Mbuya Nehanda's family must not disturb honouring of our heroine

Flags in Zimbabwe must fly at half-mast, each giving a sorrowful wave in the winds and in remembrance of our fallen heroes. The rhythm of the wind sings to a sad tune which says long leave the legend and Heroin Mbuya Nehanda. She was and is our hero.

In the midst of this thick mist a male 'relative' of the 1896 and today's icon Mbuya, Nehanda Nyakasikana is set to stop the erection of her statue as he says government has bypassed traditional rites by not engaging her family. a notice of set down which is an application to request a hearing date demanding to stop the erection of the Nehanda statue, was lodged in court. If the government does not respond it will mean that the Respondents will lose by default.

Mr Felix Elijah Shamuyarira, who says he is a maternal relative of Mbuya Charwe, the spirit medium of Mbuya Nehanda, said in court papers the government was making a grave mistake by going ahead with the statue before a cleansing ceremony is conducted. in The Nehanda statue to be erected in the Harare CBD has raised eye brows. The statute looks more beautiful and fully packed that the scared skinny and bony one which the colonialist has sold to us. But Shamuyarira said the city had to be cleansed of the spirits of a lot of innocent lives that have been lost in recent years.

Work on erecting the statue started in Harare this month and is expected to be completed in two months.

Shamuyarira cites Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe, his Local Government counterpart July Moyo, National Archives of Zimbabwe director Ivan Murambiwa, National Museums and Monuments director Godfrey Mahachi and National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda as respondents in the court case.

Shamuyarira wants Kazembe, Moyo, Murambiwa and Mahachi interdicted from erecting the statue of Mbuya Charwe, also known as Nyakasikana, the spirit medium of Mbuya Nehanda, at the intersection of Julius Nyerere Way and Samora Machel Avenue.

A very dark cloud has enveloped the nation and yes we are all in confusion. The social media is awash with the news that Nehanda is not reflected correctly in the statue.

The Nehanda family conveyed their message to the government through courts disregarding the traditional channels. If there is any time when the family's wishes would be disregarded it is when the hero of Nehanda's nature comes to the stage. Nehanda is a national hero; her heroics suppress her faults. She was not only a member of her nucleus family members. She was Zimbabwe itself. Nehanda was larger than the party or the country. Love her or hate her she won the hearts of both friends and enemies alike.

Erecting her statue in Harare cannot be decided by her relatives. There is no person who is supposed to have her statue imposing authority in Zimbabwe more than Mbuya Nehanda.

Some political prostitutes who are quick to insult the icon in order to gain positions are idiots and shameless losers. While some family members who have scores to settle or those who have political reasons to offer dissenting voices try to make the event an issue, the reasons they are giving are that there are rituals to be done. These are seriously embarrassing. The honouring of Mbuya NeHanda is not a rally so there are no political gains to be won in officiating and honouring the heroine.

So the president does not need to publicly request authority for anything. He is the president. People should understand the presidency.

The president, in government, is the officer in whom the chief executive power of a nation is vested. The president of a Republic is the chief of state, but his actual power varies from country to country; in Zimbabwe the presidential office is charged with great powers and responsibilities, but the office is relatively weak and largely ceremonial in Europe and in many countries where the prime minister, or premier, functions as the chief executive officer.

Much of the time these chief executives function in a democratic tradition as duly elected public officials. Zimbabwe endowed the office of president with immutable executive powers, including the power to dissolve the national legislature and call national referenda. So like the president our heroes becomes a national property. This means the heroes among being human beings they are the property of the state. They are the face of the country and indeed their person is solely the person of the state.

When the president leaves At all times during their life time and after their life is over their welfare remains the responsibility of the state. The family can not decide their fate. Nehanda's statue's position is therefore decided by the country not by the family.

While Nehanda was believed to have led a faction no amount of rebelling would strip the honour bestowed on Her by the nation.

There are some people who have denigrated the person of Nehanda and her statue. Nehanda had taken decisions which made her unpopular with the colonialists but which put the nation in the path to independence.

Now coming to the message purportedly said by Mbuya Nehanda the nation must not lose sleep. There is no official message to President Mnangagwa it is entirely based on a rumour.

The government can not start reacting to rumours. Mbuya NeHanda is our hero and deserves better. Nehanda was part of Zimbabwe and she should be buried at a place where her contributions to the state is recognised. The word Zimbabwe can never be in a paragraph without Mbuya Nehanda.

We must all remember that Mbuya Nehanda is now the property of Zimbabwe. Erecting her statue is the greatest honour we can bestow on our leader.

While we honour her we continue asking Zimbabwe to collect her bones from United Kingdom Museum. Its a shame on us. To take forty years without honouring your own spirit and heroin is unforgivable.

Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk