Although Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba yesterday refused to comment on the matter, the activists were circulating the documents on the internet the whole of last week.
The documents include a draft “independence agreement for Mthwakazi Republic.”
A militant movement, the Matabeleland Liberation Front (MLF) was formed in Bulawayo late last year and has been pushing for the secession of Matabeleland arguing that the region has been marginalised for too long.
Although many people believe the activists will not get enough support for the creation of a separate state, their campaign would bring to the fore serious problems that have remained unsolved in Matabeleland since independence.
The region already has two other parties calling for a separate state or a semi-autonomous region in the name of the Patriotic Union of Matabeleland and Zapu Federal Party.
Other national parties such as Zanu PF, MDC-T, MDC and Zapu say devolution is the answer.
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Activists inspired by protests in North Africa
Analysts say the activists have been buoyed by the recent referendum that saw the creation of an independent South Sudan.
In the letters to Mugabe and Tsvangirai, the activists say they were motivated by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, which toppled presidents Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali respectively.
“Your Excellency, whether by accident or design of history we all find ourselves living in a time when we have to make a decision about uMthwakwazi independence,” reads the letters in part.
“Yes it is a decision we otherwise wish did not confront us, but it does. We must confront it, honestly and bravely.”
