Devolution of power is a dangerous concept

This is a response to Colonel Maplanka, in his response to Nqobizitha Khumalo he raised important issues which need a robust response. I will try to engage them one by one, starting with the need for a charismatic leader. A charismatic leader in the mould of Joshua Nkomo is not necessary at the stage at which the Mthwakazi struggle is right now. The Mthwakazi struggle is not a 100m sprint but a very long and tiring marathon. The stage at which Mthwakazi is right now is what I call political and psychological reawakening. The Zim liberation struggle confused many Mthwakazi people as they forgot to fight for their country and sought to fight for a Zimbabwean state which had nothing to do with them. Therefore, it will take a lot of painstaking work to recover our people from this psychological and political wilderness.

In order to fully recover and reorient our people they need to do it themselves not by the help of a charismatic leader. This process is already taking place right now, people have reached a stage whereby they are now aware that this entity called Zimbabwe is against them, it is against their aspirations, and that it is against their children's futures. Their only hope is in having their own state which will fully carter for their needs.
The notion of national and international exigencies is overstated and usually abused to suppress self-determination. Nobody should ever consider national demands before personal needs, nobody should ever consider international factors before considering the personal factors which affect him/her daily. International factors are always skewed against the oppressed, it takes the oppressed to change the international factors by concentrating on their personal issues. The Argentinian-Cuban international revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara once said there is not right or suitable time to start a revolution. If you wait for the right conditions you will die waiting and if your grand-children do the same the same fate will befall them.   

The Colonel asserts as follows "To rule ourselves we must put our emotions aside and learn and understand ourselves. We have changed as a people as the effects of marginalisation and subjugation have changed us. Scottish nationalists took a vote on independence and they lost it. I wonder if we took a vote on Mthwakazi independence today among Mthwakazians would we win it. I dare say no. Most of our people ridicule this notion".

Emotional intelligence is necessary in any struggle; therefore it is paramount that Mthwakazi uses her emotions in this struggle. The minute we engage in the struggle devoid of our emotions we will become psychopaths and could be cold bloodied killers. We do not need this or do we Mr Colonel? You are not clear as to which notion most of our people ridicule, but reading between the lines I guess you mean the need for an independent state of Mthwakazi as you clearly suggest that the referendum can be lost. Let me assure you Mr Colonel, if a referendum was granted today the majority of our Mthwakazi people will vote for independence except the dead ones. This is simple, why would anyone with five senses vote against self and for the enemy?

Mr Colonel further states as follows "They do so because the nation has agglomerated and our people, cultures and families intertwined, relegating exclusionism to the dustbins of impossibility. What I am saying is, we stand a better chance in fighting for devolution of power. Achieving this will allow us to govern ourselves effectively".

From your statement above it is clear that you do not understand several things or you chose to ignore them. Tell me what does the 1979 Grand Plan say about Shona impregnating Mthwakazi women? This has been the strategy from day zero to dilute and confuse people like you. It is clear that you have given up because you find the task daunting. This is exactly where they want you. It is not a mistake for you and others to be in that psychological position, it took planning and painstaking work at implementing the plan. Luckily there are some people within Mthwakazi who understand this strategy and are prepared to stand against this strategy until the end of time.

Devolution of power concept is a mirage and a very dangerous concept for Mthwakazi. The only time devolution of power can work is in an independent state of Mthwakazi not in Zimbabwe. Devolution of power will not help in Zimbabwe, this is the reason why I am saying it will not be of any use, the reason why many want devolution is that they think it will work in enabling them to have control over their resources, that when it comes to employment they will have opportunities in their regions etc, but let me disappoint you Mr Colonel, the devolution of power concept will not do all these things. The devolution of power will maintain the status quo, the Shona people teaching in your children's school will remain there, Shona people working in your border posts will remain there, Shona people working in your hospitals, police stations ect will remain there, that's devolution of power for you. Those advocating for devolution of power are just wasting their precious time out of ignorance or fear of being independent.

"Our people must be united. United we stand as a true and unstoppable force!" says Mr Colonel. As I stated above, the Mthwakazi struggle is not a sprint but a marathon, the time for unity is coming, a charismatic leader will emerge at the right time.