Opinion / Columnist
ZRP - Police Service or Force of Occupation
05 Jun 2012 at 13:55hrs | Views
Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure the question above resonates with you. In a supposedly "independent" and "democratic" country it sounds paranoid if not stupid to ask a question of this kind. But I shall ask it anyway.
Everywhere I go, from Venda (Beitbridge) to Bulilima-mangwe to Tonga (Binga), ladies and gentlemen, I am met with what is supposed to be a police service. Be it on our roads or on our streets, I meet these men and women in blue or khaki and grey, many times with a greenish to yellowish reflector. Ladies and gentlemen I understand these man and women are the police services of the country. When I see them, I should be feeling a sense of security, a sense of being protected.
But ladies and gentlemen of Bukalanga (aka Matabeleland), I don't feel any sense of security when I see these men and women. What I feel is sometimes a sense of fear, I feel deep resentment toward these men and women. Here is the major reason why ladies and gentlemen. The men and women remind me of a former evil deed that swept with untold destruction and pain through the land of my forefathers. Ladies and gentlemen the Zimbabwe Republic Police remind me of the Fifth Brigade.
One can say "why" since they aren't destroying property and killing people. But ladies and gentlemen during Gukurahundi, the evil if not satanic incursion into my land, that genocide which swept away the lives of my fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, uncles and cousins, had one feature which I still see in the ZRP. That is, the Fifth Brigade, ladies and gentlemen, was speaking only one language, and it would not deviate from that language. Not only did it speak that one language, it forced my people to speak that language, it accused all who did not speak that language of being dissidents ladies and gentlemen, it accused my mothers and fathers of giving birth to dissidents. Ladies and gentlemen, that language was none other than Shona.
Today as I travel from Venda to Bulilima to Tonga, I meet men and women who insist on the same. Not only do they demand unreasonable "road access funds" (bribes in other words) from our motorists, but they insist on speaking Shona, ladies and gentlemen, whether I understand Shona or not. Ladies and gentlemen, even if they attend to a crime scene or are called in to help they insist on speaking Shona, even after years of service in my area (oh no, occupation of my land).
Ladies and gentlemen, I don't hate Shona people, but the imposition of their language and culture on my land through the ZRP reminds me of the Fifth Brigade, and when I see the ZRP, I see a force of occupation. I see people who are the front of a cultural and linguistic imperialism agenda. For, ladies and gentlemen, if this was a police service, should not those who serve in it, in the interest of good, effective and efficient publice service and administration, speak my language, or attempt to learn my language.
Ladies and gentlemen sometime last year I was called in by two CID officers to answer certain questions concerning my South African registered car. In the questioning, I insisted on using my mother language (TjiKalanga ngobe ndili n'Kalanga unozwida), yet these men insisted in using Shona. I insisted on TjiKalanga too, and they told me they don't understand, but ladies and gentlemen, they expected me to understand their language. Ladies and gentlemen, we ended up settling for English, for as much as it is a foreign language, I think it is neutral to us all. I haven't in recent times heard anyone complain of oppression by the English language ladies and gentlemen. I dare not say it's a superior language, it's not, but it does enable us to communicate with those who don't understand our language. But ladies and gentlemen, even for the Englishman who stays in my land, I expect him to have mastered my precious mother language. I have seen this is possible ladies and gentlemen. In my family we have whites married into the family speaking fluent Kalanga ladies and gentlemen. So, I ask, why do Shona people (I say Shona people because it is not only police officers) insist on using their language in OUR LAND?
Ladies and gentlemen I have been to Mashonaland, where these days I insist on using my precious mother tongue, TjiKalanga. Ladies and gentlemen they laugh at me, or if not they ask me what kind of Zimbabwean am I that doesn't speak Shona. Ladies and gentlemen, is Zimbabwean = Shona? I refuse to believe that. It is not. Nothing therefore should compel me to speak Shona. I for one am Kalanga, and my forefathers settled in this land over a thousand years before the Shona. Why now should the land of my forefathers, ladies and gentlemen, be deemed Shona land?
Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't end there. My fellow brothers and sisters are denied educational opportunities, job opportunities and many other opportunities for no other reason than that they don't speak or are not Shona. Ladies and gentlemen the false accusation laid against us is that we aren't "educated". This is not only an insult ladies and gentlemen bearing in mind how hard we work at school. Our schools are under-capacitated ladies and gentlemen. When our parents where supposed to be getting educated ladies and gentlemen the schools were turned into Gukurahundi zones. They were hunted and hounded out of the country ladies and gentlemen. They were starved, ladies and gentlemen, as food embargos were imposed on them. Today the same people responsible for these evil deeds turn around and accuse us of being "uneducated" ladies and gentlemen. But, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know which school in this country teaches Shona people to man the boom gate at the Plumtree Border Post. Neither do I know of any school that teaches Shona people to stand in guard at a cellphone company sub-station down in rural Bulilima-mangwe ladies and gentlemen. If you know it please help me so I also send my people to go and get "educated".
