West Germany, with many countries along the way regaining their freedom, in Poland, Romania, and so forth. Is this the system that you want the people of Mthwakazi to be ruled under in your socialist Zimbabwe’? A system that has not be workable since 1917, a system that even Kruzhev, nor Brezhnev could not reconcile so as to remove the ghost of Stalinism and the stench of death from the entire Russia and the USSR; a system that was finally discarded after seven two (72) years of inflicting horror.

In Mthwakazi we are already 36 years into that hell hole under Mugabes Marxism-Leninism, half way to the years experienced by Russians. Are you saying that is not enough? Are you saying that we still need to experience more of the same, Mr Mabhena? Are you saying, the loss of our identity, our humanity, our land, our sanity, our future, our very existence can only be guaranteed under the continuation of such a brutal genocidal and ethnic cleansing environment?What you need to underline, Mr Mabhena, and perhaps this is the sole reason why the so-called community party can never ever be voted into power ever again in Russia or anywhere else (not that it ever achieved power through the ballot since the Bolshevik revolution) is because in most instances the millions of victims of Stalins death squads have still not found closure to this very date.

In a nutshell, therefore, before I turn to address some of your concerns Mr Mabhena, what transpired or was implemented not only in Russia but in so-called Marxist-Leninist countries including China, was and has always been STATE CAPITALISM, in which the apparatchiks, those with state power enjoy all the privileges of capitalism at the expense of the entire population at large. In any study of comparative communist systems there can be no other findings other than that these systems benefit only those at the top at the expense of everybody else, in ways far exceeding the normal capitalist systems which entrench individual freedoms, individual choice and so forth.

It is noteworthy in summary that before Karl Marx came up with the communist manifesto in 1848, he was first and foremost a German. He had an identity which the people of Mthwakazi lost in 1893 and which through the MLF the people of Mthwakazi are determined to restore. Besides when Karl Marx wrote and published that treatise (communist manifesto in 1848) Mthwakazi was already a fully-fledged sovereign state.Why then must the people of Mthwakazi pursue unworkable ideas at this stage, after more than a century under the Rule by Conquest first, before recovering their lost identity and country, Mr Mabhena? Why should we focus on ideas produced by a German who died before seeing their disastrous implementation in Russia and elsewhere in this world, which by the way will never ever see the light of day again in present Russia, than paying attention and struggling for our own survival, space and identity as the people of Mthwakazi, Mr Mabhena?

You also argue that the restoration of Mthwakazi does not mean that wealth will be fairly distributed among the working class and the poor. It is only when the working class controls the decisive means of production for it to drive back, the frontiers of poverty in our society. Unfortunately I do not know which society you are referring to. But I can surmise that you are referring to Zimbabwean society and not Mthwakazi because of your storyline throughout your open letter.You are indeed a Zimbabwean, but just like me aMthwakazian who is not recognised in your own country. If this is the reason why you think that in Mthwakazi we will not take care of our own citizens then you are indeed mistaken.

Mthwakazi is very rich. It has everything in terms of human and economic resources. It has basically everything for everyone, but it cannot be that we will promote laziness by seeking to grab other peoples’ ingenuity, creativeness and the like in order to reward those who are lazy or doing nothing. We will embrace the capitalist mode of economic organisation both in theory and practice. We will not act like so-called communists and socialists who preach socialism and communism but practice capitalism. We are not going to behave like Zanu-pf or China and preach socialism and communism when we own everything at the expense of the poor. We are not going to allow any practices of free riding at the expense of others. Therefore it will not happen that wealth will be shared equally, but like all developed economies, the State of Mthwakazi will have a responsibility of taking care of its citizens by any means possible.

Various models will be explored such as exist in developed economies, including of course a system of grants that is offered in South Africa. But it is worth pointing out Mr Mabhena, that Mthwakazi does not have what you would call a working class, neither does our neighbour Zimbabwe. The majority of the people not only in Mthwakazi, Zimbabwe and most of Africa, including in South Africa live in rural areas. They are basically what your socialist terminology terms peasants (povo in Portuguese or Spanish). How then do you realise a socialist Zimbabwe without a formidable industrial base and without a working class? At any rate an industrial base has long been overtaken by technological innovations of today, television, WhatsApp technologies and a multiplicity of others.

Those are the conditions for a take off to a socialist utopia. How do you industrialise Mr Mabhena without the means of production. In your Zimbabwe, you only have land, but do not have machinery and capital, and you do not yet have the requisite skilled labour force for the conditions of the development of a working class; how then do you achieve a ‘socialistZimbabwe’? Remember when Fredrick Angels examined the conditions of the working class in England more nearly two hundred years ago which were mainly characterised by squalor, your Zimbabwe has not yet reached that stage; how long do you think the conditions of a viable working class in Zimbabwe will take off? Is it is not a myth therefore to be talkin

Econet does not employ Ndebeles - Open Letter to Strive Masiyiw

2017-02-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

Dear Editor,

Re: Econet does not employ Ndebeles - Open Letter to Strive Masiyiwa

I write this open letter to Strive Masiyiwa out of patriotism and in loving memory of umdala wethu. Those who were old enough in the late 90s will remember the headlines ("Give that boy a licence / akelinike umfana lowo i licence"). This was in reference to those that were hard hearted and didn't want to see Econet seeing the light of the day.

Please note that as I write this letter, I pray that Strive Masiyiwa continues to prosper. I acknowledge the great opportunities that he has opened for many in Zimbabwe and Africa at large. I ask that those with close links to Strive Masiyiwa forward this letter to him to ensure that we continue to guide him and not leave him being blinded by the political hatred pervading our society.

Today, I write to you Mr Masiyiwa with a heavy heart. I am typing this letter from Bulawayo and sitting across Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo statue. I remember vividly in the 90s when Father Zimbabwe said words to the effect, "give this boy a licence". Some leaders who claim they supported you, called him all sorts of names for standing by your corner but we won't go there today, however, there are three things that I would like to bring to your attention today, just three, nothing much.

The first is a question, why is it that Econet Zimbabwe does not employ Ndebele people? I understand in your Board there is no Ndebele, in your Executive team, there is no Ndebele, in your management team there is no Ndebele either! Is it true Mr Masiyiwa? Of all Ndebele people in Zimbabwe none is good enough to be a member of your Board, Executive and Management? Seriously? I understand there are a couple of Ndebele managers that you have employed in the past, but only God knows why you are currently sidelining a region that has been a great supporter of your business.

I am also told that even most of your front line shops in Matebeleland are manned by people from Mashonaland. Your Ndebele customers who cannot converse in English and Shona have to come and be taught Shona in a Econet shop in Bulawayo because some of the Customer Service Officers that you export directly from Mashonaland do not want to learn Ndebele. In various social gatherings people talk about some of your employees who gloat that they have been working in Bulawayo for years and can not speak Ndebele and it's ok. Please get a mystery shopper to verify this! The people of Matebeleland do not understand why you find this justifiable and would love to hear your reasoning. I understand Netone is gaining market share in Matebeleland partly because of this. The point is, at what point will it start bothering you that your organization behaves the same way that organizations you despise behave?

Some have said "Econet is ZANU PF", I think it's too harsh but they seem to have their reasons. Surely you cannot tell me that there are no Ndebele people qualified to do these jobs, its certainly not rocket science.

If you have employed Ndebele Managers/Executives before has it ever bothered you why they left and where exit interviews done by an independent party. If I were you I would look for them and get more information, still waters run deep. I ask out of love, the love that Umdala Wethu displayed when he supported you, it is the same love we have for you in Matebeleland but it breaks our hearts to hear that you do not employ our kind.

Secondly, we understand that the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo scholarship that was once highly marketed to lure Matebeleland people to your network is no longer taking more than 50% of Ndebele kids and instead deceives the market by taking "Ndebele speaking " students from the Bulawayo and Matebeleland provinces. We know what that means and we feel used. Is there a Ndebele on that Board or selecting committee anyway, yes, the Higherlife Foundation as well? We want to believe that your company does record substantial revenues from these provinces and though it's your company, Christian values and principles that you preach demand respect and embracing all communities equally.

Thirdly and last for today, please stop inflating your prices. Econet is just too expensive. Most people understand that you paid premium prices for the network but at some point you have to consider your environment. You are losing loyal customers. The hard economic environment drives out loyalty and some of the competitors that do not pay tax or interconnection fees will wipe out your competitive edge. One of your key success factors has always been public sympathy. It's being eroded by what Econet is doing on the ground, slowly but surely. Slow poison is very dangerous. We are very much aware of the market dynamics in Africa and thus know that you probably make more money in Matebeleland than from Lesotho and Burundi subscribers and thus we believe you owe your customers in the Matebeleland provinces an explanation.

It is no longer a secret that over next three to four years the Government is likely to have authorized a bigger brand to join the fray in the Telecom space in Zimbabwe. You need to protect your turf. With the diversification and integration of various technologies spurred by OTTs your company will find itself with a very tiny market share before it repays all its loans. Love the ones who supported you when you where down there. Umdala Wethu pushed that you get a license. Nkosana Moyo helped you shape your brand name, but today their relatives are not good enough to work for you. EcoCash a great brand is struggling in South Africa because the key Zimbabwean migrants there from Matebeleland do not have anyone from Econet talking to them about it! The good figures you see are but a small part of that iceberg. Embrace Zimbabwe without favor and insulting other tribes. We, as people from Matebeleland have now decided to go door to door asking all the listed companies and Government departments why they import cleaners, clerks, Tellers etc. We are starting today with a company that we love, Econet
By John Ncube.

Home affairs Minister Gigaba calls for the law and order!

2017-02-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

REMARKS BY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, HON. MALUSI GIGABA AT BIRCHWOOD HOTEL - JOHANNESBURG

"Government will not allow elements to attack foreigners or immigrants whether documented or not, whether legal or illegal"

● South African government will not allow the current sporadic violence to degenerate into further violence or xenophobia

●There are no statistics to prove that the crime levels prevailing are a result of foreigners or illegal immigrants.

●Foreigners in South Africa must be calm as government respects international migration laws and the dignity of human life, will not change laws at the instigation of the few.

● We believe that immigrants make positive contributions to the economy and well-being of South Africa.

We are Africans and will continue to foster good relations between Africa and it's people.

●No foreigner would be harassed whether they are documented, listed or undocumented and we shall respect the human dignity of immigrants in South Africa and anyone attacking and harming any foreigner will be prosecuted.

●Government is concerned by the prevailing crime rate and will fight it as such without allocating blame to a particular group.

● foreign nationals are encouraged to obey the law whilst resident in South Africa.

●However concerns are being taken to encourage companies to ensure that they comply. Some officials have already been prosecuted for flouting company regulations especially on the requirements that a company should employ minimum 60%South African especially in the hospitality industry.

● We encouraged that communities in Altrege, Pretoria West refused to join the few marchers that attempted to engage them in protest. We are also happy that a rally against foreigners in Johannesburg flopped. This shows that these protest acts are being driven by a few and isolated individuals and groups.

● Keep calm as there are no South Africans planning to fight or remove foreigners whether they are documented, illegal or not.

●President Jacob Zuma is also committed to securing the safety and human dignity of all people in South Africa including immigrants.

●South Africa will try to resolve immigration issues especially undocumented immigrants. It is for this reason that we issued special permits for Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

●South Africans are not xenophobes.

● Don't share videos, voice notes, newsclips, pictures and from past xenophobics of 2008 and 2015 attacks, as they alarm, cause panic, incite and worsen the already volatile situation.

Help government with positive statements.

No one has died from the recent attacks in Johannesburg or Pretoria.

● I rebuked the mayor of Johannesburg for his criminal utterances against foreigners. We will not allow any political leader at any level to issue statements that promote feelings of xenophobia.

● We are changing the immigration laws not to make them protectionists or close the borders of South Aftica but to attend to the gaps in the law.
we will not profile anyone or any country.

