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David Coltart: handsome Matabele warrior with brains

5 hrs ago | Views
I must confess, I feel jealous whenever I see the Mayor of Bulawayo, David Coltart in his Matabele traditional regalia. The man looks more handsome especially when he is wearing his head gear (umqhele). In deed, he is a proud warrior who wears his Matabele attire with pride.

The man is not just a handsome face. He has the balls and the brains. Within a short period of time as Mayor of Bulawayo he has brought meaningful changes that have contributed well to the renewal of Bulawayo and restoration of its culture. These are commendable positive moves that have made him the darling of the people of Bulawayo and Matabeleland at large.

While citizens of Matabeleland and Bulawayo both at home and diaspora are showering Coltart with praises for the job well done, Harare is not happy at all.

Rattled by the presence of Bulelani Lobhengula Khumalo in the City of Kings and Queens, Minister of Local Government, Daniel Garwe, representing the oppressive and regressive Zimbabwe government and ZANUPf mouth piece, Christopher Mutsvangwa, on behalf of terrorist group cum political party, ZANUpf, released statements in quick succession denigrating Coltart for hosting Bulelani in City of Bulawayo.

The merchants of destruction who destroy human beings, nations, infrasture, the economy, education and health systems, masquerading as builders, exposed themselves by attacking the very descendents of nation builders and economic developers. If you are trembling in fear of development, restoration of culture and City of Bulawayo you cannot find help in Matabeleland.

Bulelani Lobengula Khumalo, whether King or not, cannot be a stranger in the City of Bulawayo. His forefathers did not only found the City of Bulawayo but the whole Matabele nation. Even Highlanders FC, whose original name was Matabeleland United, was their brain child. Bulelani is more than welcome in the City of Bulawayo and Matabeleland at large. We cannot be told by tribally and racially motivated failures and oppressors who are 450 km away from us, residing in Harare, Mashonaland, who should be our leader and who should not, who should be our King and who should not.

If there are people who are not welcome in the City of Bulawayo and Matabeleland at large then it is this bunch of chaotic terrorists, ZANUpf and its government. They have never contributed anything in Matabeleland except genocide, tribal/racial division, looting and poverty.

It is not by mistake that David Coltart is the mayor of Bulawayo. He was elected by the people of Matabeleland particularly because they love him. For those who are not aware, Bulelani and David Coltart are two faces that symbolise two races that built the City of Bulawayo and Matabeleland. When the white people took over Matabeleland they built on the King's foundation without changing names and places, in fact they made Bulawayo a permanent Matabeleland history archive by naming townships, schools after the founding farthers ie Matabeleland Kings, Queens, chiefs, regiments and warriors.

The whole infrastructure that is visible today in the City of Bulawayo and Matabeleland was built by the whites together with Matabeles. That is why when Matabeles went to war in the 1970s, they fought the colonial system not the white people. But the merchants of destruction who destroy everything good, murdered more 40 000 innocent Matabele civilians, murdered more than 200 innocent white farmers and grabbed more than 2000 farms from them in the so called independent Zimbabwe, are yet to build infrastructure in Bulawayo let alone Matabeleland. Projects that they started in the 1980s are yet to be finished.

After a peaceful occupation of Mashonaland on the 13th of September 1890, the whites raised the Union Jack flag in the bush. After 45 years ie in 1939 the bush had been developed into a clean modern city now called Harare, with sky scrapers, factories, roads, hospitals and banks. But when the merchants of destruction took over a well run bread basket of Africa on 18 April 1980, Zimbabwe's industries and economy size was second only to South Africa in the African continent.

After 45 years of the so called Zimbabwe independence, Zimbabwe is a failed state without its own currency, saddled with US$ 30 billion dept, the rail system run down, health system destroyed and old buildings build by whites falling down.

For instance, the hospitals have been turned into death traps without medication. Nurses have to improvise by using cutboadboxes in place of plasters. The Zimbabwe national team plays its home games outside the country because all Zimbabwe stadiums built by the whites in the 1920s have been declared old, unsafe and dangerous to supporters and players by FIFA. The Shonas who used to boast that Zimbabwe is theirs alone now run away from it faster than they would run away from a snake. The reason why the Zimbabwe passport is one of the most expensive documents in the world at US$170. Had it been made cheaper Zimbabwe would be an empty desert without people.

The useless government in Harare is not even ashamed of its destructive legacy. Realising that it had destroyed everything in less than 50 years, it coined a catch phrase, "Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo" (the country is built by its own children). It thinks this phrase is a master stroke but it confirms its destructive nature. You cannot build a country by murdering other tribes and races, you cannot build a country by dividing people on tribal/racial lines, you cannot build a country by denying the people their right to exercise their culture, speak their language and run their political affairs they way they see fit.

Then we have the deployees of the 1979 Shona Grand Plan. The most dangerous who live amongst us yet they do not share the same political interests with us. They want to lead us yet their intention is to destroy us while making money in our land. Riding the high horse, they refuse to obey set rules in Bulawayo. The usual suspects, Tinevimbo Maposa, Nkosinathi Hove and Donald Mabuto defied June 2024 council resolution that councillors and staff dress in African traditional attire for every Bulawayo Day and Bulawayo Arts Festival commemorations. The defiance is a clear sign they do not stand for the people of Bulawayo but for those in Harare who deployed them.

In South Africa if you ask a Zulu man if he is Zulu. He will proudly say, yes, and even tell you which side of KZN he is from. Direct the same question to a Shona man in Zimbabwe, you will regret why you asked. You will be accused of being a divisive tribalist. Never seen people who are not proud of who they are!

Since the start of Matabeleland restoration cause, things are nicely falling in place kwa Mthwakazi. David Coltart reminds us that we must walk tall and be proud of our history, culture and who we are. To those who feel traumatised and start hauling when they see this giant called Matabeleland rising again, when they see us uniting and assuming our true identity, we will never say sorry. We will never apologise for being born Matabele, we will never apologise for wearing our traditional regalia which we believe can win a top prize at any fashion show in the world.

Izenzo kungemazwi!

Israel Dube

MLO Secretary for Information and Public Affairs



Source - Israel Dube
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