MLO raps MDC-T senator for taking long to realise Matabeleland crisis

Matabeleland Liberation Organisation secretary for information and Public Affairs, Israel Dube has rapped the MDC-T senator Theresa Makone for recently expressing fears over the hostilities of the people of Matabeleland over 5their marginalization saying she could have known that since the 1980s when over 20 000 people were butchered by the Zanu PF government.

Makone said during her team's visit to Matabeleland she observed that people were hostile over their marginalisations.

"It has taken 36 good years for Senator Makone to see and recognise a mountain of grievances in Matabeleland despite the fact that the complaints  have been repeatedly raised and aired in the media and public forums by politicians, organisations and individuals since 1980," Dube said.

"When over 20 000 innocent civilians including defenceless women, children and old people were brutally butchered by the  Zimbabwe National Army 5 Brigade code named Gukurahundi, she saw nothing heard nothing and said nothing."

Dube said when Lookout Masuku, Sydney Malunga and Mthandazo Ndema Ngwenya were politically persecuted until their mysterious deaths she saw nothing heard nothing and said nothing.

"When the President of MLO Cde Paul Siwela, John Gazi and Charles Thomas were arrested and charged with treason and subjected to a lengthy trial for expressing the same grievances and demanded the restoration of the statehood of Matabeleland still she saw nothing heard nothing and said nothing. This regardless of the fact that the trial was covered by all Zimbabwe media houses and it was very hard to ignore," Dube said.

"Senator Makone  who is a former minister of Home Affairs in the Zimbabwe government  is quoted in two articles published by Bulawayo24 news on the 21st and 22nd of May as someone who had just made a new  discovery. A new discovery of what is termed as hostilities in Matabeleland, of people raving and ranting about marginalisation, jobs, closing industries, low pass rate, Children from Mashonaland filling up universities and teachers being imported from Mashonaland to teach kids at primary level."

He said according to Makone this discovery was made a few weeks ago when her group travelled in Matabeleland to sale yet another controversial subject " National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill" A subject that MLO will interrogate and expose as time goes on.

"Even though the said grievances are just a tip of the iceberg, they are genuine. Any Matabele who listened to her when she addressed parliament about the situation in Matabeleland, especially when she cried out, "I'm a Shona and felt bad, guilty and think we should have a collective sense of guilt,"  would have shouted yes! yes! yes!" he said.

"But that is before she made two bizarre suggestions which she said were the cure to the problems in Matabeleland. She suggested that angry people of Matabeleland should be appeased with  devolution and that the $15billion  which was stolen by corrupt Zanu PF officials should be found and used to develop Matabeleland. Really! So where and when are you going to find the looted money Madam?"

Dube said the above suggestions only expose the senator as belonging to the bunch of oppressors, Zanu-PF and many in Mashonaland who hold firmly to the foolish belief that Matabeles are Shona subjects or vassals who are too lame to make their own decisions, choices late alone rule themselves.  He said these fools think that they have the responsibility to prescribe solutions for every problem in Matabeleland.

"MLO would like to put it categorically clear that those who subscribe to the misplaced idea of Matabeleland being a little colony of Zimbabwe will be shocked like Senator  Makone. She learnt the hard way that its not Paul Siwela and MLO alone who are demanding freedom in Matabeleland but the people of Matabeleland at large," he said.