Mthwakazi Republic Party condemns President Mugabes lavish birrhday

2017-02-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

Mthwakazi Republic Party condemns the closing of schools by Dokora

Mthwakazi Republic Party condems the bullying spirit exhibited by ZANU PF with its decision to stop the academic activities in Mthwakazi to celebrate the gukurahundist doomed birthday. We want to put it clear that the 21st movement reminds us about the birth of dictator who cold bloodedly killed our loved ones.

We are not surprised by the decision undertaken by the doomed minister of primary and secondary education Lazarus Dokora who have demonstrated that he is after destroying the education of our region. The most painful aspect is that, these ZANU PF monsters have not stopped the academic activities in Mashonaland.

We further condemn the use of schools to accommodate ZANU PF thugs to camp at schools haunting communities. We further condemn the activities of state security agents who are going around forcing people to attend the birthday against their will. We further condemn forcing advanced level students around Mthwakazi to attend this gukurahundist bash against their own will. May God fight for us in these evil days.

We further urge our people to disassociate themselves from participating on this evil birthday in the history of humanity. The party is ashamed of Mugabe who have no guts to come in the graves of the people whom he initiated their deaths to celebrate in the name of birthday celebrations. Our people condems this event with strongest terms possible.

Mthwakazi Republic Party mocks this foolish government who spend millions of tax payers money to fund this useless event with no national significance. ZANU PF is full of fools how can a party squander millions to celebrate the gukurahundist
at the expense of more than 5 million people in urgent need of food aid. ZANU PF is shame supported by doomed people. Once again our people should not attend this nonsensical purposeless event.

Yithi abantu !!!!!! Abantu yithi !!!!!

HLONIPHANI NCUBE
SECRETARY GENERAL

SA Home Affairs Minister Gigaba condems. reckless acts of Xenophobia

2017-02-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

MEDIA BRIEFING BY HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER MALUSI GIGABA ON TENSIONS BETWEEN CITIZENS AND FOREIGN NATIONALS: CAPE TOWN
23 February 2017
As in other parts of the world, immigration has taken a centre stage in the life of the nation.
On the global stage, immigration has proven to be an emotive and contentious issue. It has been used to divide global citizens, with the view that it poses a serious threat and socio-economic challenges for receiving countries.
South Africa is not unique in this regard. Many countries are wrestling with anti-immigrant sentiments. Its manifestations may be seen in some of the issues affecting communities, and are discernible also in the issues exploited to perpetrate criminal activities.
This is to a large measure a complex and delicate matter. Reckless abandonment of the core values of Ubuntu will only lead us into a clumsy and irresponsible reaction. We must respond in a humane and lawful manner, taking into cognizance the genuine frustrations of communities, while remaining mindful of tempers likely to spark violence and other acts of criminality.
There will be no progressive and sustainable victory in xenophobic violence. Opportunistic individuals who partake in it erode the human face we have struggled very hard to acquire. While a more measured approach may not make me the most popular politician, I believe it is the right thing to do.
Our democracy enshrines our hard-earned human rights. We are first and foremost humans. This reality cannot be diluted by your country of origin or what documents you hold, or lack thereof. Humanity, within the context of our Constitution, is not only a cultural prescription of Ubuntu, it is also about legal compliance, and respect for rights of all persons.
Law and order are therefore critical factors when we talk about migration. We must address matters raised by communities, in a legal framework, while ensuring, at all times, they also raise matters within the confines of the law.
Unfortunately, xenophobic violence is not new in South Africa. The country first experienced xenophobic violence in 2008, with attacks on foreign nationals mainly in Gauteng (Alexandra, Diepsloot and Tembisa) and the Western Cape.
The 2008 attacks were investigated by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). According to the SAHRC, among the reasons for the violence were the following:
· Poor relations between local residents and key officials dealing with informal settlements,
· Corruption and indifference of leaders,
· Police unable to deal with attacks, and,
· Capacity problems, for those providing effective remedy and promotion of access to justice.
In 2015, another wave of attacks was seen in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. It was sparked by a labour dispute over the employment of foreign nationals at the KwaJeena Store in Isipingo.
Among the recurring themes had been contestation over scarce resources in a climate of unemployment, poverty and other socio-economic challenges.
Currently, in 2017, there are renewed incidents of violence against foreign nationals in Rosettenville and Pretoria West.
There are also communities agitating against foreign nationals. In this regard, a protest march is planned for the 24th of February 2017, in the Pretoria CBD by the Mamelodi Concerned Residents. Disgruntlement raised by communities is around competition for jobs, access to economic opportunities and alleged criminal activities involving foreign nationals; these include drug peddling and prostitution.
I have met with protest organisers and have appealed to them to express themselves responsibly.
Government responded speedily to the latest outbreak of violence. We have directed all security officials to be visible in communities and to objectively deal with criminality, regardless of whether it is committed by a South African or a foreign national.
We led a government delegation, with the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, to Rosettenville on Monday 13 February, to make sure that law enforcement agencies are responding to issues raised by communities, and to encourage dialogue between communities and the authorities. Arrests have been made, among others, for alleged drug peddling and acts of public violence.
We called for visible and effective policing, precisely because, failure to respond would be irresponsible in the extreme, as it would serve further to fuel tensions among communities.
We called for compliance with the Constitution and other laws of the Republic, by citizens and foreign nationals. We prioritised documentation of persons in South Africa, and deportation of those who are undocumented. This message to act responsibly, had been conveyed also to businesses in the country, starting with those in the hospitality sector, pointing to the folly and dangers of failing to comply with the laws of the Republic. Business is a critical partner in managing anti-immigrant sentiments and more will be expected of them.
In many cases business incentivises irregular migration, and those contributing to questionable labour practices must be held to account. It is far easier and convenient for some to target desperate and vulnerable migrants than the unscrupulous employers who deliberately fuel tensions in the labour market. It is easier and convenient to target dwellers of rundown buildings than irresponsible buildings’ owners.
In this regard, a paradigm shift has been adopted, we will now target unethical businesses that employ illegal practises.
Government is working with business on these issues, to ensure compliance, employment of locals and harmonious relationships desired for development, economic growth and empowerment of citizens. This work started before Rosettenville. As explained, businesses are a critical factor in some of the challenges. They should not fuel tensions, playing locals against foreigners, but should be on the side of the law.
We have a commitment of the hospitality sector on the need to comply with SA’s labour and immigration laws, especially the requirement to employ a minimum 60% of local people. This is the message we are taking to the rest of business, and will feature strongly in our upcoming meetings. There will be workplace inspections and penalties for employing undocumented foreigners will be imposed.
We are making inroads, also in this respect. A total of 63 people who were employed by the Spar without documentation were arrested at 3 Spar supermarkets. Of these, 19 females are detained at Pretoria Noord SAPS and 36 males plus 9 females are detained at Kameeldrift SAPS. The breakdown for these arrests is as follows:
· 19 females and 28 males arrested at Montana Spar, and the Manager was charged,
· 6 females and 9 males were arrested at Zambezi Spar, the Manager will be charged,
· 1 arrest at Doornpoort Spar, here the Manager was not available,
I have directed my office to set up a meeting with the management of Spar to discuss labour issues.
Government is deeply concerned about outbreaks of violence, which may result in loss of life and/or damage to property. This is why Cabinet has firmly pronounced on this matter, and has expressed full support to ourselves and the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster to move speedily in resolving these issues to the satisfaction of communities.
Plenty of work has been done to improve our management of migration and this is not a mere knee jerk reaction to sporadic xenophobic violence. We have been diligently, and perhaps quietly, improving our management of migration. Our measured rhetoric on our immigration work is a deliberate attempt at avoiding populism that may be misconstrued and fuel tensions.
We communicated our interventions and approach to Mayor Mashaba. I directed the DDG of immigration to be available to the mayor following our first meeting, I pressed upon him the importance of allowing our technocrats to do the work without the sensationalism we politicians may bring to issue.
While I have been critical on the approach, I must commend him for his more measured statement condemning xenophobia. While we have different approaches, I am confident that none of us want to be responsible for any public violence or loss of life.
I hold the view that we can better manage migration in a humane and responsible manner.
It is important for the Department of Home Affairs, and law enforcement agencies, to understand the matters raised and make communities aware of how we are tackling them.
I will share with you interventions we have undertaken since 2008.
We have documented, through the Zimbabwe Special Permit (ZSP) and the Lesotho Special (LSP) Permit dispensations, those who were in South Africa without documentation. This is helping in knowing who is in the country. As a result of the special dispensation, it is possible to get to higher levels of documentation in the country. Documentation also reduces the possibility of labour exploitation and abuse, which in turn facilitates fairness in the labour market.
We have made improvements at Marabastad Refugee Reception Centre, now called Desmond Tutu Reception Centre. This was to combat corruption and bribery, and we are also turning the tide against those people who are not supposed to go to the centre, as they burden the asylum system.
President Jacob Zuma launched Desmond Tutu on Friday, 17 February 2017, thus opening to the world its cutting-edge technology featuring an automated booking system that’s already transforming the way South Africa receives and processes asylum applications, with less queues and extremely constrained breath-line for bribery, fraud and corruption.
We have initiated a comprehensive review and development of a new policy of international migration, to replace the outdated 1999 White Paper. A new White Paper is being finalised and will be presented to Cabinet in March 2017. This is a bold move forward.
Bearing in mind timelines for completing the legislative process, we have taken the Refugee Amendment Bill to Parliament. Its benefits are to ensure protection of genuine asylum seekers, and to curb exploitation of the system by economic migrants who capitalise on loop-poles in legislation.
We have initiated the establishment of a border management authority, for coordinated, secure and efficient management of the borderline and ports of entry. It is important to move beyond stumbling-blocks and speedily establish this Border Management Authority.
Our department is pushing aggressively to have capacity boosted and systems developed, including in Immigration Management Services. This is an issue we are raising with the Portfolio Committee and the National Treasury.
The capacity of the inspectorate unit is far too low, with only 750 inspectors nationally compared to the city of London, in the UK, which has 3000 inspectors.
The inspectorate has to ensure persons in South Africa are correctly documented, reside in the country on a lawful basis and acquire documents and status lawfully. It has standardised systems relating to the detection, detention and deportation of illegal foreign nationals.
A total of 33 339 persons were deported during the 2015/16 financial year.
We are working with the police to synergise resources.
We have worked closely with the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration, established after the 2015 incidents and chaired by the Minister in the Presidency, Minister Jeff Radebe. IMC intervention strategies have included intensive crime-combating and prevention operations planned and executed in all provinces, targeted at hot-spot areas.
These operations were inter-departmental in nature. They focused, among other pillars, on illicit drug trafficking and contraband, undocumented migrants, human trafficking and prostitution, hijacking and illegal occupation of buildings, unlicensed businesses, illegal firearms and management of RDP houses.
I have listed the work our government is doing to better manage migration, I seek to dispel the sensational narrative that government is doing nothing.
Migration matters should be handled delicately. Members of the public must be responsible, not to undo the work we are doing. We are of the view that the implementation of the strategic framework of the IMC on Migration is still relevant, and, if implemented, would help prevent outbreaks of attacks on foreigners as it goes to the root causes of the violence.
The dynamics of migration, crime, drugs, prostitution, fraud and unfair labour practices are too serious to be turned into populists politicking. It is important always to be careful in the narratives we push in the public space. A democratic state bears the responsibility to save lives and to protect rights of persons. I wish to appeal to all South Africans to desist from rhetoric or actions that are xenophobic. I also want to commend the many responsible South Africans who have been a living testament to Ubuntu and tolerance.
South Africa is amongst the most diverse countries in the world, we are a host to multiple nationalities from the world. I reject any insinuation or assertion seeking to cast us as mere xenophobes.
We have challenges, South Africa remains the most diverse country on the continent and is by many measures a beacon of tolerance and human rights.
I thank you.
For media enquiries contact. This story was first posted by Cde Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena!

Ukudla kwesintu

2017-02-22T19:42:00.001-08:00

Recipe.
Ingredients:

lusu
Mathumbu
Onion
Tomato
Cooking oil
Seasoning..salt, pepper( optional)

Method
Wash lusu and mathumbu thoroughly
Cut lusu into pieces
Tie lusu ngamathumbu

Boil for 2 hours or until kuvuthwe
Throw in diced tomato and onion kuxhwathe ndawonye...

