Bad governance keeps secessionist movements in Africa alive

In 1981 African leaders met in the Gambian capital,Banjul where they adopted the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

But the so-called Banjul Charter has largely been ignored by African governments-some of them run by dictators with blood of innocent people on their hands. Zimbabwe was represented at that meeting by our own head of state, Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe was at the time prime minister before the constitution was amended in 1987 in which he assumed the title of president.

Two years after Mugabe attended that meeting of the defunct Organisation of African Unity (OAU)-now African Union,he went on to commit the worst human rights abuses in Southern Africa when conducted an ethnic cleansing campaign against ethnic minorities in Matabeleland and the Midlands.

His tribal warfare against opposition supporters in the two provinces left more than 20 000 people dead,victims of his North Korean trained Fifth Brigade troops. Article 20 of the Banjul Charter is the favourite for secessionists and oppressed nations.

The article states that all peoples shall have the right to existence.

They shall have the unquestionable right to self-determination. They shall freely determine their political status and shall persue their economic and social development according to the policy they have freely chosen.

Colonised or oppressed peoples shall have the right to free themselves from the bonds of domination by resorting to any means recognised by the international community. But most of the African governments have responded with brute force to crush those seeking self-determination or autonomy for their regions.

Most of the disputed regions in Africa today are a result of colonial legacy.all the existing borders were drawn up by the colonial rulers.It is some of those borders that have caused bloody conflicts in Africa today.

Some of the disputed regions were merged with other protectorates as was the case in Rhodesia, Zambia, Somalia, Eritrea, Caprivi and others. After conquering Matabeleland in 1893 the British merged the region with Mashonaland which was the first to be conquered in 1890 without a fight.

The British colonists reneged on several agreements with the Ndebele before the formation of Southern Rhodesia.After 1893,Matabeleland was ruled by conquest which was a violation of 1888 Moffart Treaty of Peace and Unity. The Matabeleland Order in Council legitimised the Victoria Agreement.

Before Leander Star Jameson set out to invade Lobhengula's country, his friend and chief imperialist, Cecil Rhodes was said to have advised him to read his Bible in Luke Chapter 14 Verse 31. You can read the verse if you have a Bible.

Matabeleland was a nightmare for the settlers and its invasion took a lot of planning and the attack involved soldiers from inside Rhodesia, South Africa, British Border Police,Botswana Border Police, Tuli Column, Salisbury Column and about 400 Shona volunteers.

According to Israel Dube of Matabeleland Liberation Organisation(MLO),Matabeleland was presented to Zimbabwe as a gift from Britain in 1980.Attempts to have the Matabeleland issue resolved have failed.

Successive British governments have washed their hands on matters involving the two former protectorates of Barotseland and Matabeleland. They argue that the two disputed regions are now the responsibility of the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe and the United Nations.

This is despite the fact that it was the British who accepted the boundary between Mthwakazi and Mashonaland. That border between the two tribal states became known as the Jameson Line.Munyati River separated the two states of Mthwakazi and Mashonaland which was the first to be colonised by the British in 1890. In 1891, the colonists placed the two territories under the same administration with William Henry Milton, a former cricket player, as the administrator.

Back to the focus of this article-secessionism in Africa. Bad governance, tribalism, reppression, looting of resources and lack of equal opportunities have been the main cause of civil wars in Africa and the main motivator for the oppressed to secede.

In Zimbabwe, Mugabe has continued to ignore calls by the oppressed and marginalised peoples of Matabeleland and Midlands who just want equal treatment and opportunities. The suffering of the people of Matabeleland has forced many in the region to join ranks with radical groups and secessionist movements such as the Matabeleland Liberation Front (MLF), Patriotic Alliance of Mthwakazi Unions(PAMU), Matabeleland Liberation Organisation of Paul Siwela and the more active Mthwakazi Republic Party(MRP).

Of the four secessionist movements, Mqondisi Moyo's MRP appears to be the most popular among the people of Matabeleland. The party leaders have gained the trust and support of the villagers even in remote areas. MRP leaders have stood with villagers who have been harassed and arrested by the police for speaking out against Shona dominance and oppression.

MRP recently received praise from ordinary people when its officials raised funds to pay the bail of Lupane villagers who were instrumental in kicking out the controversial Shona head at Mlamuli Secondary School in the northern district of Lupane.

