Advocates pushing for the revival of the Ndebele monarchy
argue the coronation of their king is a simple way of celebrating their culture
and heritage.
They also argue that the matter does not need a
constitutional provision as it is a purely traditional matter.
Lobengula was the last Ndebele king after a British Pioneer
Column led by Cecil John Rhodes destroyed the Kingdom in 1893.
Mnangagwa last week said: “Bulawayo Metropolitan province,
the greater Matabeleland province and the entire nation must continue to take
keen interest in our culture and heritage.”
He made the remarks during the official opening of the
Bulawayo Arts Festival. “What we saw today is a demonstration of the double
standards by government, which we have come to know.
“This is a government that believes only in the narrative
of Zanu PF and does not allow for alternative voices to be heard, and therefore
there is no doubt at all that this will continue,” said Effie Ncube, a
Bulawayo-based activist.
“Zanu PF fears diversity; it fears opening up space and,
therefore, we see it time and again refusing to allow other people to practice
their culture, to celebrate their culture to establish institutions that are in
line with the practice of that culture.
“The challenge remains that we have a government that has
no respect for human rights at all. That does not allow for alternative voices
to flourish.”
On the day, Mnangagwa
also unveiled the Heritage Corridor, and toured the Roman Catholic St
Mary’s Basilica, Joshua Nkomo Museum, Natural History Museum, Inxwala Grounds,
the Hanging Tree and Dr Joshua Nkomo’s Statue.
Inxwala was an annual Ndebele religious festival, also
known as the First Fruits Ceremony, to mark a time of harvest experienced after
a good agricultural season.
St Mary’s Basilica is one of the 17 minor Basilicas in
Africa, and the only one conferred as such in southern Africa. The Natural
History Museum of Zimbabwe situated at the Centenary Park and formerly the
Rhodesian Museum at its establishment in 1901, is the oldest museum and largest
of the five national museums in the country.
The Hanging Tree was used at the height of the First
Umvukela/ Ndebele uprising in 1896, to hang African men and women, who resisted
colonisation by the European settlers.
The Joshua Nkomo museum chronicles the life history and
contribution of the late vice president. Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo whilst
his stature was erected in his honour.
Mnangagwa was accompanied in the tour of the facilities by
his deputy Constantino Chiwenga and a host of other Cabinet ministers and
government officials.
“The mystery is how Mnangagwa isn’t ashamed of dragging the full contingent of the
government to Bulawayo to witness the
cultural festival of the same people for whom he refused the revival of the
Ndebele monarchy and blocked the coronation of the heir to its throne,” Zapu
spokesperson Iphuthile Maphosa said.
South African-based Bulelani Collins Khumalo and Stanley
Raphael Khumalo are claimants to the Ndebele throne. Incidentally, government
in 2020 allowed the coronation of the Mambo Dynasty in Mawabeni, Matabeleland
South.
The Lozwi clan installed Mike Moyo as King of the Mambo
Dynasty in a bid to revive their kingship.
King Lobengula renamed his royal town from Gibixhegu to
koBulawayo in 1871 while colonial figure and Matabeleland Administrator Leander
Starr Jameson declared koBulawayo a town on June 1, 1894. Standard
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