When a Ndebele Betrays, He/She Betrays Absolutely

Before independence in 1980, some traditional chiefs from Matabeleland betrayed the liberation struggle more than their Shona counterparts. They cooperated with the Smith regime, selling out their own people for personal gain. These are facts - I can prove them with personal testimony.

My mother, Mrs. Sihwa, was betrayed by a chief in Ntabazinduna (name withheld). After 15 months in Chikurubi Prison, she was released with help from Christian Care. Ill and fragile, she fled in the middle of the night, aided by a benevolent white Special Branch officer, until she reached the border with Francistown, Botswana.

Another version suggests the Smith regime released her to monitor her movements—suspecting she was aiding "terrorists" who stored weapons in her home in Mpopoma. That alone could have been a death sentence. Christian Care saved her life by a whisker.

Chief Gwesela of Zhombe, born Ndabezinhle Wait Ndebele, exemplifies this betrayal. His recent praise of Mnangagwa mirrors the betrayal my mother endured. Gwesela urges citizens to bow to Mnangagwa for his "kindness" and supports extending his rule beyond 2028.

"Let me have men about me that are fat."  
This isn't body shaming - it's a metaphor. Gwesela benefits from Mnangagwa just as colonial chiefs benefited from Smith. He praises Mnangagwa for gifting cars to army officers and chiefs, calling it "unprecedented progress" under the Second Republic.

But we've seen this before. During colonial times, chiefs were rewarded with material goods in exchange for loyalty. Today, citizens are instructed to worship Mnangagwa. The cycle continues.

White observers have long held low opinions of African leadership - because when those in power speak, it's often unpredictable nonsense. If a chief speaks foolishly, what of the subjects? Anyone who's heard Mnangagwa at the UN General Assembly knows this feeling.

Gwesela's praise is not noble - it's transactional. His constituency was ravaged by Gukurahundi, yet he sings praises because he's been gifted with cars. Smith used the same tactics.

Back then, chiefs' children were given school placements even if they failed. Chiefs lived in opulence, detached from their people. Gwesela's behaviour is a throwback to that era.

Perhaps fear drives him. He lives in a constituency dominated by Minister Owen Ncube. Speaking out may be dangerous. But if one has nothing meaningful to say, silence is golden.

Gwesela is uneducated. He should speak differently - stand with his people, nurture their wounds, and demand truth and reconciliation. That would be a legacy worth leaving.

If he demanded food security and sustainable development, his region would benefit. Matabeleland suffers chronic food shortages. That's the language he should speak - not the number of cars chiefs receive.

Instead, Gwesela kupururudzira nhamo serugare - he celebrates suffering as if it were peace. He must be exonerated for his primitive attributes.

Some Ndebele chiefs are a lost cause. Gwesela is one of them. He will continue supporting Mnangagwa, believing - within his limited capacity -that he is the best president of the Second Republic.

Gwesela forgets that Mnangagwa butchered citizens of Matabeleland and the Midlands. But if Mnangagwa gives him cars and food, it's enough to sing:

"Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye,  
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie…"

Gwesela even threatens Zimbabweans of Malawian origin - saying they'll be deported if they don't support Mnangagwa. He doesn't know that these ancestral citizens are Zimbabweans by birth. His xenophobic threats are unconstitutional.

To be a chief is not to dominate. It is to serve. Reading Gwesela's praise of Mnangagwa stirred deep emotions of betrayal - compelling me to write this piece.