Open Letter to the President of Republic of Zimbabwe: Emmerson Dambuzo Mnangagwa

Ndebele people (all other tribes which are not Shona, as they have been classified as such) have always been treated like 2nd class citizens in a country that they belong to. How long are we going to be suppressed and discriminated in this country? Firstly, we were under colonial rule and when we attained independence in 1980, we were happy that finally we now have freedom but little did we know that it was far from being over. Suddenly, we were now under Shona domination until this day. It has been 37 years of independence but the discrimination keeps on getting worse day by day.

Our forefathers were massacred for reasons that we don't know and no one ever bothered to explain or apologize. They were massacred during the period that was termed 'Gukurahundi' which in English means "the wind that wipes away trash." The term 'Gukurahundi' on its own says a lot about Ndebele people. We never got to understand why were they killed in such an inhumane manner.  Amnesia, a term, which was conned by international relations theorists to explain a situation exactly like Ndebeles, where they were told to forget that Gukurahundi ever happened and move on. But how can you forget losing all your loved ones in such a manner?

We were happy that at last we have a new president and we were expecting that we would see a change in everything, especially the treatment of Ndebeles. But our hope and joy were short-lived during the president's inauguration when people threw papers and all sorts of garbage at a Ndebele band, Jays Marabini when they were singing. But no one did all those things when a Shona singer, Jah Prayzah was on stage; everybody was cheering. What happened to Jays Marabini was tribalism at its best; people shouting that they don't hear Ndebele is enough evidence for anyone to see that. What saddens me the most is that no one dared to condemn the people because it was a minority who doesn't matter in this lovely country of Shona people?

'What kind of a person stays in Zimbabwe and doesn't understand/know Shona,' that is the question that Ndebele people get to be asked every day by Shona people when they say that they don't understand Shona. We understand that Shona people are the majority but that doesn't make them any better than any other people.  The chapter 1 section 6 of the Zimbabwean constitution clearly states that we have about 16 recognized languages; "the following languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa, are the officially recognized languages of Zimbabwe." I did not in any part of the constitution find that the Shona language was supposed to be dominant and be the only language in Zimbabwe. I was, as most people will be, shocked that we have so many languages in Zimbabwe.

This really needs to stop. 'STOP IT' Enough is enough, we also are citizens of Zimbabwe and we deserve equal treatment like Shona people and not to be discriminated. It is within our rights to demand equality; the constitution states that Zimbabwe is founded on respect for the following values and principles: (i) the nation's diverse cultural, religious and traditional values; recognition of the inherent dignity and worth of each human being; recognition of the equality of all human beings; gender equality, (ii) the fostering of national unity, peace and stability, with due regard to diversity of languages, customary practices and traditions.

The chapter 1 section 6 of the constitution stipulates that it is the mandate of the state to 'promote and advance the use of all languages used in Zimbabwe, including sign language, and must create conditions for the development of those languages, ensure that all officially recognized languages are treated equitably; and take into account the language preferences of people affected by governmental measures or communications.' In actual fact, the state is doing the opposite; perpetrating the discrimination. For instance, Former president, RG Mugabe used to speak in Shona without an interpreter on national TV, even worse on rallies in Matabeleland a place that is Ndebele populated as the name suggests. In most governmental offices, like border posts, education offices, embassies, police station and etc, Shona is dominant. This shows that Ndebele people are by force have to know the Shona language. Ndebele people have been marginalized in many situations; job employment, scholarship attainments, admission to colleges and Universities and the list are endless.

Citizens' rights are being abused on a daily basis. This is also caused by the fact that people do not even know their rights and also they are being made to be afraid of voicing out their concerns and standing up for what they believe in, especially Ndebele people with the Gukurahundi incident and people mysteriously disappearing for publicly condemning the government and voicing out their concerns. Few people know the constitution; I only got to know about our constitution when I got to the university. The state and other governmental institutions are doing absolutely nothing in the promotion of public awareness of Constitution. While the constitution states that: (a) the State must promote public awareness of this Constitution, in particular by translating it into all officially recognized languages and disseminating it as widely as possible; (b) requiring this Constitution to be taught in schools and as part of the curricula for the training of members of the security services, the Civil Service and members and employees of public institutions.

I suggest that the state uphold our constitution and take these issues raised seriously in order to resolve this tribalism and discrimination impasse. Can we also have ministers who are also responsive to our concerns and Ndebele people must be represented in all spheres of the government. There must decentralization of offices; all the most important offices are in Harare, people who don't stay in Harare always suffer to access those office services.

I wish to declare that I have done nothing wrong and I just followed the constitution. I do not hate Shona people but I want most of them to stop discrimination. I am not scared to voice our concerns and will continue to be of service to my country driven by my unconditional love for my fellow NDEBELE people.
 
AMANDLA
SEKWANELE!!!!
MALIBUY'ILIZWE LIKAMTHWAKAZI