Opinion / Columnist
Genocide: A tool used by Mashonaland to demonise Ndebeles
22 Apr 2019 at 09:43hrs | Views
There are those people who still believe that the Genocide ended with the 1987 so called unity accord which was a mere marriage of political convenience. The agreement did not even come close to addressing what would happen after Zapu and Zanu PF joined hands.
The unity accord as many of us anticipated was an agreement with prospects of long term solutions for the people of Midlands and Matebeleland. It eventually offered nothing to Mthwakazi, serve for the powers that it bestowed upon Robert Mugabe and his zanu pf party. After 32 years, Zanu pf still has its cockerial ( Jongwe/ Iqhude) symbol at its headquarters in Harare which affirms that Zanu PF deliberately planned to swallow Zapu. The Karigamombe building in the CBD of Harare which was official opened on 20 November 1987, a month before the unity accord, still stands as a stubborn reminder of the insincerity of Zanu PF towards the unity pact of the 22nd of December 1987. Karigamombe was named after the demise of Dr Joshua Nkomo and ZAPU and is a derogatory term which means the bull has been castrated. This was in reference to the bull symbol of Zapu, and in simple Ndebele terms it ironically meant that Iqhude lathena INkunzi which is rather ridiculous and demeaning to Zapu and all those who served under it, in the delivery of freedom.
It is very much disturbing for people like George Charamba and Energy Mutodi to attempt to make us believe that Gugurahundi was a justified war. The million dollar question is, it was a war against who? For the record, Ndebeles and Shonas have never fought directly, apart from the 652 Shona batsmen who fought from the whites corner at the battle of Gadade in Ntabazinduna where more than 6000 Ndebele warriors were lost. For people like Mutodi and Charamba to peddle lies that the government unleashed the North Korean trained Fifth brigade through the facilitation of Emerson Mnangangwa and Robert Mugabe, because there was war is rather misguided and lacks basic truth.
It is known that Julius Nyerere the former President of Tanzania advised Robert Mugabe and his inner circle that the only way to rule Ndebeles was to instill fear on them by killing them. Robert Mugabe took the advice from Nyerere after he had reminded him of the bravery of the Ndebele people. It is widely believed that Nyerere delved into the rescue of Robert Mugabe because the Shona people originate from Tanzania. It was the birth of a tribal genocide. This is the same Julius Nyerere that Robert Mugabe flew to his home in Dareesalem a day before the meeting that was to take place between Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo in London, that would pave way to an agreement of contesting the 1980 elections as a Patriotic Front. The following morning Joshua Nkomo knocked at Robert Mugabe's room at a hotel in which the two were booked, only to be informed by hotel staff that he had left for Tanzania. The talks between the two gentlemen had collapsed and it was in the following morning that Robert Mugabe announced in Dareesalem that Zanu PF would contest the 1980 elections as a stand alone party. What a betrayal by Robert Mugabe and his zanu PF to Joshua Nkomo, the man who kick started Mugabe's political career by identifying him as a suitable young man to take the position of Zapu spokesperson.
In any case Gugurahundi left an indelible and permanent mark of pain damage and disadvantages on our people. For a period five years in Matebeleland, developmental programs came to a halt, schools closed and people lost their businesses as a result of the volatile environment. The systematic marginalization that succeeded Gukurahundi has condemned Mthwakazi to abject poverty and a seven year deficit of development.
