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Ndebele King : A Constitutional Right

15 Sep 2020 at 18:49hrs | Views
The President of Zimbabwe ED Mnangagwa declared over the past weekend in Gweru that the Ndebele nation shall not be allowed to install a King of the Ndebele since Zimbabwe is a Republic and not a Kingdom such as Lesotho and Swaziland. President Mnangagwa somehow forgot to mention the Republic of South Africa as another country that has a king who is King Zwelithini of the Zulu tribe.The President emphasized that Zimbabwe is a Republic and so is the Republic of South Africa.

The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe in particular Section 16 (1)(2)(3) provides that the Zimbabwean government and other state organs must assist the people of Zimbabwe including the Ndebele tribe in practising, protecting, promoting and preserving their culture.The Ndebele nation are entitled to that protection by this provision of the Constitution that empowers the Ndebele nation to install a King as such practice forms part of the Ndebele culture. The Ndebele nation are descendants of the Zulu tribe in KwaZulu  Natal province of the Republic of South Africa who also still have a Zulu King which is part of amaNguni culture. Therefore the Ndebele tribe are continuing their legacy of  kingship dynasty as their present day Ndebele nation was created by King Mzilikazi who later was succeeded to his throne by his son King Lobhengula.

There is no clause in the 2013 Constitution that empowers the President of Zimbabwe to deny the Ndebele tribe or any other tribe in Zimbabwe from installing a King.The 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe is regarded as the Supreme Law in Zimbabwe and any other statute or legislation cannot take precedence over the Constitution.The Constitution is similar to a Will as it reflects the desires and intentions and will of the people of Zimbabwe and part of that desire is to install a King by the Ndebele tribe as part of their cultural preservation and practice.

If there are interested parties who harbour  intentions to derail this process of installation of the Ndebele King by the Ndebele tribe ,such individuals will not succeed as the Constitution is the Supreme law  prevailing in Zimbabwe and such a right to practise one's culture is protected and encouraged by Section 16 of the Constitution. Installing a Ndebele King does not  imply that a separate government has been created within Zimbabwe but it is reviving a culture that was abolished and destroyed by the racist colonial white settlers when they invaded present day Zimbabwe.

The racist white settlers manipulated the Africans by destroying their culture so that they could oppress ,brainwash and then subsequently dominate and rule the Africans.Culture forms a crucial part of one's identity as a human being and therefore the white settlers used the art of indoctrination and brainwashing of Africans to abuse and strip them of their identity and dignity and social cohesion. To deny the Ndebele tribe the right to install a Ndebele King is continuing the oppressive and racist legacy of the white settlers on vulnerable Africans who still fail to see the racist oppressive practices of the white settlers in this post colonial Zimbabwe.

Regards
Mzilikazi  Zwane

Source - Mzilikazi Zwane
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