Kings for Harare, But Not for Matabeleland? Garwe's Letter Exposes a Deep Hypocrisy

Minister Daniel Garwe's recent rebuke of Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart over his meeting with King Bulelani Lobengula Khumalo has sparked a storm of outrage across Matabeleland. The letter, reeking of condescension and political threat, accuses the Mayor of recognizing a "fraudulent impostor" and claims that Zimbabwe's Constitution does not allow for kings. But this is not just about legal formalities - it is a deeply insulting act of political hypocrisy that has laid bare ZANU-PF's two-faced approach to culture, tradition, and regional identity.

Let us ask a simple question: If Zimbabwe's Constitution does not recognize kings, how then did the same government install a so-called "King Munhumutapa" in Harare? Who anointed him? Which royal house convened to proclaim his kingship? Was he embraced by the people or imposed by the state? The truth is obvious - Munhumutapa is a politically convenient fabrication. A mascot for nationalist myth-making with no spiritual or ancestral legitimacy among the people he is meant to represent.

Likewise, the appointment of Moyo as "Mambo" of the baKalanga was an affront to our dignity and heritage. We, the baKalanga people, do not recognize Moyo as our leader. He is a charlatan thrust upon us by a regime that neither consulted us nor respected our traditional systems. No royal process affirmed him. No ancestral spirit endorsed him. He is a product of ZANU-PF's colonial reflexes: divide, impose, and control.

And yet, when the Ndebele people - through their own royal families and customary channels - recognize King Bulelani as iNgonyama, Garwe calls it a constitutional crisis. This is not just inconsistency. It is calculated contempt for Matabeleland.

The Ndebele and Kalanga peoples are not colonies of Harare. We are nations with our own kings, histories, and traditions. We do not require ministerial permission to honor our heritage. If the government can manufacture monarchs in Mashonaland with state blessings and media applause, then surely the people of Matabeleland can affirm their own through bloodlines, tradition, and the will of the people.

Minister Garwe's letter, therefore, must be seen for what it is: a continuation of the Gukurahundi mentality by other means. It is an effort to delegitimize, destabilize, and ultimately erase the cultural identity of the Ndebele nation. That same hand which once unleashed the Fifth Brigade to silence Matabeleland now wields the pen to delegitimize its symbols.

But we will not be silenced.

We remember how King Lobengula's kingdom was stolen through lies and coercion. We remember how our languages were marginalized, our customs mocked, and our leaders murdered or exiled. We remember Gukurahundi. And today, we remember Garwe's letter not as a legal document, but as a political provocation - a reminder that the gukurahundistas are still among us, now wearing suits and quoting constitutions they themselves do not obey.

Mayor Coltart did what any leader of conscience would do - he honored the traditions of his people. In welcoming King Bulelani, he acknowledged a truth that the state continues to suppress: that identity, memory, and cultural legitimacy do not flow from Harare - they rise from the people.

The backlash to Garwe's letter has been fierce. Ibhetshu LikaZulu called the minister's statements "an insult to the Ndebele nation." Kalanga elders have reaffirmed their rejection of Mambo Moyo. Across social media, young people are demanding cultural justice and refusing to be dictated to by political gatekeepers who have no roots in their communities.

We are not going back into silence.

Matabeleland is rising. From Plumtree to Lupane, from Tsholotsho to Kezi, a cultural awakening is underway - and it will not be stopped by tired threats or hypocritical ministers. The government can invent all the kings it wants in Harare. But here, in the south, we know our kings. We know our bloodlines. And we know our truth.

So let Garwe keep his manufactured monarchs. We, the people of Matabeleland, will continue to honor King Bulelani, not because the state approves - but because the ancestors do.

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