Serve with isitshwala/ phuthu. Ilotshwe nguPrudence JZ Moyo egwalweni lwefeshhuku

South African black citizen's anger over jobs totally misplaced!

2017-02-21T19:15:00.003-08:00

REPOST
Trevor Noah Posts

There are about 2.3 million Immigrants living in South Africa, this number includes other Africans, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Indians, middle easterners and Europeans who are not born in SA. out of this number, only 1.6 million are Africans. The 1.6 MILLION Africans mostly run small shops, vending, service industries etc. They may lay claim to less than 0.00001% of wealth in SA.
Whites in South Africa makes up about 8.7% of the population and controls over 85% wealth. Though there are increases in black CEOs and managers, these are mere servants and just a optical presentations. There are about 6000 Europeans families who own over 85% of agricultural lands in south Africa. So when I hear south Africans claiming that other Africans are competing with them on dwindling/scarce resources, I say that your anger and outrage is misplaced. African immigrants don't own lands, don't run companies, don't own mining companies, don't operate trophy hunting companies, do not ship out capital to European banks.

Yours is a complete misplaced anger, prejudice and xenophobia built up out of inferiority complex created by decades of apartheid and oppression. I don't see fellow African as a competitor but a fellow compatriot who is struggling to feed his family and have some comfort in this short life-time. If you feel undeserved in wealth distribution, please research again who controls that wealth and it has nothing to do with some Nigerian, Zimbabwean or Mozambican working in a restaurant or Ethiopian running a small shop, or a Ghanaian mechanic working hard in the sun.

There is zero excuse to hate or despise any African at all, there are no merits for it and it's baseless at best. When African Immigrants living in SA start owning like 20% of wealth and not hiring SA natives, then I will be on the streets with you to protest. Till then, if you hate fellow African for simply running a simple store, you are nothing but a buffoon, imbecile who was prematurely circumcised and never grew up. Base your hate on facts, not inferiority complex. That's all.

Communist Mabhena rebukes Dr Churhill Guduza on Nkomo!

2017-02-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

22 February 2017.

Open letter to the leadership of Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF).

Ref: In Defence of Dr Joshua Mqabuko KaNyongolo Nkomo.

Dear Dr Churchill Guduza - Deputy President of MLF and Cde Crispen Nyoni - Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Acting Spokesperson.

Revolutionary greetings comrades!

I hope this letter finds you well comrades. I might say, it has been very difficult for me to write this open letter to yourselves. I have known you for a long time and have high respect for your commitment to the struggle for freedom. While we hold different political views, l still find it refreshing to always engage yourselves on matters that affect our region and our nation.

While l hold the view that , the late Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo was never a saint ,and might have committed political mistakes in his live, l find your characterisation of him shocking.

In your criticism of the decision by the Mthwakazi Republic Party to participate in the up coming 2018 Zimbabwean election, you seem to blame our late liberation icon for not taking, what you call, political advice from the late Chief Khayisa Ndiweni. You seem to insinuate that, had Dr Nkomo followed the advice of Chief Ndiweni, we would not have found ourselves in this political , economic, social , cultural mess we are in.

In your long article to the MRP, you wrote ;
" It is common and undisputed historical knowledge that Mthwakazi and Mashonaland were separate countries. They existed differently from each other. Never were there elections that included the Mthwakazi peoples to have her bungled together with Mashonaland in the 1920s. The decision was done by the instruments of the colonizer.Understanding of this brief reality is where the leadership of Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo should have begun its formative years. But it did not! Instead it emerged away from the historical context with an alien paradigm shift and focus.

Authoritative information is that, in 1979, the leader of Zapu, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo was advised by Chief Khayisa Ndiweni to take over the reins of Mthwakazi only, and let Mugabe and his crew to get their side. We have learned that Dr Nkomo refused that offer out rightly and instead accused Chief Khayisa Ndiweni of being a puppet. A puppet, really, when Chief Khayisa Ndiweni had come up with a solution to the Rule by Conquest in Mthwakazi! "

My letter to you does not seek to contest or engage on the construction of African States since the Berlin conference of 1884, which divided Africa into colonies without our input in the construction of new boundaries. It is common cause comrades, that the Berlin conference separated families using rivers as boundaries. Tswana families in Botswana and South Africa (North West) , the Venda families in Beitbridge and Musina, Swati families in Swaziland and South Africa, just to name a few, are victims of the creation of the colonial borders by the imperialists forces and colonialists. A proper study of these boundaries across our continent will show how Africa was partitioned into smaller states to advance the interests of imperialists forces and the resulted family separation.

The destruction of the Ndebele /Mthwakazi Kingdom was as a result of colonialism. While it is correct that , before colonialism , we did not have these boundaries, the construction of our societies was based on military supremacy and conquest.

The Zulu nation was born through military conquest including the Mthwakazi State itself. I will not bore you with historical background on the construction of States before and after colonialism. What is of interest to me is how revolutionaries in Africa reacted to this partitioning of Africa , the looting of our resources, slavery , colonialism. You will know comrades, that wars of resistance against the colonisers were fought using spears against the Maxim gun. The colonialists had far superior weapons than us , this led to our defeat. Our defeat did not mean surrender, we had to develop new strategies and tactics in fighting the colonialists. One of the key strategies we developed ,was the mobilisation of the masses under the banner of what is called, revolutionary liberation movements.

The revolutionary liberation movements understood clearly that , only unity of the African people across tribes , was key in the fight against colonialism and imperialism. Our forefathers acknowledged the partitioning of Africa and the threat it had in uniting black people across the continent in the fight against colonialism. It was thus resolved that, the liberation movement would respect the new colonial boundaries without any changes to them. This basically meant that, in our case, we had to wage the struggle from Zambezi to Limpopo, Ramaquabane to the boundary with Mozambique. This as we all know, constituted what was latter known as Southern Rhodesia.

The OAU at its founding summit resolved to support the then Southern Rhodesia and other African States that were still under colonial occupation.

On Southern Rhodesia, the OAU in 1963 resolved among others, " ......Reaffirms its support of African nationalists of Southern Rhodesia and solemnly declares that if power in Southern Rhodesia were to be usurped by a racial white minority government, State members of the conference would lend their effective moral and practical support to any legitimate measures which the African nationalists leaders may devise for the purpose of recovering such power and restoring it to the African majority ; the Conference also UNDERTAKES henceforth to concert the efforts of its Members to such members to take such measures as the situation demands against any State according to recognition to minority government".

Indeed ,Africa supported the liberation movement in the then Southern Rhodesia. The OAU resolution was adopted before Robert Mugabe became leader of ZANU and before the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Ian Douglas Smith on 11 November 1965. What is critical to state comrades is that, when the OAU made this resolution, Dr Nkomo was the leader of the liberation movement.

Dr Nkomo as a leader of a Pan Africanist, Marxist - Leninist liberation movement , ZAPU, understood the importance of unifying the African people around a common agenda for liberating the oppressed African people and the need of building international support in engaging in the struggle against colonialism.

Comrades, in your article to MRP, you argue that Dr Nkomo did not take advice from Chief Khayisa Ndiweni in 1979 at the Lancaster House talks in London. Unfortunately, you elected to tell us about the advice to Dr Nkomo by Chief Ndiweni without telling is who Chief Ndiweni was or the role he played (if any) in liberating black people from the yoke of colonialism.

It should be noted that , Chief Khayisa Ndiweni was the Deputy President of Zimbabwe United Peoples Organisation( ZUPO) whose President was Chief Jeremiah Chirau. This party was established in 1976.

The Zimbabwe United Peoples Organisation (ZUPO) advocated for a peaceful and negotiated transition from white minority rule to black majority rule. It further advocated for an increase in power to the traditional Chiefs , removal of racial discrimination and opposed the nationalisation of the industries ( means of production).

In other words, if the white minority regime granted powers to the Chiefs without changing the material conditions of the working class and the poor, Chief Ndiweni was going to be a happy man. Chief Ndiweni also saved in the colonial parliament ,occupying benches which were reserved for black people who agreed to be co-opted into the colonial system.

In 1978, Chief Ndiweni left ZUPO to form United National Federal Party (UNFP).
In April 1979, Chief Ndiweni's party contested the Zimbabwe Rhodesia elections.The internal settlement was opposed by the liberation movements and the entire progressive forces across the globe. In those elections, Chief Ndiweni's party won 9 seats , while the United African National Congress (UANC) of Bishop Abel Muzorewa won 51 seats, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) of Rev Ndabaningi Sithole won 12 seats and the Rhodesian Front (RF) of Ian Smith won 28 seats reserved for whites.

You will know comrades that , any black person who participated in the 1979 elections was betraying the struggle for independence. After the Lancaster House agreement, Chief Ndiweni's party participated in the 1980 elections and got zero seats.

Surely what advice would Dr Nkomo , the leader of a Pan Africanist , Marxist - Leninist liberation movement would have taken from Chief Ndiweni, a man who only fought for the increase of the Chiefs perks by the white minority regime not the liberation of black people? The truth is, Dr Nkomo was a victim of imperialists forces who supported ZANU in 1980. I have already given evidence on how ZANU was created by the imperialists in 1963 and how Britain helped Mugabe to win elections in 1980, in my open letter to President Mugabe dated 15 February 2017. I will not repeat that in your letter comrades, only to say, Chief Ndiweni did not understand the nature of our liberation struggle and the class character of ZAPU as a revolutionary liberation movement.

We know comrades that, Chief Ndiweni was not the only traditional leader who collaborated with our colonisers. During apartheid in South Africa, the regime created homelands to confine black people in their tribal land as a means of defeating black unity and black consciousness.

Historically, the white minority regime used traditional leaders to divide the people. This is the strategy that the Mugabe regime has perfected over the years. Our traditional leaders are used as political commissars by ZANU (PF). They are paid allowances, compete with elected ward councillors in doing community work.

In wards where ZANU (PF) lost elections, the regime uses the Chiefs to advance its agenda. Food , farm inputs distribution and other developmental projects are channeled through a local Chief. This programme is planned and supervised by the office of the district administrator which falls under the Ministry of Local government . The traditional leadership in Zimbabwe has been coopted into the ZANU(PF) commissariat department as was the case during the white minority rule.

It might help comrades to understand why the political project of Chief Ndiweni failed ,by drawing parallels with that of Prince Mangosuthi Buthelezi of South Africa.

As you will know comrades, Prince Buthelezi is the traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation. He used Zulu nationalism to rally the Zulus behind his political project. He took advantage, by becoming a key advisor to his then young nephew who was installed as the Zulu King at the age of 23 years of age in December 6 1971, His Majesty the Zulu King.

He used his family ties to the Zulu King to his advantage and mobilised the entire Zulu speaking around his political project , something that Chief Ndiweni did not have access to .When the Kingdom of King Lobengula fell in 1893, the Khumalo clan did not install his successor up to this day. This meant that, as a paramount Chief, Chief Ndiweni did not have the kind of access to the Ndebele /Mthwakazi people as was Prince Buthelezi within the Zulu nation.

While Chief Buthelezi joined the ANC as a young man, a liberation movement led by Chief Luthuli at the time, Chief Ndiweni never joined ZAPU to offer support to the leadership of Dr Nkomo. When Prince Buthelezi founded Inkatha as a cultural organisation in 1975, Chief Ndiweni chose to be a Deputy President to Chief Chirau.

By the time Prince Buthelezi transformed his Inkatha to a political movement, he had built political base within the Zulu nation, he had so much influence in the governing of South Africa post 1994.

The introduction of Provincial Governments in South Africa was a political compromise to get the IFP to participate in the 1994 elections. You will recall that, the IFP pushed for federalism while the ANC was opposed to it. The compromise was the creation of the provinces as we know them today. Prince Buthelezi , whether one agrees with him or not, managed to create his own political space and he is still a member of the South African democratic parliament, something that Chief Ndiweni did not achieve. Why then do you blame Dr Nkomo for the political misfortunes of Chief Ndiweni?