But here is the problem ladies and gentlemen. When I look around over the border in Botswana and South Africa, many key positions are held by my people, both in local and international organizations. Ladies and gentlemen even if I look back home, many civic society and professional organizations are headed by my people. Yet these are the supposedly "uneducated ones". Ladies and gentlemen, if our Shona brothers and sisters are so educated (I cannot tell you how many Drs and Professors we have in government and parastatals), why have they so ruined this country when they took it over from the Rhodesians? Ladies and gentlemen, only they, the "educated ones", can give a proper answer to this question.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want peace in the land of my forefathers. But to be honest I don't see how it will always prevail when we are treated as second class citizens. Perhaps its time we began peaceful protest ladies and gentlemen. I propose that as a starting point, let us endavor by all means to understand Shona ladies and gentlemen, BUT, let us put even more effort in REFUSING TO SPEAK Shona ladies and gentlemen. No one can arrest us for this kind of peaceful protest. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are Kalanga stick to Kalanga. If you are Venda stick to Venda. If you're Sotho stick to Sotho. If you're Tonga stick to Tonga. If you're Nambya stick to Nambya. If you're Ndebele stick to Ndebele. No law in this land requires that we speak Shona ladies and gentlemen. If its there perhaps it's unwritten ladies and gentlemen, but I cannot be arrested and imprisoned for 'violating' such a 'law'.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we go to Mashonaland we speak their language, yet when they come to OUR LAND, ladies and gentlemen, they want us to change and speak their language. Ladies and gentlemen, its time we stood our ground in the LAND OF OUR FOREFATHERS.
To the Shona I say - it's time to respect us, OUR LAND, our Culture and our Language. If you won't give us the respect that we deserve, then we will take it by ourselves.
Now, is this a call to tribalism ladies and gentlemen? I say NO. But this I state, if insisting on speaking my mother tongue in MY LAND and insisting on being served in a language that I understand is tribalism, then ladies and gentlemen I have no option but to seize it with both hands and make the most of it. If tribalism will ensure that my kids have a good education, if it will ensure my brothers and sisters have access to job opportunities, if it will ensure the development of our roads, dams, bridges, dip tanks, schools, etc, then ladies and gentlemen, I am an unapologetic tribalist.
All I want ladies and gentlemen, is !ke e //xarra: ke. That is Unity in Diversity ladies and gentlemen. This country requires no uniformity for it to be united. We can be united without need to all be Shona ladies and gentlemen. Well, that's the way I see it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you will think long and hard about these issues too.
Ndaboka. Ndaa. Ndili n'Kalanga unozwida. Ndili Whumbe n'Lilima waka Makulukusa nzekulu wabaLozwi nabaPeri. Imi Tjibelu unotanha nti netiko ndakakwakwatila nezebe. Imi ndinohala babuya ndingula nenkaka nditi vula inanyumbgwila.
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Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel, author of The Rebirth of Bukalanga: A Manifesto for the Liberation of a Great People with a Proud History.
Everywhere I go, from Venda (Beitbridge) to Bulilima-mangwe to Tonga (Binga), ladies and gentlemen, I am met with what is supposed to be a police service. Be it on our roads or on our streets, I meet these men and women in blue or khaki and grey, many times with a greenish to yellowish reflector. Ladies and gentlemen I understand these man and women are the police services of the country. When I see them, I should be feeling a sense of security, a sense of being protected.
But ladies and gentlemen of Bukalanga (aka Matabeleland), I don't feel any sense of security when I see these men and women. What I feel is sometimes a sense of fear, I feel deep resentment toward these men and women. Here is the major reason why ladies and gentlemen. The men and women remind me of a former evil deed that swept with untold destruction and pain through the land of my forefathers. Ladies and gentlemen the Zimbabwe Republic Police remind me of the Fifth Brigade.
One can say "why" since they aren't destroying property and killing people. But ladies and gentlemen during Gukurahundi, the evil if not satanic incursion into my land, that genocide which swept away the lives of my fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, uncles and cousins, had one feature which I still see in the ZRP. That is, the Fifth Brigade, ladies and gentlemen, was speaking only one language, and it would not deviate from that language. Not only did it speak that one language, it forced my people to speak that language, it accused all who did not speak that language of being dissidents ladies and gentlemen, it accused my mothers and fathers of giving birth to dissidents. Ladies and gentlemen, that language was none other than Shona.
Today as I travel from Venda to Bulilima to Tonga, I meet men and women who insist on the same. Not only do they demand unreasonable "road access funds" (bribes in other words) from our motorists, but they insist on speaking Shona, ladies and gentlemen, whether I understand Shona or not. Ladies and gentlemen, even if they attend to a crime scene or are called in to help they insist on speaking Shona, even after years of service in my area (oh no, occupation of my land).
