Can there be an Ndebele speaking President in Zimbabwe?

By Nkululeko Sapho Ndlovu
Let me begin by deconstructing the semantics. Ndebele is a language which derives from Zulu. The now common currency of calling uMthwakazi or Mahlabezulu the Ndebele is an anomaly, which is still being debated today. The question should be can there be an Mthwakazian president in Zimbabwe? Ndebele being a language, no-one has a monopoly over it, inasmuch the Anglo-Saxons do not hold the monopoly over the English language. The simple and direct answer to this question is NO. This question should be considered by those who consider themselves Zimbabwean. From the perspective of a Mthwakazian, I can not see that happening. A Shona hegemony engineered by Zanu is now so steeped in the Shona psyche that, there has to be a catastrophic paradigm shift on the Shona to realise a President of Zimbabwe who is Mthwakazian. An Mthwakazian President in Zimbabwe will be illegitimate.

Zimbabwe existed as an entity before the advent of BSAC rule (1888-1923), separate from Matebeleland, which shall be referred to as Mthwakazi throughout this document. From 1923 to 1965 both Mthwakazi and Zimbabwe revert to be ruled from London now called Rhodesia, after Mthwakazi was annexed by the Charter, which in itself was illegal and therefore renders the annexation illegal. As there was/is no formal treaty of annexation of Mthwakazi and Zimbabwe by the British, both territories remained independent entities administered jointly as protectorates by the British crown. On 11 November 1965, Ian Douglas Smith declares the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). Rhodesia becomes independent from Colonial Britain. This is declared an illegitimate act by not only Britain but by the United Nations. This therefore means Zimbabwe and Mthwakazi have never been formally annexed, and remain independent of each other until today.

As evidence has clearly shown that Mugabe has from the 1980s, intended to rule Zimbabwe and Mthwakazi as separate entities, this emphasises the point of separateness of the two states, making it difficult for an Ndebele speaking person to be President of Zimbabwe, and exposing the illegitimacy of the Zimbabwean government and Mugabe on Mthwakazi.

The unfortunate development is that Mugabe and Zanu-PF, have managed to subjugate and colonise the minds of Mthwakazians, who now have internalised subservience to Zanu and Mugabe’s hegemony on Mthwakazi. Our people now fail to aspire for the top echelons of any facet of life, be it as President; director of a company; manager of a department or principal of a school. The list is endless. This has been created by the usurpation of the democratic space by Mugabe and Zanu. At present there is a quartet of parties led by Shona speaking individuals, two of them MDC-T and MDC-M, deliberately configured to be led by Shona speakers, and possibly the fourth led by Makoni. This deference to the Shona is regrettable and the Obama effect is light years away, if not near impossible.

The other aspect of this is that, after the Gukurahundi massacres, the situation became untenable. Gukurahundi was a clear indication that Mugabe and Zanu wanted Mthwakazi annihilated. Indeed when Mugabe was questioned by the BBC reporter, about the massacres of Mthwakazi civilians in Mthwakazi, he stated that “we do not distinguish between civilians and dissidents”. This was Mugabe showing impatience with the Zanu 1979 Grand Plan, and Gukurahundi was the quick fix solution, to cow uMthwakazi into ultimate submission to a Zimbabwean hegemony, under one party statism.

Preceding the Mthwakazi massacres, Mugabe had demobilised a sizeable number of ex-Zipra cadres. This was to lay ground for the pillaging, and wanton murder by the marauding Gukurahundi, unimpeded by the vastly superior Zipra. The same demobilised ex-Zipra cadres were now hunted by Mugabe’s Gukurahundi, reminiscent of poachers hunting game.

This period was followed by en-masse colonisation of Mthwakazi, to now consolidate the Zanu Grand Plan of 1979. Unless one is deliberately accosting ignorance, it is without a doubt that the Zanu Grand Plan 1979, has come to pass, and has been cemented in all facets of life in Mthwakazi. Now the icing on the cake is Mugabe, with his brother Makoni, and their nephews Tswangirai and Mutambara, leading their respective parties, who are the embodiment of absolute Shona hegemony over Mthwakazi. This is evidence enough that there can be no Mthwakazi person, at the helm of Zimbabwe.

However, I as a Mthwakazian, I have no interest on Zimbabwean politics. To me Zimbabweans rip what they sow. We in Mthwakazi have never given Mugabe and Zanu a mandate. My only interest on Zimbabwe is divorcing Mthwakazi from the Zimbabwe. I discuss Zimbabwe as an illegal reference point, from where uMthwakazi must now reassert herself as an Independent entity, as created by our fore fathers.

Nkululeko Sapho Ndlovu is the Mthwakazi People's Convention (MPC) UK-Secretary and the movement's Director of International Relations based in United Kingdom. He can be contacted on e-mail: international.relations@mthwakazionline.org