In your article to MRP, you question why MRP is proposing a Republic as opposed to a Kingdom , in the process calling them , Zimbabwe Republic Party.

I do not elect to speak on behalf of the MRP since am not their member and l do not believe in their politics, my interest is on the insistence of the restoration of a Kingdom.

The two remaining Kingdoms in the SADC region , Swaziland and Lesotho , are known for political oppression (with respect to Swaziland) , instability, corruption and all the ills you can think of. The assumption to believe that, the defeat of what you call shonalism will result in the building of a better society, is a myth to say the least. If Kingdoms were the way to go,Swaziland and Lesotho would be an inspiration to all of us. The biggest challenge we have , is the looting of our wealth by the greedy thieves in Harare.

It does not matter if one is Mnangagwa or Obert Mpofu. They are the looters and they must be defeated together with their fascist regime ZANU (PF).

The restoration of Mthwakazi does not mean , wealth will be fairly distributed amongst the working class and the poor. It is only when the working class control the decisive means of production for to drive back the frontiers of poverty in our society.

I have had the misfortune of assisting victims of xenophobia attacks in South Africa ,both Ndebele and Shona speaking. In 2008, we assisted in the repatriation of the bodies of the victims of xenophobia attacks ,some who came from my own home district in Umzingwane (Nswazi village).

Xenophobia does not discriminate in terms of ethnicity, it attacks everyone who is said to be a foreign national in South Africa. As l write to you, we are getting xenophobia attacks threats in Mamelodi, Deepsloot and in other areas. When we poor people compete for resources in communities, we elect not to confront the capitalist nature of our society but blame other poor Africans for taking other peoples jobs.

What we need comrades, though l know you will not agree with me, is to preserve the political legacy Dr Joshua Nkomo, of uniting black people against imperialism and defeating the colonial legacy which still exist in our society. We must fight the fascist regime in Harare as led by Robert Mugabe and his political thugs, only then can we begin to ask ourselves this critical question; how do we distribute wealth to everyone? I believe in the creation of a Socialist Zimbabwe while you believe in the Restoration agenda. We can continue to engage than seeking to undermine the revolutionary role played by Umdala Wethu during the struggle against colonialism and imperialism.

Let us remember the words of Steve Biko, when he said ,"“Black Consciousness is in essence the realization by the black man of the need to rally together with his brothers around the cause of their oppression.”

Yours Comradely
Cde Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena
A political activist and a student of Marxism and Leninism.
Contacts - ngqabuthomabhena@gmail.com
This article first appered on Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena's Facebook page.

Mass grave discovered at Cowdry Park!

2017-02-19T04:59:00.001-08:00

A suspected gukurahundi mass grave discovered in Cowdray Park.

Mthwakazi Republic Party visited the Cowdray Park area popularly known as EMpompini after having been tipped off by the community about massive human remains discovery. This development comes after MRP 's president and other officials burried the remains of the dead at Matobo and there has been several calls by our people all over the region to come and offer them the similar assistance.

The officials who visited the scene are Hloniphani Ncube the Secretary General, Mbonisi Gumbo, the Secretary for information and publicity, Nqobani Ncube the Secretary for political Education. Upon our arrival in the scene we were shown two human remains who resurfaced because of the rains that the city experienced recently. It appears these bodies were just dumped in the area by the fifth brigade, a special force tasked by Mugabe, Mnangagwa and Shiri to kill our people and just dump them in an inhuman way, with no sense of decency and respect for the dead up to this day.

The estimate for this inhuman genocide is said to be more than 20 000, but as a party we feel the number is far beyond that.

The people who came to the scene upon our arrival indicated that, the people around the area built their houses on top of these mass graves unknowingly. They said they have reported so many cases of this nature and the Zimbabwe Republic Police officials would just come and take the remains and make them disappear just like that. As law abiding citizens and individuals seeking justice in our life time we requested the community to report this particular case so as to monitor the reaction of the ZRP with a record of brutality.

It is a shame that since 1987 the period in which gukurahundi genocide was physically ended to the Matebeleland people, the Mthwakazi territory, no investigations or an inquiry to the matter has been undertaken. In our own estimation that Cowdray Park mass grave must be having more than 2500 bodies judging by the space and bodies that have just surfaced on top of that area.

The communities indicated that, they could not report to the MDC T councillor because the fellow stays at Mahatshula. In his term he has done practically nothing tangible. The state of the roads is at its poorest. There is poor drainage system at Cow Dray Park and in some instances no bridges especially into the new stands and during the rain season children do not go to school. This is not a surprise because MDC T is just a ZANU PF project and since it's inception it has further deteriorated the situation in Bulawayo and the last being the millions of dollars which they looted through stands scandals and nothing was done because the majority were Shona people sent on a mission to destroy our region.

We call our people to resoundingly out vote them come 2018 and choose the people's party which is non other than Mthwakazi Republic Party that would automatically free Mthwakazi. The only thing or way to attain our independence is to restore our nation and do our own inquiry on gukurahundi genocide.

Yithi abantu !!!!!!!! Abantu yithi !!!!!!

Hloniphani Ncube

(Secretary General)

Who are the Dlodlos and where so they cone from?

2017-02-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

Dlodlo was a son of Mehlomakhulu, Mehlomakhulu son of Mpangazitha, Mpangazitha son of Bhungane (Rhadebes/Hadebes), the home of Mehlomakhulu was in Natal (eMtshezi namanje lise lapho kubusa u Muziwenkosi ka Tatazela ka Siyephuka Lang'alibalele ka Mthimkhulu, Mthimkhulu brother of Mpangazitha)...
who is Mpangazitha?

AmaHlubi Amahle
Izibongo zenkosi u-Mpangazitha Bhungane.
"Unina ngu Makhambehlala intombi ka Mdlini
wakwa Kheswa."
Ngu Mpangazitha wabo Jobe,
U-Zulu liyasa liyasibekela,
U-Mtatamb' onje ngelipezulu,
Lona ladl' umnt 'alabekwa mlandu.
Yi-Ngidi ka Zikode no Dlomo -
Eyathi gidi phakathi komhlaba
Phakathi kwezika Nquma le Ndubaludaka,
Zath' izizwe zonke zabikelana.
Ngu-Fohloza ngenduk' enobuchopo;
Nguyena Mbuyisa sizwe.
Amajub' amabil' ase Ntlongwazana
Elinye liwucomb untusikazi.
Ubuhle bomvemve ngingabuthandabuzela,
Ngathi bunxube-nxube ma-Hlubi
Abufani nobe nkanku,
Ngathi bona buphangel' ilanga.
U-Mzinz' onga mathunz' ezintaba
Zako Qhamana nezako Khamane.
Ngu-Mbhincisi wabafazi bakwa Mnqwazi
Nanamuhla' usababhincisa.
Ngu-Sixuma senxala
Esingaphezu ko-Lundi,
Phakathi komhlaba nezulu.
Ngu-Mana-mana njengemvula yehlobo
Yona enetha kuze kus' ijononoza
Njengentonga yethusi.
Yimbabala ka Mashiyi no-Dlomo.
Eyagweb' igijima
Ngu-Mpama zise mahlweni,
Ngokuphathazwa ngu Jobe no-Monakali.
Vuka nqina bakuhlanganisele!
U-Sondamase ngokwendel' amadoda
U-Mbamb' akabulali
Kanti nguy' obulalayo

THE WARS BETWEEN AMAHLUBI AND AMANGWANE
In the second decade of the nineteenth century the Ama-Hlubi were one of the largest and powerful tribes in Natal. All that was lacking with the Hlubis was the real cohesion. Chief Mpangazitha Head of
the Bhungane’s Right Hand House indlunkulu or indlu yokunene was practically independent of his half Brother Mthimkhulu II who was Bhungane’s heir and therefore the King of the Hlubi tribe. In times of danger however they united for mutual protection. In 1819 Hlubis occupied the valley of the Buffalo River as well as of its upper tributaries Ncandu and
Ngagane and their source close under the Drakensberg mountains-
There was no conflict between Tshaka and the Hlubis, but Tshaka certainly set other strong tribes against the Hlubis in order to dissipate of so formidable a tribe.
Another strong tribe that Tshaka feared were the Ama-Ngwane under Chief Matiwane. At the instigation of Tshaka the Ama-Ntshali under Chief Nkondlo and Abakwa- Mthethwa under chief Godongwane under whom Tshaka served, attacked Matiwane who could not resist a combination which became too strong for Him. He was ultimately defeated.
At the beginning of the Hostilities, Matiwane placed the cattle of his tribe of his immediate neighbour King Mthimkhulu II. When Hostilities were over, Matiwane sent for his cattle but Mthimkhulu refused to give them up. Chief Matiwane made no secret of his intention to attack the Hlubis for their treachery, and the Hlubis made preparations to meet the Ama-Ngwane. Both the great and the right hand sections of the Hlubis combined to resist
Matiwane under their respective chiefs Mthimkhulu and Mpangazitha. The Hlubis did their best to stem the attack, but Mthimkhulu fell and the Hlubis resistance withdrew away, they broke and fled. Mpangazitha with great portion of his force scaled the Drakensberg and fled to Basuthuland.
The second war was between King Tshaka and chief Matiwane. That was in 1821, chief Mpangazitha heard that his old enemy who enforced him to be in exile was at war with King Tshaka. He decided to be on the side of king Tshaka in order to revenge. Mpangazitha immediately ascended Drakensberg from the west, eager to assist in the destruction of a man who had caused, and enforced his exile for two years in BasutuLand – “Lesotho”. Tshaka’s army was called back when Matiwane’s army was driven beyond the Drakensberg. Over the mountains Matiwane’s army met Mpangazitha’s army. Both armies fought each other violently and descended the eastern slopes of the Drakensberg locked in deadly combat. They passed through Basotholand fighting until exhaustion compelled both combatants to stop. From that time these two tribes settled along the Caledon river – e- Rugwane. It was here in 1850 that the Hlubi was finally crushed and scattered by Matiwane’s Ama-Mangwane.
The battle was long and desperate. For five days it lasted but the battle became infavour of Ama-Mangwane. It was during this battle when Mpangazitha died. The Hlubis sought refuge with various tribes. One body under Mehlomakhulu the right hand son of Mpangazitha fled to territory of Mzilikazi(yibo laba abasizalayo abasidabulayo thina oDlodlo) another sought protection under the BasothoLand's Chief Moshweshwe. Others scattered far and wide. Mpangazitha’s son and heir chief Sidane together with a number of followers, escaped from the field of battle but had not gone far before he was surrounded by Mzilikazi’s army. He escaped during the night with his wife when he heard that Mzilikazi was planning to kill him. His Hlubis that remained behind were to
incorporated in Mzilikazi’s army.(yibo ababumba Amakhanda Amhlophe laMnyama)
Chief Sidane set out for for Gazaland Kwa Gasa where he did not stay very long. He eventually returned to Rugwane, the territory of the Hlubis old enemy chief Matiwane who ordered that he had to be immediately put to death for fear that the Hlubis who were conquered and incorporated into his army would rebel. Fortunately his descendants survived and it was in 1895 when Zibi the heir of Sidane was given by the Cape Goverment a portion of land in the district of Matatiele.
CHIEF MEHLOMAKHULU THE RIGHT HAND SON OF MPANGAZITHA
After his fathers death at Caledon river Mehlomakhulu attached himself as a surbodinate to chief Mzilikazi Khumalo the son of Mashobane. For sometime chief Mzilikazi treated Mehlomakhulu with consideration but realized that this young man was held in
great respect by Hlubis, he began to suspect that ultimately Meholmakhulu would dispute his authority and decided to get rid himself of so dangerous an officer, Mehlomakhulu learned that Mzilikazi was planning to kill him. The Hlubis advised him to escape. Before escaping they collected all the cattle, women and children during the night. They were followed by Mzilikazi’s army which had a large section of Hlubis who joined their own tribe
when the two armies were about to fight. Mzilikazi’s army was defeated. Mehlomakhulu’s name in consequence of his success, attained a certain fame. Hlubis scattered among different tribes rallied to his standard and it seemed as if the Hlubi tribe would again rise on the ashes of the past to something like its former importance. He accordingly set out for Natal but on reaching Natal he found Marwanqa one of Bhungane’s minor houses at
loggerheads with the paramount Chief Langalibalele. Mehlomakhulu attached himself forthwith to Marwanqa’s party and strain relations culminated in war. Marwanqa was defeated. Mehlomakhulu realized that the enmity he had caused, he then thereupon appealed to the British colonial Government which settled him in the district of Herschel in the Cape Town! It was in this district at Sterkspruit that I did my MPhil research in 2004. Thanks to Historian and Poet/ Pastor, Paul Damasane Bayethe writing on his Facebook page.