Ladies and gentlemen, I don't hate Shona people, but the imposition of their language and culture on my land through the ZRP reminds me of the Fifth Brigade, and when I see the ZRP, I see a force of occupation. I see people who are the front of a cultural and linguistic imperialism agenda. For, ladies and gentlemen, if this was a police service, should not those who serve in it, in the interest of good, effective and efficient publice service and administration, speak my language, or attempt to learn my language.
Ladies and gentlemen sometime last year I was called in by two CID officers to answer certain questions concerning my South African registered car. In the questioning, I insisted on using my mother language (TjiKalanga ngobe ndili n'Kalanga unozwida), yet these men insisted in using Shona. I insisted on TjiKalanga too, and they told me they don't understand, but ladies and gentlemen, they expected me to understand their language. Ladies and gentlemen, we ended up settling for English, for as much as it is a foreign language, I think it is neutral to us all. I haven't in recent times heard anyone complain of oppression by the English language ladies and gentlemen. I dare not say it's a superior language, it's not, but it does enable us to communicate with those who don't understand our language. But ladies and gentlemen, even for the Englishman who stays in my land, I expect him to have mastered my precious mother language. I have seen this is possible ladies and gentlemen. In my family we have whites married into the family speaking fluent Kalanga ladies and gentlemen. So, I ask, why do Shona people (I say Shona people because it is not only police officers) insist on using their language in OUR LAND?
Ladies and gentlemen I have been to Mashonaland, where these days I insist on using my precious mother tongue, TjiKalanga. Ladies and gentlemen they laugh at me, or if not they ask me what kind of Zimbabwean am I that doesn't speak Shona. Ladies and gentlemen, is Zimbabwean = Shona? I refuse to believe that. It is not. Nothing therefore should compel me to speak Shona. I for one am Kalanga, and my forefathers settled in this land over a thousand years before the Shona. Why now should the land of my forefathers, ladies and gentlemen, be deemed Shona land?
But here is the problem ladies and gentlemen. When I look around over the border in Botswana and South Africa, many key positions are held by my people, both in local and international organizations. Ladies and gentlemen even if I look back home, many civic society and professional organizations are headed by my people. Yet these are the supposedly "uneducated ones". Ladies and gentlemen, if our Shona brothers and sisters are so educated (I cannot tell you how many Drs and Professors we have in government and parastatals), why have they so ruined this country when they took it over from the Rhodesians? Ladies and gentlemen, only they, the "educated ones", can give a proper answer to this question.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want peace in the land of my forefathers. But to be honest I don't see how it will always prevail when we are treated as second class citizens. Perhaps its time we began peaceful protest ladies and gentlemen. I propose that as a starting point, let us endavor by all means to understand Shona ladies and gentlemen, BUT, let us put even more effort in REFUSING TO SPEAK Shona ladies and gentlemen. No one can arrest us for this kind of peaceful protest. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are Kalanga stick to Kalanga. If you are Venda stick to Venda. If you're Sotho stick to Sotho. If you're Tonga stick to Tonga. If you're Nambya stick to Nambya. If you're Ndebele stick to Ndebele. No law in this land requires that we speak Shona ladies and gentlemen. If its there perhaps it's unwritten ladies and gentlemen, but I cannot be arrested and imprisoned for 'violating' such a 'law'.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we go to Mashonaland we speak their language, yet when they come to OUR LAND, ladies and gentlemen, they want us to change and speak their language. Ladies and gentlemen, its time we stood our ground in the LAND OF OUR FOREFATHERS.
To the Shona I say - it's time to respect us, OUR LAND, our Culture and our Language. If you won't give us the respect that we deserve, then we will take it by ourselves.
Now, is this a call to tribalism ladies and gentlemen? I say NO. But this I state, if insisting on speaking my mother tongue in MY LAND and insisting on being served in a language that I understand is tribalism, then ladies and gentlemen I have no option but to seize it with both hands and make the most of it. If tribalism will ensure that my kids have a good education, if it will ensure my brothers and sisters have access to job opportunities, if it will ensure the development of our roads, dams, bridges, dip tanks, schools, etc, then ladies and gentlemen, I am an unapologetic tribalist.
All I want ladies and gentlemen, is !ke e //xarra: ke. That is Unity in Diversity ladies and gentlemen. This country requires no uniformity for it to be united. We can be united without need to all be Shona ladies and gentlemen. Well, that's the way I see it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you will think long and hard about these issues too.
Ndaboka. Ndaa. Ndili n'Kalanga unozwida. Ndili Whumbe n'Lilima waka Makulukusa nzekulu wabaLozwi nabaPeri. Imi Tjibelu unotanha nti netiko ndakakwakwatila nezebe. Imi ndinohala babuya ndingula nenkaka nditi vula inanyumbgwila.
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Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel, author of The Rebirth of Bukalanga: A Manifesto for the Liberation of a Great People with a Proud History.
Source - Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel
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