The Zimbabwe government still don't take the secessionists seriously because they are yet to stage any violent attacks against state institutions. The only armed group that threatened Mugabe government was Zipra, the armed wing of Zapu during the liberation war.

But Mugabe, the master of political manipulation, found a way to destroy the Zipra threat by forcing Nkomo to join his party, Zanu-PF in 1987.

And calls for the province to secede are growing louder by each day.Of the four active secessionist movements in Southern Africa only two, Cabinda's FLEC  and Misheck Miyongo's Caprivi African National Union (CANU) have armed wings and have in the past carried out attacks against government forces.

CANU's armed wing, the Caprivi Liberation Army(CLA) has carried out a number of guerrilla attacks against Namibian forces. The region is inhabited by several ethnic groups but the largest and most influential is the Lozi.

Cabinda,a rich enclave on the Atlantic coast is separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC).The enclave has vast oil reserves currently being explored by American and European companies.

Cabinda's guerrillas grabbed international headlines during the  2010 African Nations Cup in Angola. The insurgents attacked an Angolan military convoy escorting Togolese national team players who were coming from their training base across the border in Congo-Brazaville.

Three Togolese officials including assistant coach died in the attack. In Barotseland militants of the armed group, Barotse Patriotic Front (BPF) have staged a few guerrilla attacks in Zambia, but they too lack foreign support. Zimbabwe secessionists have all been talk and no action.

But of late the secessionists from different groupings have been organising joint meetings in exile. Independence war veterans from Zipra have attended some of the meetings organised by Zimbabwe secessionists in South Africa and Europe. Could it be that the Zipra war veterans have had enough of Mugabe's illtreatment of their people?

There is no doubt that Mugabe's continued oppression and marginalisation of the inhabitants of Matabeleland has forced the usually disorganised secessionists to forge a united front against him.

One of the Zimbabwe vice-presidents, Emmerson Munangagwa, known as the crocodile during his days as a guerrilla, has dismissed Matabeleland secessionists as day dreamers. He said the government would not allow the country to be divided on tribal lines but the secessionists and their supporters want out of the union.

They argue that total separation from Zimbabwe will resolve the crisis created by the British. Ian Smith's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain in 1965 further complicated the unresolved Matabeleland crisis.

The UDI mearnt that London no longer had a say in Rhodesian affairs.

Munangagwa told the British magazine New African that those seeking secession were possessed by the same demons that were in Biblical Legion who was delivered by Jesus Christ.

Mugabe's critics say the magazine has been sympathetic to his government and party, Zanu-PF. The magazine's Ghanaian born editor, Baffour Ankomar enjoys easy access to Zimbabwean politicians.

Munangagwa,the man who is accused of being one of the architects of the Matabeleland massacres said those advocating for secession will not be victimised because,as he put it,in a democracy,people are allowed to dream.

In Somalia,when dictator Siad Barre was ousted in 1991,leaders of the former British protectorate of Somaliland took advantage of the confusion and declared independence for the territory.

Eritrea's two guerilla groups, Eritrea People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Eritrea Liberation Front (ELF) who helped in the overthrow of Mengistu Haille Mariam broke away from mainland Ethiopia. The leaders of the former Italian territory held a referrendum and the people voted overwhelmingly for independence.

The secession of Eritrea had serious economic impact for Ethiopia. The country lost access to sea ports of Massawa and Asab. In 1914 the Matabeleland Home Society (MHS) under King Lobhengula descendant Prince Nyamande tried to revive the restoration of their Kingdom but without success.

However in theory, the colonists allowed the Ndebele to run their own affairs. The decentralisation of power by the colonists gave the Ndebele some form of peace. More good news followed when in the 70s the Rhodesian government approved the establishment of a Ndebele radio and television channel, Radio and TV Mthwakazi to promote Ndebele and other cultures and languages of the former Mthwakazi state.

The TV and radio station were both based at the Motrose Studios in Bulawayo. The setting up of the new station bought the Rhodesians time to find a solution but the Ndebele also relaxed and calls for the restoration of their Kingdom went silent until Mugabe came to power in 1980. In 1922 Rhodesian whites voted to keep Matabeleland as a British colony.

The outcome of the referendum was a blow to the Transvaal Afrikaners who wanted the Ndebele territory to be part of the Union of South Africa. Should Zimbabwe ignore its own secessionists at its peril or should it start to look for solutions to the Matabeleland crisis?

That question can only be answered by the country's leaders themselves.