Mabhena's open Letter To President Robert Mugabe!

2017-02-15T18:19:00.001-08:00

15th February 2017.

Open Letter To President Robert Mugabe on the occasion of his 93rd birthday.

Dear President Robert Mugabe!

Your Excellence!

Our African tradition requires that, l congratulate you on your 93rd birthday irrespective of our political differences. As a practising Catholic yourself, l believe you are thanking His Almighty for a long life.

Your peers never lived to celebrate this milestone in your life. Some died in the hands of the colonialists during the liberation struggle, others died during your rule due to poverty following the neo liberal policies that your regime implemented over the years ,while others died during Gukurahundi , which in your own words, "was a moment of madness". I therefore find it difficult to wish you a happy birthday but as tradition requires , l say to you, happy birthday Cde President. In IsiNdebele we say, " akusilima sindlebende kwaso", this basically means, despite your "moment of madness" you are still one of us - an African.It is in that African spirit that, l have chosen to write you this open letter.

Some few years back, the ZANU(PF) Youth League adopted, through your advice a political programme known as the '21st February Movement'. This 21st Movement is meant to coincide with your birthday, it is on this day that young people in Zimbabwe and abroad are expected to celebrate your political ideas as articulated by yourself as leader of ZANU since its inception and your leadership of an independent Zimbabwe. Over the years, the 21st Movement had sought to confer a cult status on you. We have seen the hero worshiping of you by members of your party. Some have even gone to call you 'the second Son of God'. This cultism was rejected by Cde Fidel Castro, the father of scientific socialism. At the funeral of Cde Fidel , the Cuban President , Cde Raul Castro said,“The leader of the revolution rejected any manifestation of a cult of personality and was consistent in that through the last hours of his life, insisting that, once dead, his name and likeness would never be used on institutions, streets, parks or other public sites, and that busts, statutes or other forms of tribute would never be erected,”

The 21st Movement has nothing to do with the Zimbabwean struggle against colonialism and imperialism, but has everything to do with a selfish individual who seek personal glory at the expense of poor Zimbabweans who gave their all for the liberation of our people, of whom some paid the ultimate price. As the ZANU (PF) Youth League gather in Matobo district, Matabeleland South in a few days time to sing your praises, its critical for me and other progressive Africans to unpack your political ideas and what they mean to the youth of today.

You will agree with me Cde President that we can not separate your political ideas from those of your party ZANU (PF). You will recall Cde President, that as a young man teaching in Ghana, you were inspired by the Ghanian independence to an extent that you joined the only authentic liberation movement ZAPU, a broad nationalist liberation movement at the time, supported by the Soviet Union, Cuba and other Communist countries. ZAPU at the time was in alliance with the ANC and other progressive liberation movements.

As you will recall Cde President, this was during the Cold War, where the imperialists as led by the Americans and the British were engaged in struggle , seeking to limit the influence of Soviet Union in Sub Saharan Africa. The imperialists used the CIA as a tool in destabilising the liberation movements through splits and by sharing intelligence information with colonial governments in arresting the political leadership as was the case with Cde Nelson Mandela and others. The arrest of President Nelson Mandela in 1962 on his way from Durban was part of the imperialist plot which sought not only to derail the revolutionary liberation movement but to fight communists. Agence France -Presse writes - "A tip from a CIA spy to authorities in apartheid-era South Africa led to Nelson Mandela’s arrest, beginning the leader’s 27 years behind bars, a report said on Sunday.

Donald Rickard, a former US vice-consul in Durban and CIA operative, told British film director John Irvin that he had been involved in Mandela’s arrest in 1962, which was seen as necessary because the Americans believed he was “completely under the control of the Soviet Union”, according to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper.
“He could have incited a war in South Africa, the United States would have to get involved, grudgingly, and things could have gone to hell,” Rickard said.
“We were teetering on the brink here and it had to be stopped, which meant Mandela had to be stopped. And I put a stop to it.” It is the Americans and their British friends who characterised the ANC as a terrorist movement. This is the liberation movement which inspired nationalists in Zimbabwe to embark on revolutionary journey by establishing the UNDP which latter changed to ZAPU following the unbanning of the UNDP. At the time Cde President, you were the Secretary of Information and Publicity in ZAPU.

The CIA had to infiltrate other liberation movements and governments to exert the imperialist influence. It was during this period that Congo's liberation hero Cde Patrice Lumumba was assassinated and the imperialists installed their man, Mobuto . In Mozambique and Angola , the imperialists created and funded Renamo and Unita respectively. In our case, the imperialists used some of our leaders to split the liberation movement in 1963. You are one such leader who broke away from ZAPU to join ZANU, a reactionary movement. A reactionary movement is characterised by thuggery , lack of organisational discipline, looting of resources, killing of those who hold different political views, advances the imperialist agenda. This defines ZANU from the days of the liberation struggle up to date.

You will recall Cde President that, the 1963 split was not based on ethnicity but was influenced by the West. The CIA recruited some of our intellectuals who caused the split, in the process raising the tribal card as a way of dividing our people. Your government has over the years taught lies in our schools claiming that, Dr Nkomo never wanted to commit to the liberation struggle hence the split. It is common cause Cde President that, ZANU was created by the imperialists in 1963 with the sole purpose of installing a puppet government. This imperialist political project paid off in 1980 when you were sworn into office on the 18th April 1980 as the Prime Minister of an independent Zimbabwe. Your "victory" in 1980 was celebrated by the imperialists.

The then American diplomat Andrew Young, said that your victory was a victory for the Western diplomacy as your victory would push back the Soviet influence in our region. When vote rigging was reported to Margret Thacher in 1980 and was asked to nullify the results, she refused. To her and others , Britain could not just hand over political power to the black people but she had the responsibility of handing over political power to a man who would protect British interests in a newly independent Zimbabwe.

You became that man Cde President until the Conservatives lost power in Britain in 1997 and you could not be trusted by the Labour Party as led by Tony Blair. When you assumed political office in 1980, your cabinet became the managers of British business interests ,whipping into line the workers, ensuring that the workers struggle for better working conditions and a living wage was defeated. You facilitated the formation of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) , appointed your late brother Albert Mugabe as its first Secretary General. The ZCTU was basically the organ of your party. It began to fight for autonomy and independence after your government attempted to force through the one party state, corruption, and the introduction of the neo liberal Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in 1991.

The whole idea of the 21st February Movement by the ZANU (PF) Youth League to indoctrinate our young people with what they call , your political ideas or to be specific, 'Mugabeism' is totally misplaced. The Robert Gabriel Mugabe l know is a creation of imperialist forces, who got dumped by his handlers as they did with Mobuto of Zaire and others. I was listening to you Cde President when you spoke of the late Brother Leader, Col Gaddafi in 2011 following his assassination by NATO and her allies. You seemed to offer wise counsel, that the mistake Brother Leader did was to trust the imperialists , not forgetting that your party ZANU and its entire leadership was created by the same imperialists in 1963.

I have had the opportunity to speak to my brothers and sisters in Johannesburg, who come from the rest of the Continent. They speak highly of you Cde President, they see you as a true Pan Africanist. I might say, you have done well in controlling the media and projecting yourself as a true champion against imperialism.

But your charm is fading away Cde President, one of the young leaders who once admired you, Julius Malema now says you are a 'national disaster" and we must declare you as such. His message is beginning to resonate with young people across the Continent who are fighting for economic and political freedom. One thing you did Cde President after you were dumped by your political handlers, the British and the Americans, you moved to the far left, typical of National bourgeoisies who are always in competition with imperialist forces for the control of our natural resources, not to the benefit of the masses , but for its selfish benefit. The looting of diamonds , our gold, our timber, our coal, our cattle, our money has been the hallmark of your leadership as you sought to prevent the imperialists from looting while ,you , your family and your political appointees continue to loot.

As you celebrate your 93rd birthday in Matobo, the whole nation is in mourning over the genocide you committed in the '80s in Matebeleland and parts of Midlands, over the collapsed economy, and over other evils associated with your leadership.

Our African custom does not allow young people like myself to give advice to an elderly person like yourself Cde President. I will stick to our tradition and customs by not giving you any advice. What l will do though, is to give political advice to the young people in your party who mistake you for a revolutionary. You are not and you have never been one.

My advice to the young people in your party is that, first and foremost, they must study Marxism and Leninism. One of the great revolutionaries Che Guevara says, "one of the things that young people must do, is to learn". The study of Marxism and Leninism will open their revolutionary eyes and begin to disassociate themselves from a reactionary movement like your party ,ZANU (PF) which they mistake for a revolutionary party. It is not revolutionary in character. A revolutionary party will never drive its citizens out of the country, it will instead transform the commanding heights of the economy to the benefit of the masses not to the benefit of its political leadership like yourself who buy holiday homes in the Far East or get medical treatment in foreign lands.

A revolutionary party advances, deepens and defends the struggle of the working class and the poor, it does not destroy the economy and force 94% of the working people into the informal economy who get abused by the military police on daily basis. Nor does a revolutionary party hold the peasants into hostage by destroying industries and agriculture ,then use food aid as a political weapon. The peasants in villages are not interested in food aid, they want to control the decisive means of production. They can not be given land without title deeds, how do they apply for agricultural loans?

A revolutionary party defends our sovereignty, rejects imperialism and national bourgeoisie. It advocates for peoples power in communities and the workplace. This is why a revolutionary party builds peoples power in communities and the working place. This political power must be used by the masses in electing their political representatives and reject this notion of building a centre of power to an individual as is the case in your party. The Freedom Charter says , among others, "...the people shall govern" , it does not say, "the leadership shall govern". Our own heroes , the likes of Makhathini Guduza, whom you denied hero status participated in the drafting of the Freedom Charter before they joined the liberation movement back home.

Cde President, let me once again wish you well as you celebrate your 93rd birthday amid poverty in our society. If l had my way, l would confine you to your village in Zvimba and allow you to celebrate your birthday with your family only. As you celebrate your birthday, as young revolutionaries, we get inspiration from the words of Cde Che Guevara who said, " Am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people shall liberate themselves". Indeed, we the people shall liberate ourselves from your dictatorship.

Yours Comradely,

Cde Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena

A political activist and a student of Marxism and Leninism.
Contact - +27 83 340 1000
Email - ngqabuthomabhena@gmail.com

UMzilikazi kaMatshobana

2017-02-14T19:28:00.001-08:00

Above: Lobhengula son of Mzilkazi kaMatshobana

UMzilikazi kaMatshobana*

Utshobatshoba lingangoyise uMatshobana
UMzilikazi kaMatshobana
Umkhatshwa wakoZimangele
Okhatshwe ngezind izinyawo langezifitshazanyana
wal ukudl umlenze koBulawayo
Inkubela abayihlabe ngamanxeb uZulu

Inyang abathi ifile Zulu
Kanti ithwasile
Ithwase ngonyakana kaMpeyana
Ubando abalubande balutshiya Zulu
Inkomo ezavulinqama ngezimpondo
Ngoba zavul iNgome zahamba
Wena owathi usagodla weluleka
Mzilawegazi kawulandelwa
Owulandelayo uyazibambelela
Kwahlehla uTshaka
Kwahlehla uDingane
Abanye bakhwela izintaba
Kwathi abofokazana bangena ezimbalwini
Bayethe, wena weZulu.

