Grace Mugabe Angers ZAPU

It was reported that Grace Mugabe insulted the Matebele men in her rally in Gwanda, by saying that the Matebele men are good for nothing except for the purposes of procreation.

Grace should be reminded that since 1980 the people of Matabeleland have been sidelined from meaningful political and economic participation by her husband.

ZAPU is greatly offended by Ms Grace Mugabe's careless but well calculated utterances, this is not the first time that the people of Matebeleland have been on the receiving end of such insults, we will remember how Mr Robert Mugabe insulted the people of Matebeleland by saying that they run to South Africa and come back with blankets and bicycles. He was also heard equating people of Matebeleland with snakes.

The dehumanisation of a people usually heralds genocide of untold proportions of the targeted people. The people of Matebeleland have a right to feel safe, the people of Matebeleland have a right to feel secure and if these needs are not met, they have a right to defend themselves as a people to ensure that they are safe and their future secure.
The people of Matabeleland should be angry, very angry, and this anger should drive them to assert their political rights of self-determination.

Ms Grace Mugabe chose to show her true tribalism colours in Matebeleland, how many Shona people do we know who have polygamous relationships? Is Gumbura of 11 wives and 100s of concubines from Matebeleland? What about Tswangirayi who has been competing with Gumbura? Grace you should not think that we have forgotten how you stole Mugabe from a bedridden woman. In biblical terms they can best describe it as fornication. At least the Matebele men marry not fornicate.

Immorality is not confined in a certain people; wrong doing is not a preserve of the Shona people or the Matebele, but all the nations of the world they have their misfits. Targeting a certain people like what Grace did is psychologically demeaning and intended at reducing a people to animal levels. This is a well-known psychological phenomena employed by dictators in implementing their evil machinations such as genocide. A nation that suffers two consecutive genocides from the same nation  does not deserve to grace this world. Once beaten twice shy.

The people of Matebeleland have been patient for too long and this is now taken as a sign of stupidity by Grace Mugabe and her husband. The people of Matebeleland have never been accorded full citizenship in Zimbabwe a country of their birth, a country they liberated from colonialism. Marginalisation of the Matebele man is a reality that cannot be denied. Their language has been criminalised, how many times have you heard of the Matebele men and women being questioned for using their language in parliament. Even in Matabeleland people are forced to speak in Shona in government and other public entities. This is not acceptable.

ZAPU will defend the people of Matebeleland. ZAPU will not allow people like Grace Mugabe to divide the people by targeting a section of the country.