The hullabaloo that followed the recent visit to Bulawayo City Council chambers by King Bulelani Lobengula Khumalo has exposed the government for its lack of respect for diversity and outright bigotry by some of this country’s leaders.
Bulawayo mayor David Coltart posted pictures of himself with Khumalo during the courtesy call, which elicited positive feedback from right thinking Zimbabweans who felt that it was important to recognise the region’s cultural symbols.
Khumalo, a South African citizen, was identified by Ndebele elders as the rightful heir to the throne left by the last king of the kingdom King Lobengula, who was dethroned by the colonialists.
He has not been installed because the government insists that Zimbabwe’s constitution does not recognise kings and those in power are happy to perpetuate that colonial order because of paranoia.
They believe that if people are organised around a monarch it will threaten their hold on power, especially in areas that have been marginalised historically.
It came as no surprise to see the over the top responses to Coltart and Khumalo’s meeting by Local Government minister Daniel Garwe and Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa.
Garwe wrote a scathing letter to Coltart saying he learnt with “shock and utter disgust” of the meeting held with cultural head of the Ndebele people “allegedly at you invitation and bidding”.
The minister went on to describe the king in very uncharitable words such as “charlatan and imposter.” Not to be outdone, Mutsvangwa told journalists in Harare that the meeting was part of a “plot to create a separate Matabeleland state”.
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He did not bother to provide any evidence for his outlandish claims and we can conclude that the statements were meant to justify the persecution of a people whose only crime is to push for the revival of their cultural heritage.
The level of paranoia in Mnangagwa’s government is astounding. The statements by Garwe and Mutsvangwa should also be read in the context of the shocking 2020 tirade by then Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa, who described Ndebele people as a “righteous minority”.
She was responding to a statement by the Archbishop Christopher Ndlovu-led Zimbabwe Bishops Conference condemning the clampdown on dissent at the time.
Zimbabweans were baffled how the minister saw tribe in the statement that spoke to what was obtaining across the country.
The statements by Garwe and Mutsvangwa last week have helped us locate the elephant in the room. Those in power fear the people and the potential for cultural awakening if traditional leadership institutions are revived. It’s a tragedy.