Utshobatshoba lingangoyis uMatshobana
Ibhidi elimnyama ngomlomo
Elithethwa ngezinyembezi zamadoda
Umfitshane wakithi onjobo kazinyathelwa
Kanti ezabade ziyanyathelwa
Ezabade nguTshaka kaSenzangakhona
Ezabade nguZwide kaLanga

Inkwenkwez ende ilesilimela
Ilang elaphum endlebeni yendlovu
Laphum amakhwezi abikelana
Umzaca omnyama otshayizinkomo, watshaya amadoda
Utshani bude busemahalihali
Bothi nyakana butshayo
Buyotsha lemitsha yamadoda
Imbabal egxakaz ematsheni
Iyesab inzipho zay ukonakala
Wemba ngomkhonto
Wemba ngenduku
Bayethe

Clebrating 100 Years Of Dr Nkomo's Life and influence!

2017-02-14T19:03:00.000-08:00

Celebrating 100 Years Of Nkomoism

ABOUT THE JOSHUA NKOMO CULTURAL MOVEMENT

The Joshua Nkomo Cultural Movement (JNCM) is a trust registered with the Deeds office of Zimbabwe in June 2014, established to promote our diverse cultural values and also stands to sustain and advance the legacy and vision of our cultural and international icon – Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo – Father Zimbabwe.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The JNCM will this year celebrate the 100th birthday of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, and is inviting all thechildren of the soil to participate in this landmark centenary celebration. The celebrations will be held at St Joseph’s, Kezi in Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe. The historic event will run under the theme Celebrating Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo’s Centenary through our Arts, Culture and Heritage”. People are encouraged to arrive at the venue on Friday the 9th of June 2017 for the programme that will officially start on Saturday the 10th of June 2017 continuing to the 11th of June 2017. We aim to mobilize 1 00 000 people to celebrate 100 years of Nkomoism.

THE ICON BEHIND THE MOVEMENT

Born on the 7th of June 1917, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, dedicated his life towards achieving his vision of aprogressive society of Zimbabwe where people live in unity, peace, love and tolerance. During his selfless revolutionary life, he exhibited unique leadership qualities that will forever be remembered by the people of Zimbabwe and his comrades worldwide. The JNCM has embarked on extensive preparations for the historic centenary celebrations. The local and international communities are invited to participate both in the preparations and on the day of the massive event.

MOBILIZATION

i) Chiefs

The Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Centenary Celebrations belong to the people, and the people through their traditional and community leaders, shall decide on how they want their event
run. The JNCM is engaging local government officials particularly Chiefs as part of efforts to make the Centenary an
inclusive event. A special request is made to the Chiefs to play a pivotal role in the establishment and the monitoring of preparatory committees within their constituencies who shall work on the following;

Gather gifts, contributions, food items and traditional brews
at community level.
Coordinate traditional performers to represent their
communities at the event.
Facilitate transport arrangements at community level to
ensure smooth traveling to the event and back.

ii) The Department of Arts Culture and Heritage

As we invite the Department of Arts, Culture and Heritage to partner with us, adopt the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Centenary Celebrationand encourage their arts, culture and heritage officers at district level to work closely with the chiefs and or communities to ensure their respective districts are represented at the event. The department is key in facilitating preparations of traditional meals, traditional dress codes and traditional performances to be presented by communities to the Centenary Celebrations.

MARKETING

The JNCM is applying diverse forms of marketing to reach out to both the local and international communities in order to achieve the targeted attendance of 100 000 people and the mobilization drive will go full swing from the month of February 2017. Preparatory meetings, consultative meetings and public meetings will be held countrywide continuously as part of awareness campaign activities spearheaded by the Joshua Nkomo Youth Movement.
All forms of media remain key role players, regalia containing Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo images and speeches, fliers, banners etc. are part of the marketing strategy for this massive event. Pictorial exhibitions and road shows are also lined up as a build up to the Centenary. The JNCM invites the public sector, the private sector and individuals both local and abroad to come on board and make the event a success.

ENTERTAINMENT

In line with the theme “Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Centenary Celebrations through our Arts, Culture and Heritage”, the entertainment programme will be dominated by traditional and cultural performances, Father Zimbabwe valued all our cultures in their diversity in our society therefore on this special day, as a society we shall celebrate our cultural diversity. All tribes in our society to take this opportunity and showcase their cultures. Storytelling, music, dance, drama and poetry will keep people entertained throughout the programme.

Partners and Stakeholders

Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo was an international icon, a liberator, one of the pioneers to the liberation struggle of Africa, a Commander in Chief, a cultural icon, a unifier a peace builder, a family man and Father Zimbabwe. The JNCM therefore recognizes various formations as part of the partners and stakeholders to the Centenary Celebrations, such will include the following:

The Government of Zimbabwe
Pioneers of the African Liberation Struggle
Liberation movements of Africa
Former Liberation Forces of Africa
The local and international business community
Cultural associations
NGOs
Churches
War Veterans Associations
Political organisations of Zimbabwe
Youth formations
Informal sector
Farmers
International organisations
Embassies
Community based organisations
Individuals
The Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo’s Family
Tertiary institutions and primary and secondary schools

A BRIEF HISTORY OF JOSHUA MQABUKO NYONGOLO NKOMO

Born Thursday 7 June 1917 in Tshimali-Kezi, his parents were Thomas Nyongolo Letswantso Nkomo and Mlingo Hadebe. He Completed standard six at Tsholotsho Industrial School and also obtained a carpentry certificate at the same institution. Joshua Nkomo later taught carpentry at the LMS run Manyame School in Kezi as well as Makupa and Ezimnyama schools near Plumtree. Eager to improve his carpentry qualifications, Nkomo enrolled at Adam’s College in Natal, South Africa, on his way to South Africa in 1942, he boarded the same train with Enoch Dumbutshena and Herbert Chitepo. While in South Africa he abandoned carpentry in favour of an academic career. On attaining University Junior Certificate (UJC) he proceeded to Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Science in Johannesburg graduating in 1949 with a BA degree in Economics and Social Science. While studying in South Africa, Joshua Nkomo befriended Nelson Mandela (founding father of South Africa) and Sir Seretse Khama (founding father of Botswana).

1949:

Joshua Nkomo he returned home and married Johanna Fuyana (Mafuyana). He joined the Rhodesian Railways as a social welfare officer based in Bulawayo. The post exposed him to huge salary differences between blacks and whites doing same jobs. Appalled by such injustices as well as generally poor social conditions under which Africans lived, Joshua Nkomo joined the trade union movement to fight against these conditions.

1951:
Joshua Nkomo was appointed Secretary of the Workers’ Association.

1952:
Joshua Nkomo was elected President of the African National Congress of Southern Rhodesia. He took advantage of his railways pass to travel throughout the country mobilizing people. The same year he accepted an invitation from Sir Godfrey Huggins, the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia to represent African opinion at the London
Conference on the proposed federation of the two Rhodesians and Nyasaland. Kenneth Kaunda and Hastings Kamuzu Banda represented Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland respectively. Joshua Nkomo returned home bitterly opposed to the proposals, but could make no impression in the face of overwhelming European support for the concept.

1954:

Joshua Nkomo resigned from the Rhodesian Railways in to start his own business as an auctioneer and insurance agent in Bulawayo becoming the first African to own such a venture.

1955:

Joshua Nkomo became the president of the African Worker’s Unions and inevitably propelled into national politics.

1958, Dec:

All African People’s Congress held in Ghana, interaction with other Liberation movements
around the world. Joshua Nkomo and other nationalists accepting armed struggle as an
alternative means of attaining independence.

1959:

The authorities in Southern Rhodesia declare the first State of Emergency, banned ANC
and detained 500 of its members. Cde Nkomo escaped because he was in Egypt at that
time. At the advice of Egyptian friends he opened an external office in London. For 18
months Joshua Nkomo travelled widely from his London base.

1960:

A new party, the National Democratic revolution was formed with Joshua Nkomo as President with the late Leopold Takawira, Morton Malianga, Ndabaningi Sithole and Robert Mugabe as executive members.

1961:

Nkomo led the NDP delegation of George Silundika, Ndabaningi Sithole and Herbert Chitepo to the Southern Rhodesia Constitutional Conference chaired by the Prime Minister Sir. Edgar Whitehead. The NDP rejected Sir Edgar’s franchise and representation plans and Nkomo led the boycott against the elections emanating from that Constitution.

The resultant escalation of civil unrest and tension between the NDP and the government led to the party’s ban in December. Nkomo responded by launching the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) headed by himself as president and the NDP executives retaining their posts in the new organization.

1962, Sept:

20 September – ZAPU was banned and most of its leaders and members were restricted to three months to their rural places of birth.

1962:

Cde Nkomo who was in Zambia at the time ZAPU was banned, considered establishing a government in-exile to bring pressure on the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and other sympathetic bodies to effect political change at home. His idea was resisted by Rev Ndabaningi Sithole, Enoch Dumbutshena and Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere who felt he should return home to suffer the same restraints as other leaders. He returned home in early 1963 and was immediately restricted to his Kezi home for three months.

1963:

On his release, he travelled to New York where he addressed the UN Committee. Joshua Nkomo’s idea of a government in-exile brought to the fore internal disputes that had been simmering in the liberation movement for some time.

The formation of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) headed by Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole.

Cde Nkomo then initiated a new organization called the People’s Caretaker Council (PCC) which was essentially ZAPU under new name.

1964:

clashes between ZAPU and ZANU supporters resulting in both ZANU and PCC being outlawed.

1964, Apr:

Joshua Nkomo was arrested and restricted to Gonakudzingwa Camp and for the next 10 years he was confined at various other places including Gwelo Prison and Buffalo Range near Chiredzi.

1965, Oct:

October 29, 1965 he was flown to Salisbury to meet British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson on his pre-UDI visit to Salisbury.

1968:

November 1968 Nkomo was summoned to meet Commonwealth Secretary General, George Thompson.

1969:

From 1969 he was permitted only three-monthly visits from his wife and children under 14 years of age.

1972:

February 10, 1972 Joshua Nkomo appears in public for an interview with the Peace Commission at Nuanetsi.

1976:

October 9, 1976, ZANU and ZAPU forged the Patriotic Front Alliance ahead of the Geneva talks scheduled for October 25. The armed struggle escalated with Joshua Nkomo leading Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) as its Commander-in-Chief.

1979:

Joshua Nkomo led the Zapu delegation to the Lanchester House Peace Conference, London.

1980:

Zimbabwe’s first elections – Cde Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU won 20 seats against ZANU’s 57. He turned down the largely ceremonial post of president before eventually accepting the portfolio of Minister of Home Affairs.

April 1988, he became the Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Joshua Nkomo passed on in July 1, 1999.

(NB# This article was taken directly from Dr Joushua Nkomo's publications. Many thanks to the Nkomo family and the patrons)

Abusive boarding master must Go!

2017-02-08T01:59:00.000-08:00

I'm not in the habit of reading ZANU newspapers. I am a very proud alumni of Solusi, a place where I was born, raised & battered. A place where my Christian values were instilled in me & no profanity was ever spoken by everyone on campus. BUT I am appalled to read this article today. I'm hoping the school administrators will come out clean on this mess. As I grow older, not a whole lot of things get under my skin BUT this story infuriates me ..... the administrators of the school, Jefrety Sibanda (Board Chair) Phanson Tshuma (Secretary & Headmaster) Simangaliso Ncube (Deputy Headmaster) we are expecting a full explanation of this heinous behaviour by Methuseli Ncube (The devil) that is being nurtured on Christian grounds. Methuseli Ncube MUST GO his behaviour is unacceptable.

