Oppression: An Exposition Of Ndebele Collaboration
by Sikhathele Mkhwahla
Sunday, December 16, 2007

Introduction

It is a very sad reality that the last 20 years since the Unity Accord [1987-2007] mark the worst years of Ndebele humiliation in defeat and unrestrained collaborative tendencies by the Ndebele people.

The New International Webster’s Dictionary & Thesaurus says to collaborate is to ‘cooperate willingly and traitorously with the enemy.’ While collaboration is neither new nor peculiar to Ndebele people, what is more repugnant is the justification for the treachery.

It is not necessary here to narrate the many cases of collaboration during Rhodesian rule because conventional history can address that and also the liberation war dealt strongly with sell-outs. The focus here is on collaboration in post-independent Zimbabwe where the Ndebele face probably the worst threat to their survival and continued existence as a people and where collaborators glorify themselves as heroes rather than what they truly are –bloody villains.

For record’s sake it is crucial to emphasize that Zimbabwe as a modern country is historically the result of the annexation of Matabele country to Mashonaland (by then Rhodesia proper) after the fall of the Ndebele State. This was after Impi YeMfazo or the Anglo-Ndebele War of 1893. While today Zimbabwe is one country [made of two territories] it has at least two nations; the Shona (dominant) and the Ndebele (dominated).

Ndebele collaboration is the cooperation with the ruling Shona elite in the continued internal colonization of Matabeleland, the subjugation of Mthwakazi nation and the shameless plunder of her resources.

The Gukurahundi Ideology

By Gukurahundi ideology is meant all the ideas, beliefs, actions and attempts by the Shona people to obliterate the Ndebele nation and subjugate Matabeleland as a permanent annexe of Mashonaland. The main tenets of Gukurahundi ideology are enshrined in the PROGRESS REVIEW ON THE 1979 GRAND PLAN.

Some might say that is a ZANU-PF document and programme. To an extent yes it is, but its purpose is Shona hegemony irrespective of political party. ZANU-PF merely is the vehicle through which Shona nationalism manifested and expressed itself. Gukurahundi genocide against the Ndebele squarely lies in the hands of ZANU-PF leadership, but Gukurahundi ideology is more pervasive.

What ZANU-PF implemented could as well have been done by UANC, ZUPO, ZANU-Ndonga, ZUD, FORUM Party, ZPP, UPM or MDC. One needs only to refer to statements by Joseph Msika former Vice-President of ZAPU and recently Morgan Tswangirayi of MDC. The desire and aspiration to dominate and subjugate the Ndebele is shared amongst the Shona elite irrespective of political party. That’s the Gukurahundi ideology meant to augment culturally, psychologically and economically what the Gukurahundi soldiers executed militarily.

The Conditions for Collaboration

Throughout history it is evident that no conquest can last unless the conquered accept their fate of oppression. It takes a slave to sustain slavery. The Shona elite know very well that Matabeleland cannot be sustained as an internal colony by the use of force alone. Actually, no amount of force in the world can keep a people in bondage unless that people give up the struggle for their freedom. ZANU-PF strategists had two-pronged options that would give them the same result.

First was the genocide option which in their mistaken view was meant to wipe out the Ndebele and re-populate Matabeleland thereafter with Shona people. Although absolute genocide was bound to fail, at least the Ndebele nation would be severely weakened to a point of subjugation without resistance. Cultural genocide would finish up where military genocide had failed.

The second option was to bludgeon the Ndebele to submission by breaking their resolve to statehood. Then the Ndebele elite would either be eliminated or bribed into aligning with the Shona elite in furthering hegemonic tendencies of the latter. The aftermath of Gukurahundi military extravaganza created a conducive climate for collaboration by the Ndebele elite.

Collaboration becomes rife once a people suffer defeat, humiliation, deprivation and thus gripped with hopelessness and directionless that generates opportunism. We identify three levels or scenarios of Ndebele collaboration as elaborated below.

The Unity Accord as Collaboration

It is common knowledge today in Matabeleland that Unity Accord was exploited by the PF-ZAPU leadership to join the ZANU-PF gravy train and hence facilitate the permanent occupation of Matabeleland. This should not surprise anyone, since it is the culmination of the two-pronged strategy by the ZANU-PF leadership.

PF-ZAPU represented the interests of many Zimbabweans but most significantly that of Matabeleland. Therefore, any conquest of the region would entail incorporation of PF-ZAPU leadership in the project. Those perceived to have been on the way of the Gukurahundi ideology were eliminated during the genocide campaign and those willing to collaborate spared.