Today, 32 years after the unity accord our people are still living in fear because of the scars of Gugurahundi. They still survive under ethinic bullying, that uses Gugurahundi as reference consequence of challenging the status quo. The 1979 Grandplan by Zanu PF and the code xxx by the MDC, proves that Gukurahundi is an ethinic onslaught, which qualifies it as a genocide. The government has invested so much into the security sector in Mthwakazi where the majority of security and intelligence agents are of Shona ethnicity. These include, soldiers, CIOs , Prison services personnel, Magistrates and Public Prosecutors. This is designed to suppress any sentiment that speak for Mthwakazi issues. This scenario has led to systematic arrests of our people and commandeered prosecutions and judgements. Arrests of Mthwakazi activists have generally nothing to do with the constitution breaches, but the political instruction from Harare. Arresting officers have admited on numerous occasions that they would have been instructed by Harare to arrest our members on frivolous charges. Our arrests have not been by law but through a command voice from Harare, which is inherent to the era of Smith in the early 80s when Joshua Nkomo and other leaders like Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku would be arrested at the command of Salisbury. History is repeating itself, the only difference is the colour of the skin.
The nonsense by Mudoti and Charamba that Gugurahundi was a war, stinks and shall not hold water. The people of Mthwakazi are not stupid. These two mouthpieces of a Shona hegemony are direct beneficiaries of the 1979 Grandplan and the Genocide of 1982-1987. Infact Energy Mutodi and George Charamba are born of Gugurahundists and are reaping the fruits of Gukurahundi that have placed them to their current positions of privilege.
My parting words are that we have never fought with the Shona people and they should under estimate us at their own peril. We are a generation that will not be deceived as they did to Joshua Nkomo and other Matebeleland leaders.
We are prepared to lay our lives for our freedom. The time is now, and we will go through all the hurdles to legitimise our struggle within and outside our country.
The utterances by Mutodi and Charamba are rather malicious and provocative in nature.
We know that we lost over 50 000 innocent and unarmed civilians who included children, pregnant women, elderly people and the middle aged. What qualified these people as Dissidents? Were they armed?
Finally we are now reeling under an economic Genocide as a continuation of the physical. Government has made sure it denies our people, employment opportunities in civil service. All government departments and offices in Matebeleland apart from being managed by Shona people, only employs people of Shona ethnicity.
The only acceptable and permanent closure on the Genocide is to Separate from Mashonaland. This would be beneficial to both Mashonaland and Mthwakazi as it would avert the likelihood of an ethinic civil unrest.
Sisonke Sibambene SinguMthwakazi Sizakulungisa.
MRP For Peace And Justice In our Lifetime.
Mqondisi Moyo
MRP President
The unity accord as many of us anticipated was an agreement with prospects of long term solutions for the people of Midlands and Matebeleland. It eventually offered nothing to Mthwakazi, serve for the powers that it bestowed upon Robert Mugabe and his zanu pf party. After 32 years, Zanu pf still has its cockerial ( Jongwe/ Iqhude) symbol at its headquarters in Harare which affirms that Zanu PF deliberately planned to swallow Zapu. The Karigamombe building in the CBD of Harare which was official opened on 20 November 1987, a month before the unity accord, still stands as a stubborn reminder of the insincerity of Zanu PF towards the unity pact of the 22nd of December 1987. Karigamombe was named after the demise of Dr Joshua Nkomo and ZAPU and is a derogatory term which means the bull has been castrated. This was in reference to the bull symbol of Zapu, and in simple Ndebele terms it ironically meant that Iqhude lathena INkunzi which is rather ridiculous and demeaning to Zapu and all those who served under it, in the delivery of freedom.
It is very much disturbing for people like George Charamba and Energy Mutodi to attempt to make us believe that Gugurahundi was a justified war. The million dollar question is, it was a war against who? For the record, Ndebeles and Shonas have never fought directly, apart from the 652 Shona batsmen who fought from the whites corner at the battle of Gadade in Ntabazinduna where more than 6000 Ndebele warriors were lost. For people like Mutodi and Charamba to peddle lies that the government unleashed the North Korean trained Fifth brigade through the facilitation of Emerson Mnangangwa and Robert Mugabe, because there was war is rather misguided and lacks basic truth.