Umtwana utshaywa ngunina - NO EXCEPTION. Mothers are the only disciplinarians & there should be a clear bold line drawn between the responsibilities of the school teachers & the Mother. Teachers are supposed to concentrate on educating the child, instructing the child. This nonsense of beating kids at school should cease immediately. I'm going to speak on my own personal experience as a product of this system of corporal school punishment. First, there is no science proven that a child learns anything after being beaten. I can tell you that inhibited my learning in (not so much in elementary school) but in middle & high school because I was always in fear of saying the wrong answer because I would be beaten. Secondly, for a girl child, it's even worse domino effect. This thing of teachers beating school kids to submission and anyone & everyone in the village with right to beat kids is the contributing factor of some of us who ended up in very abusive relationships where I was beaten to submission & never said or did anything coz you just get used to being randomly beaten by anyone in village & at school. Some of my friends are now coming out to say they were being raped by teachers in likes of Methuseli Ncube who are beating school kids to submission or punishment. I'm calling on a thorough investigation to all the girls at Solusi Secondary to make sure Methuseli Ncube (The Devil) didn't rape any of them as they are so timid to speak out. Thirdly, beating school kids as a from punishment or beating them to submission especially girls diminishes their self esteem & confidence which leads to be being less prepared to compete effectively in the workplace & higher tertiary schools.

Methuseli Ncube (The Devil) is insulting kids by their parents private parts, oh Lord have mercy on me, this makes my kinky hair stand straight. This Devil on Christian grounds is worse that ZANU & Gukurahundi combined. The innocent kids are already learning under harsh economic environment & the parents are sacrificing for the expensive Christian education only to get an enslaved abused child. I'm beyond appalled by the actions of Methuseli Ncube (The Devil).

Desmond Tutu once said " If you are are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality".

Where is the community of Solusi in all this, are they also being neutral in this situation of injustice. Izakhamuzi seSolusi, please rise up, Kick the Devil out of the Christian grounds, we don't want anything to do with Methuseli Ncube, he must go. Corporal punishment should be abolished in all schools.

In other words, If the Solusi Secondary administrators in the likes of Tshalimane, are neutral while The elephant in the likes of Methuseli Ncube has his foot on the school kids who have been entrusted under his care, the kids will no appreciate it if we don't call all the school administrators to account for The Devils actions.

Psalms 72:4 May he vindicate the afflicted of the people. Save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.
Even so Lord Jesus come. By Khethiwe Bhebhe in Canada.

2017-02-06T18:08:00.001-08:00

Position Paper of the People of Mthwakazi (Alias Matabeleland)

to the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
on the
Human Rights Violations of the Matabeleland Nation
Presented on the 22nd of May 2012 at the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
Offices in Harare
Preamble
Zimbabwe is a self governing country; majority rule rests with the indigenous populations of the country. But like any other African country, Zimbabwe has two major ethnic groups which are further subdivided into other smaller ethnic units within them. Like the rest of the African countries, agitation for independence galvanised the peoples of the country together, but, at post independence when the “cake had to be shared”, otherness became a significant issue to be considered, Whereas, like all other African countries whose boundaries were an arbitrary creation of Colonial plunder and supremacy, the country found itself with one so called major ethnic group in control of state authority and state resources.

Control of state authority and resources has been shared in a skewed manner as opposed to equity across all the ethnic groups and their sub variants, Whereas, Matebeleland has always been a sovereign state before its conquest in 1893 and was thereafter subdued under the Matabeleland Order in Council provisions.
Whereas, it is a fact that the merging of the two territories into one in 1902; that is, Matebeleland and Mashonaland, was done without the consent of the native groups, Whereas, it is also a fact that the referendum that was held in 1923 did not invite the
natives to participle in a decision that would later affect them,
Whereas, it is a fact that the Lancaster House Constitution in 1979 that ushered in the
independence of the natives from colonial rule did not encompass in it the social security
measures that would have not been only concerned with the mere protection of an
individual against want but also the guarantee of a decent standard accessibility to every
political, economical, social, technological, environmental, and legislative guarantees accruing to every citizen of an independent Zimbabwe.

Whereas, the deliberate neglect of Matebeleland by the present regime saw the reduction of intervention, the withdrawal of vital social expenditure, the closure and relocation of industry to the eastern (Mashonaland- which includes Mashonaland Central/East/ West;
Masvingo, Manicaland, and Harare provinces) region of Zimbabwe.
Whereas, the absence of Matebeleland control over its economy has exposed the national
political context in that there are no defined structures for assessment and the development
of the political, economic, and social security systems.

Whereas, it is not a secret that the Western half of the country, which tends to be occupied by the Ndebele people, with Ndebele simply as a common language but with various other languages, is marginalised, and for the past 32 years has not been meaningfully engaged in the governance of the country.

Whereas, the Lancaster House Constitution only deliberated on the reconciliation between white and black and did not consider ethno-national differences, hence the continued neo-colonialism of the people of Matebeleland by the majority ethnic group from Mashonaland.

Whereas, it is a fact that Welshman Ncube the President of one of the political parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU) has been denied his rightful space to be one of the three Principals in the (GNU) because the aim is to block him for the reason of belonging to Matabeleland.
Therefore, the people-representative groups affiliated to Umhlahlo Wesizwe SikaMthwakazi, a civic group supported by political parties and other civic organizations in the region of Matebeleland and the Midlands (originally a part of Matebeleland), have come together in order to bring to attention to the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, the gross human rights violations that have been perpetrated against the subjects of Matebeleland and the Midlands by the present regime which has been using the current system of governance as a device for the suppression of the people of this region.

The Gukurahundi Genocide (over twenty thousand civilians were killed by the state sponsored fifth brigade) committed by the present regime (under Robert Gabriel Mugabe) from 1983 to 1987 proved that the ethno- national differences cannot be protected by a government that has once sponsored a genocide.

We still witness arbitrariness, discrimination, segregation, social insecurity, marginalization and lack of constitutionalism by the present regime when exercising public authority, especially in Mthwakazi.
To this end, the people of the region seek to have the current political dispensation changed drastically through constitutional (legal) means so as to promote, protect and fulfil or guarantee more meaningful autonomy (self- determination) at par with the region of Mashonaland ( composed of Mashonaland Central/East/West, Harare, Masvingo, and Manicaland provinces).
Areas of Violations of Fundamental Human Rights:
Reference to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966. Entry into force 3 January 1976, in accordance with article 27.
1. In respect of Articles 1.1 of the covenant- All peoples have the right of self-determination.
By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
Evidence of Violation:
Violation by de facto segregation, human degradation (subjected to being second class citizens), political decimation: the people of Matebeleland have been denied access to meaningful political decision making positions or roles relevant to their needs a violation
that is in contravention with the Article 1.1.
The present Government of National Unity has only one person from Matabeleland who is the deputy Prime Minister. The other three positions, that is, the President, the Prime Minister and one deputy Prime Minister are all from Mashonaland. In Mashonaland, an
insignificant number of persons from Matebeleland and the Midlands hold senior politically appointed positions or roles, yet they still do not yield any meaningful authority compared to the persons holding the same positions from Mashonaland.
2. In respect of Article 2 - Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures.
Evidence of Violation:
Of utmost importance to note is that, almost all factors of production in Matebeleland and the Midlands are controlled by the people from Mashonaland. The need for self-determination by the people of Matebeleland and the Midlands stems from the fact that self governance will pay more attention to the relationship between extraction of resources and state resource allocation to the region as a whole. There is gross economic plundering and resource stripping in the region whilst most investments proceeds do not accrue to the
locals but are exported to Mashonaland. Loans and tenders meant for the locals are either hijacked by the lot from Mashonaland or the government officials, for example, the Kurora/ Ukondla Youth Fund distributed by CABS Building Society, and the DIMAF Funds meant for this region but later was twisted as a national fund and to this day the other half, United States Dollars twenty million has not been committed to Matabeleland by the government.
In the early years in post independence, monopolies and perfect competition were like two sides of the same coin, meaning that, the parallel differences led to the same objective, profit maximisation. The technical principles; however discreet, applied in running
businesses variably with no conciliatory elements despite the fact that they all aimed at maximising profits. In the early stages of independence the government did not live such businesses in the demises of the people: there were regulations that protected businesses.
Now, the government officials bureaucratically control or discriminately dominate the markets for a good or service using state funds to acquire monopolies.
In Matabeleland, most businesses hardly achieve the equilibrium levels (usually determined by the marginal revenue equalling the marginal costs). This is due to low funding which is designed to stifle business growth in the region.
3. In respect of Article 13 and 27
Evidence of violation:
Schools in Matebeleland and the Midlands are under staffed, under facilitated, and some teachers cannot speak the local languages. The Ministry of Education regulations state that children between grades 1 to grade 3 must be taught by teachers who can speak their
mother language. However, in Matabeleland and Midlands, children of this age-group are being taught by teachers who cannot speak a single word of the local language.
Furthermore, most children in the rural areas begin their early learning at the age of 9-10 years due to the fact that they need to cover a distance of between 10km to 20km a day on foot. This causes many to drop out before they even finish their primary education; hence, fewer students enrol into higher learning institutions. In direct contrast, along the Chivi – Mutare main road, there are two primary schools after every 10 kilometres and a secondary within the same radius. Most of the schools in Matebeleland and Midlands have no science laboratories, a situation that has contributed to students from the region failing to enrol into
science degree programmes. There is also a distortion of history at both primary and school levels as evidenced by the deliberate untruths written about the Ndebele in Dynamics of History Book 3.
4. In respect of Article 12
Evidence of Violation:
Health:
i) Food allocations and distribution to the Region is on ad hoc basis and this affects food security and ARV treatment efficacy. The HIV prevalence rate is high in the border towns as shown by the Zimbabwe Demographic Health survey 2005- 2006. Bulawayo also has the highest (21%) proportion of children aged 0-19years among all patients. Bulawayo also has the highest per capita load of
adolescent patients (300 per 100 000 population, with 2.8- 8.2 times more adolescents per capita than the other provinces. The budget allocations are not based on the needs of the people and their inherent rights to receive government funding, notably Matebeleland and the Midlands provinces are not
adequately funded in order to stabilize, mitigate and deal with the magnitude of lack, poverty, HIV, and socio-economic conflicts bedevilling the people. It is a fact that all the provinces of Mashonaland are well funded, supplemented, and facilitated.
(Derived from Zimbabwe AIDS Network Southern region civil society organizations as stated in Habakkuk Trust Research Archives 2012)
ii) Ekusileni Hospital in Bulawayo still lies idle after its completion, and most of its equipment has been transferred to Mashonaland. Over 75% of the nurses in most hospitals in Matebeleland from Mashonaland who happen to be untrained and they are not given enough basic equipment. A former surgeon, Doctor Chitate, performed one of his experiments on a Ndebele pregnant woman by tearing her womb in an attempt to retrieve the baby; however, the operation failed and the woman and the baby lost their lives: the operation was performed at Ngcebetsha Shopping Centre. The doctor escaped heavy sentence and lost his license to operate even though there was over- whelming evidence proving that he had no adequate equipment to perform such operation.
5. In respect of Article 11
Evidence of violation:
Water: The Zambezi water project has turned 100 years in 2012 since its conception but to this day the budget allocations have been so negligible. These official population figures provided by the Government (Central Statistical Office) were used to decide monetary figures in the allocations for water reticulation. The table below is a collation of population in the City of Bulawayo; however, the figures were deliberately understated in order to justify the little funds being allocated to Bulawayo.
Population Statistics:
Year Population
1982 495 317
1985 535 800
1987 623 000
1992 1 000 000 (Bulawayo City council statistics 1 500 000)
2002 750 000
In the National Budget Allocation in 2009, Bulawayo got almost United States Dollars One Hundred and Fifty Thousand water reticulation whilst Harare received almost Eighteen Million United States Dollars. The water crisis in Matebeleland and the Midlands is a deliberate ploy that was designed to suffocate meaningful development in these regions.

