ZANLA/ZANU did not liberate Matabeleland

To say that ZANU and it's razmataz armed wing, ZANLA, liberated Matabeleland and therefore are our leaders, comrades or heroes, is as good as claiming that the Rhodesian Army and government liberated us.

 The opposite is true. Given what ZANU and ZANLA did to Matabeles during the Rhodesian war, Matabele genocide between 1981 and 1987 after the war and what they continue to do to us in the so called independent Zimbabwe, it is cristal clear that they are our worst enemies.

Any Matabele who claims to be the leader of this great nation but is not aware or ignorant of this glaring fact is not only politically blind but a real danger to himself, his family and Matabele nation as a whole. Collaborating with the enemies of the nation to achieve  oppression of your own people is an unforgivable sin to the people of Matabeleland who have suffered under the yoke of oppression for more than 130 years.

Those who do not understand what is being said here can only be referred to the scene where and when the Taliban fighters returned to Kabul. Needless to say the frightened sellouts even attempted to board moving planes and others left Afghanistan hurriedly on their own under the cover of darkness. There is no space for sellouts in Matabeleland.

ZANLA, an all Shona and very undisciplined military outfit was only deployed in some parts of Matabeleland South and Midlands in the late 1970s. That was towards the end of the war, not to fight the Rhodesian Army but for the sole purpose of terrorising Matabele civilians, demanding chicken and pap. Their area of operation was in Mashonaland where their behaviour towards Shona civilians was good compared to Matabeles.

Matabele civilians were subjected to untold brutality at the hands of ZANLA, not experienced even under the Rhodesian forces. The sorry lot were extremely tribalistic and and hated Matabele people more than the Rhodesian Army they were supposedly fighting.

Matabeles, both young and old were dragged to overnight bases at gunpoint where they were forced to sing Shona songs and shout slogans praising Mugabe while denouncing ZAPU, it's leader, Joshua Nkomo and even themselves  (Matabele). Torture, beating and even murder of Matabele civilians was common in such gatherings. Women were gang raped and left to suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, and to bear unwanted pregnancies and raise fatherless children.

The main aim of these night long bases, where masses of Matabele civilians were forced to sing Shona songs and shout ZANLA slogns, was to use Matabele as human shields against the Rhodesian army.


Unlike ZIPRA that accepted any food offered to them by the peasants the greedy ZANLA demanded fried chicken and pap from poor Matabele villagers. Due to this strange appetite for chicken and pap,their hurtful and hateful slogan (pasi), ZANLAs where known as opasi or osadza nenyama ye huku.

Besides the clear attempt to impose their Shona language and little known Shona leader by then, Robert Mugabe, on Matabele masses, the danger warning signs of intense tribal hate and evil intentions to commit genocide against the people of Matabeleland were flashing. In short this was a dress rehearsal for Matabeleland genocide. The tribalistic ZANLA forces that terrorised Matabele civilians during the war formed the nucleus of Zimbabwe National Army 5th Brigade that murdered more than 40 000 Matabele civilians in Matabeleland genocide of 1981-1987.

ZANU and it's razmataz armed wing ZANLA were founded on tribal hatred. During the war, ZANU had only one Ndebele in its entire leadership structure , Enos Nkala who had a personal vendetta against Joshua Nkomo leader of ZAPU. Due to his failure to see the difference between Nkomo and Matabele people, he hated the whole nation. This made him a convenient  political tool to be used by tribalistic  ZANU in its evil intention of wiping out Matabele nation. ZANLA was an all Shona military outfit with zero tolerance for Matabele in its ranks.

Both ZANU and ZANLA members are not fit to be called national heroes. Mashonaland national heroes is the correct description for them. It is them who decided to go narrow during the Rhodesian war. They formed a small liberation party ZANU and an all Shona military wing ZANLA to cater for the narrow interests of Shona people. That's going small and very narrow.
As if that was not enough, they went on an attempt to obliterate Matabele nation through Matabeleland genocide after the war.

One who is tribally divisive and stands for the narrow interests of one tribe in a country with more than 16 tribes has himself to blame for the split of Zimbabwe.

We want out of Zimbabwe. A country that is owned by one tribe, Shona. A country run by one tribe with DNA of corruption, theft and witchcraft. Failures  who have run down the country to the point of failed state without its own currency. This country brings us nothing but poverty, misery, humiliation, pain, tribal oppression and tribal hatred. We have become laughing stock of the world.

Some of us are really embarrassed to be called Zimbabweans. We are not Zimbabweans whatever it means.

Izenzo kungemazwi!
Israel Dube
MLO Secretary for Information and Puplic Affairs