It is known that Julius Nyerere the former President of Tanzania advised Robert Mugabe and his inner circle that the only way to rule Ndebeles was to instill fear on them by killing them. Robert Mugabe took the advice from Nyerere after he had reminded him of the bravery of the Ndebele people. It is widely believed that Nyerere delved into the rescue of Robert Mugabe because the Shona people originate from Tanzania. It was the birth of a tribal genocide. This is the same Julius Nyerere that Robert Mugabe flew to his home in Dareesalem a day before the meeting that was to take place between Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo in London, that would pave way to an agreement of contesting the 1980 elections as a Patriotic Front. The following morning Joshua Nkomo knocked at Robert Mugabe's room at a hotel in which the two were booked, only to be informed by hotel staff that he had left for Tanzania. The talks between the two gentlemen had collapsed and it was in the following morning that Robert Mugabe announced in Dareesalem that Zanu PF would contest the 1980 elections as a stand alone party. What a betrayal by Robert Mugabe and his zanu PF to Joshua Nkomo, the man who kick started Mugabe's political career by identifying him as a suitable young man to take the position of Zapu spokesperson.
In any case Gugurahundi left an indelible and permanent mark of pain damage and disadvantages on our people. For a period five years in Matebeleland, developmental programs came to a halt, schools closed and people lost their businesses as a result of the volatile environment. The systematic marginalization that succeeded Gukurahundi has condemned Mthwakazi to abject poverty and a seven year deficit of development.
Today, 32 years after the unity accord our people are still living in fear because of the scars of Gugurahundi. They still survive under ethinic bullying, that uses Gugurahundi as reference consequence of challenging the status quo. The 1979 Grandplan by Zanu PF and the code xxx by the MDC, proves that Gukurahundi is an ethinic onslaught, which qualifies it as a genocide. The government has invested so much into the security sector in Mthwakazi where the majority of security and intelligence agents are of Shona ethnicity. These include, soldiers, CIOs , Prison services personnel, Magistrates and Public Prosecutors. This is designed to suppress any sentiment that speak for Mthwakazi issues. This scenario has led to systematic arrests of our people and commandeered prosecutions and judgements. Arrests of Mthwakazi activists have generally nothing to do with the constitution breaches, but the political instruction from Harare. Arresting officers have admited on numerous occasions that they would have been instructed by Harare to arrest our members on frivolous charges. Our arrests have not been by law but through a command voice from Harare, which is inherent to the era of Smith in the early 80s when Joshua Nkomo and other leaders like Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku would be arrested at the command of Salisbury. History is repeating itself, the only difference is the colour of the skin.
The nonsense by Mudoti and Charamba that Gugurahundi was a war, stinks and shall not hold water. The people of Mthwakazi are not stupid. These two mouthpieces of a Shona hegemony are direct beneficiaries of the 1979 Grandplan and the Genocide of 1982-1987. Infact Energy Mutodi and George Charamba are born of Gugurahundists and are reaping the fruits of Gukurahundi that have placed them to their current positions of privilege.
My parting words are that we have never fought with the Shona people and they should under estimate us at their own peril. We are a generation that will not be deceived as they did to Joshua Nkomo and other Matebeleland leaders.
We are prepared to lay our lives for our freedom. The time is now, and we will go through all the hurdles to legitimise our struggle within and outside our country.
The utterances by Mutodi and Charamba are rather malicious and provocative in nature.
We know that we lost over 50 000 innocent and unarmed civilians who included children, pregnant women, elderly people and the middle aged. What qualified these people as Dissidents? Were they armed?
Finally we are now reeling under an economic Genocide as a continuation of the physical. Government has made sure it denies our people, employment opportunities in civil service. All government departments and offices in Matebeleland apart from being managed by Shona people, only employs people of Shona ethnicity.
The only acceptable and permanent closure on the Genocide is to Separate from Mashonaland. This would be beneficial to both Mashonaland and Mthwakazi as it would avert the likelihood of an ethinic civil unrest.
Sisonke Sibambene SinguMthwakazi Sizakulungisa.
MRP For Peace And Justice In our Lifetime.
Mqondisi Moyo
MRP President
Source - Byo24News
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