The Zambezi Water project has been stalled for 100 years and the budget allocations for water reticulation have shown that the present government has no concern for the people.
Year after year, water rationing has become the order of the day. Matebeleland is either arid or semi-arid and the local authority has no mandate to construct the dams. Prospective donors have been denied the construction of dams. The government has also blocked the construction of a dam at the Gwai- Shangani river confluence to date.
6. In respect of Article 7
Evidence of Violation:
Unemployment- unemployment rate in Matebeleland region is the highest in the country as most industries have been closed and relocated to Mashonaland under the guise of water shortage. Most companies are now owned by the people from Mashonaland in the region of Matebeleland and the Midlands and most employees are of Shona descent. No significant investor is interest due to diminishing skilled labour force which has immigrated to the neighbouring countries. Companies such as Kango, Monarch, and dairiboard have been dropping people of Ndebele origin from employment.
Donors’ agencies have also been party to exclusion of the people of Matabeleland, for
example UNICEF has been eliminating people of Ndebele origins from employment.
7. In respect of Article 6.2 of the covenant
Evidence of violation:
Technological: The government has blocked the introduction of modern systems of technology investments into technology, under facilitating the science departments in schools in order to suppress technological growth, production growth, investment
growth, and the production of skilled work force. The engineering institutions that are
state controlled enrol Shonas arbitrarily against the people of Matebeleland and the
Midlands.
Environmental
i. Environmental degradation - Mthwakazi is endowed with various natural
resources that are a revenue source for Zimbabwe; however, these resources
are not benefiting the immediate communities in the region. Farther more, the
government has resettled the former liberation fighters in the in resource rich
areas which were formerly reserved for economic exploitation. The destruction
of vegetation and the killing of protected species are not regulated. On the other
hand, gold panning, and poaching has been normalized with no regulated
systems to control illegal activities. A number of civil organisations with the
intention of educating the resettled population on environmental preservation
are denied access to the new resettled areas by the youth brigades sponsored
by the government. The majority of the people resettled in these areas are not
from Matabeleland, and this contributes to lack of cooperation by the people for
fear of victimisation. The government has used such techniques to buy the
electorate who happen not to be aware of the plunder that is fast stripping them
of their natural inheritance for their economic benefit.
ii. There is no meaningful interest in safeguarding the looting of timber in
Tsholotsho, Nkayi, and Lupane: the coal in Lupane and Whange; the gold all over
the region of Matebeleland(Midlands included); the looting of cement to develop
6 | P a g e
Mashonaland at the expense of the region; the looting of platinum in Beitbrigde;
the steel in Kwekwe; the mining of coal in a game reserve; the resettlement of
the people in the game reserves only in Matebeleland and the Midlands; and
issuing of bogus mining licenses to party supporters (ZANU PF). The miners tend
operate on the river banks causing siltation. The majority of the operators of
such activities are from Mashonaland. They do not improve the places they
occupy but transfer the proceeds to their region.
iii. The district councils are managed by politically appointed personnel who are not
mandated to make or take any measures that may be perceived as prejudicial to
the objectives of the ruling party (ZANU PF). Law only applies to those are
known to be patrons of other opposition political parties or those who apolitical
and viewed as cowards. The rate at which the environmental degradation is taking place will see these areas becoming arid in the next 50years and there probably will be nothing left to sustain the revenue needed for recurrent expenditure.
8. In respect of Article 26
Evidence of Violation:
Legislative/legal- Since independence from white colonial rule, legislative concretisation has never meaningfully existed; in fact, legislation has remained abstract as the arbitrariness has in the interpretation of the legal norms is ad hoc, and the calls for
legislative reforms have exposed the inertia by the regime to accede to such calls. The people of Matebeleland and Midlands have always called for legislated agreed measures in governance that will subdue political-economic policies that are more often inclined to being the index of executive intent rather legislative intent. The region of Matebeleland need an autonomous mandate that will be used for exercising flexibility on legislation under the international law on trade matters; case law- on matters of judicial precedence; and
Common Law- on matters of general provision. The present legal system and its interpretation has not left any room for the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (in the context of external history of law) to trace sources and variables (factors) which may directly or indirectly attribute to the development of the legal system; also, in the context of the internal history of the law, no salient features can be observed that can be singled out as developed locally under the influence of the external historical events. It is a fact that the
African history is a preliterate tradition and by means of ethnographies, the local development of legislation is written through gathering of oral information, legends and epic poems as this forms the identity of society, bringing a sense of belonging and value.
As for Matebeleland and Midlands, there is no indigenous (legal) interpretation that is relevant to the historical background of the region that is incorporated into the present legal system. For instance, chiefs are apolitical; their participation in the legal system is through
the interpretation of common law consistent with international law as enshrined in the supreme constitution. Since the present legal system does not consider the ethno national differences (but only recognises traditional norms from Mashonaland); therefore it is from this reason that an agitation for self determination stems as most people in Matebeleland and Midlands do not identify with Zimbabwe despite being bound by its laws, they strongly identify with Matebeleland. Zimbabwe is a sovereign state, yet the subjects of Matebeleland
and the Midlands do not identify with such sovereignty as the fact on the ground defines inertia by the present regime to bring about the constitutional reforms that are not a tool for neo- colonialism which has characterized the norms of governance in post independence.
There is a congestion of bureaucratic tendencies that has seen a shift of degree of power from the permanent civil service to the few politicians, their personal staff, family members, and advisers.
In reference to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by UN General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966. Entry into Force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49.
1. In respect of Article 9
Evidence of Violation:
a. Intimidation- Dubious arrests meant to silence anyone who dare raises his or her voice over the Gukurahundi atrocities committed by the regime under Robert Gabriel Mugabe. Fear has been instilled to the people of the region of Matebeleland by the deployment of the prisons, police, and military forces from Mashonaland in the region of Matebeleland and the Midlands in order to suppress any forms of resistance to suppressive measures taken by the government. Government Development Structures like the Provincial Development Committees and District Development committees have military, police and intelligence officers mainly from Mashonaland. It then becomes impossible for the people of Matebeleland to advocate and lobby without fear for their economic and social rights because the government structures that were behind the Gukurahundi are now in charge of their development programmes. Even recruitment favours most people of Shona origins. Top positions in the forces are mostly awarded to servicemen from Mashonaland as if there are no capable servicemen from the Matebeleland and the Midlands.
2. In respect of Article 19
Evidence of Violation:
Despite the fact that the media may be castigating the government about human rights violations, it does not adequately cover as well as articulate fairly, the human rights violations in Matebeleland and the Midlands. This is even sighted by witnessing the visit of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; whereby, it is a fact that the groups chosen to attend her forums (UN High Commissioner) are not going to articulate, in a holistic manner, the plights of the people of Matebeleland and the Midlands. Most media institutions are run by the people of Mashonaland, and most, if not all, share the same goal against the people of Matebeleland and the Midlands despite having their own differences. It is also a fact that one the Co-Ministers of National Healing, Honourable Moses Mzila Ndlovu was arrested for speaking about the Gukurahundi genocide.
3. In respect of Article 14
Evidence of Violation:
The People of Matabeleland and Midlands have been denied their rights to recourse after the Gukurahundi genocide. Perpetrators have not been brought before the law. In fact, an amnesty was declared by President Mugabe for all those who carried out the atrocities.
Impact of the Violations on the People of Matabeleland and Midlands
a. Systematic violations which continue to exclude the people of Matabeleland and Midlands from key development and governance processes.
b. Upsurge of economic refugees into other countries especially South Africa and Botswana.
c. High incidences of HIV prevalence which remain unabated due to poor resource allocation. Matabeleland South also now has an increase in Drug Resistant Tuberculosis.
d. Ultimately the people have been reduced to abject poverty.
e. The growing disparities between Mashonaland and Matabeleland in terms of economic growth.
Resolution:
The people of Matebeleland have united so as to stand firm on their demands. Therefore, a need for unity of purpose across all social and political formations within the region has arisen in order to safeguard the interests of the people of this region. Under the banner of
Umhlahlo Wesizwe SikaMthwakazi, an umbrella association for all groups concerned with the welfare of Mthwakazi (Matebeleland and Midlands), have compressed their ideological positions into a common principle in order to highlight the arbitrariness that has seen gross
human rights violations perpetrated in Mthwakazi(Matebeleland and Midlands) by the ruling regime in post independent Zimbabwe. The people-representative groups have sought the understanding and action upon proposals they have made to the government of Zimbabwe to no avail. The human rights violations are a perpetual norm in Mthwakazi region and the coverage has not been fair from many parts of the world media. Mthwakazi has no sovereignty despite the fact that there is shared legislation with Zimbabwe. The present constitution is suppressive, degrading, and subjective, and it can be easily disaggregated to the level of the individual as long as one who yields public authority is from Mashonaland.
Such discrepancies have always been taken lightly by the bodies concerned with world peace as they end up being solved when many such suppressed groups resort to civil disobedience to rectify ethno- national differences that have failed through lack of access to
a platform to resolve disputes. Civil disobedience in Africa can be irrational in the form of wars, treacheries, and can usher in totalitarian rule; depriving the people of everything they had.
Through self determination, the sovereignty and dignity of the people of Mthwakazi can be preserved; it can be developed to the level of equal representation in international matters and on all other allied or subsidiary bodies concerned with solving world problems as it is
therefore an essential element in a sovereign state. We cannot secure our social, political, and economic obligations without being recognised as a sovereign state, neither can we be in a position of authority which mandates us to mobilize investor confidence successfully without undue interference.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is a fact that all constitutions seek to articulate, with differing degrees of intensity and detail, the shared aspirations of the nation; the values which bind its people, and which discipline its government and its national institutions; the basic premises upon
judicial, legislative and executive power is to be wielded; the constitutional limits and the conditions which that power is to be exercised; the national ethos which defines and regulates that ethos; and the moral and ethical direction which that nation has identified for its future. The present constitution denies the people of Mthwakazi such fundamental rights.Most policy implementation processes are not compatible with the environmental and political- economic requirements within the region and this has exposed the government’s lack of commitment in planning and application of policies in Mthwakazi.

The present constitution has all the elements of the colonial proverbial, especially evidenced by the regional inclinations that are segregational towards Mthwakazi. It is from these views, above, that an agitation for self- determination arises and while observing all regulatory systems, laws of Zimbabwe, and international law, we serve this document for your evaluation and action.
The representative groups, from Mthwakazi request for your intervention in moderating and assessing the situation in this region in order for you to understand the existing factors and situations that have compelled the groups to advocate for self- determination.
Reference to reports sent to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights through the following Rapporteur, independent experts and special bodies and copied to urgent action on the 24 th of February 2011

www.ikhonaindaba.blogspot.com

She was a mother to all!

A Mother to All

Date of BirthMarch 24, 1952

Date of PassingAugust 01, 2019

Legina Ndlovu

from Lupinyu, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Gloomy out look looms in Mthwakazi and Matabeleland struggle at large!

Indaba convined to highlight plight of ZIPRA Vets Welfare!

Mkhwananzi lambasts the double standards in Civic society

Indiana based Zimbabwean soccer referee recognized at a banquet!

Names of Bulawayo townships and their meanings!

Izinto zika Mpandula

Names of Months and Days in North Ndebele

Gregorian Calendar

Months

Days

Ikhonaindaba celebrates Ten years today May 2!

Fuzwayo speaks out on Matabele genocide reburial

The devastating impact of Xenophobia

IN DEFENCE OF THE MTHWAKAZI RESTORATION PHILOSOPHY

Econet does not employ Ndebeles - Open Letter to Strive Masiyiw

Home affairs Minister Gigaba calls for the law and order!

Mthwakazi Republic Party condemns President Mugabes lavish birrhday

SA Home Affairs Minister Gigaba condems. reckless acts of Xenophobia

Ukudla kwesintu

South African black citizen's anger over jobs totally misplaced!

Communist Mabhena rebukes Dr Churhill Guduza on Nkomo!

Mass grave discovered at Cowdry Park!

Who are the Dlodlos and where so they cone from?

Mabhena's open Letter To President Robert Mugabe!

UMzilikazi kaMatshobana

Clebrating 100 Years Of Dr Nkomo's Life and influence!

ABOUT THE JOSHUA NKOMO CULTURAL MOVEMENT

THE ICON BEHIND THE MOVEMENT

MOBILIZATION

MARKETING

ENTERTAINMENT

A BRIEF HISTORY OF JOSHUA MQABUKO NYONGOLO NKOMO

Abusive boarding master must Go!