In any case, significant positions in PF-ZAPU national executive were held by a compliant Shona elite that was very willing to re-unite with their victorious brethren in ZANU-PF. This group was largely spared from persecution, harassment and elimination which was visited on the Ndebele leadership of PF-ZAPU.

The immediate question is: was Dr Joshua Nkomo a collaborator? Did he sign the Unity Accord in order to facilitate the internal colonization of Matabeleland? History has the answer already. The history of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle is littered with many abortive attempts to unite the liberation forces.

However, in reality and as ZANU-PF writers themselves have confirmed, all these were attempts to dismember ZAPU/ZIPRA and dislodge Nkomo and the Ndebele equation from the liberation struggle. Because Dr Nkomo was strong and committed the plots and machinations failed albeit with grave consequences. At independence, when ZANU-PF took power it requested Dr Nkomo to collaborate as titular president. Nkomo refused flatly. Actually, Dr Nkomo had even refused to join the Government of National Unity at independence.

Although he had to concede, he never collaborated and was eventually thrown out. What followed were several plots and conspiracies to eliminate Dr Nkomo and the Ndebele people. He only survived by the grace of the Almighty but thousands of Ndebeles were not as lucky. He had to concede to talks on Unity in the face of unabated genocide against his people and coupled with connivance by some of his colleagues in ZAPU/ZIPRA and an unsympathetic international community.

Dr Nkomo resorted to Lenin’s tactic of one step backward in order to make two forward. Unfortunately, he never lived long enough to make that forward step in person. Dr Nkomo never was a collaborator and never encouraged it as evidence abounds from his autobiography.

What history tells about Dr Nkomo and Unity Accord unfortunately does not apply to the rest of the PF-ZAPU/ZIPRA leadership. These leaders were already in cahoots with the enemy even before the Accord was signed. It was as if Dr Nkomo was stopping them from joining ZANU-PF and enjoy positions as collaborators.



By consenting to the Accord, Dr Nkomo actually exposed all the treacherous Ndebele leaders and demonstrated how difficult it had become for him to continue the resistance in the company of traitors. Whoever, is in ZANU-PF is in that party as a card carrying member who fully subscribes to the Party programme and ideology and can never claim to be in it because of Joshua Nkomo. Nowhere in the world has membership to a party been decided on by another person.



Any claim by those collaborators in ZANU-PF that they joined because of Dr Nkomo is not only nonsense but treacherous. Period! This collaboration due to political necessity was believed to be the only way to halt the Gukurahundi genocide.



Collaboration in War Veterans Association by Ex-Zipra



Maybe the most devastating blow to the Ndebele cause was the collaboration of Ex-ZIPRA combatants, especially through the Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association which has been turned into the ZANU-PF militia. Physically, the Gukurahundi Brigade was withdrawn from Matabeleland and Midlands but its terror is still sustained and perpetuated by the presence of War Veterans who ironically are Ex-ZIPRA.



The most demanding of the missions that the Ndebele people have ever had was the building of that revolutionary army against all imaginable odds. These were sons and daughters of Matabeleland who were sacrificed for the price of freedom. Thousands perished in the war against Rhodesians while innumerable succumbed to hunger, diseases, wild animals and other difficulties faced in war. As if that was not enough, the Zanla forces, CIO, PISI, Fifth Brigade and Youth Militias persecuted, tortured, imprisoned and butchered any Ex-ZIPRA member they could find.

In fact the genocide that the Ndebele nation suffered was on the pretext of pacifying the Ex-ZIPRA combatants. The people never abandoned ZIPRA even at the cost of their lives and many paid the ultimate price for allegedly sheltering the so-called ‘dissidents’ referring to Ex-ZIPRA. It is incredible that today, the same Ex-ZIPRA combatants who yesterday were hunted, butchered and paraded in rallies are today the worst enemies of the people – their own mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.

It is a known fact that Ex-ZIPRA form the backbone of the Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association and the organisation has been a willing tool in violent campaigns in Matabeleland. The greatest threat to Ndebele freedom today is posed by Ex-ZIPRA cadres in the service of a repressive regime. Because of defeat, torture and humiliation, the Ex-ZIPRA regret having fought on the side of Nkomo and ZAPU and wish they were Zanla. To psychologically make up for that cognitive dissonance they unleash violence against their own people – the Enos Nkala syndrome!

Even the Unity Accord that assimilated PF-ZAPU into ZANU-PF does not say that ZIPRA should join Zanla. The unfortunate treachery by Ex-ZIPRA cadres has nothing to do with the Unity Accord and is unforgivable.

The Movement for Democratic Change and Ndebele Collaboration
While the majority in PF-ZAPU/ZIPRA collaborated directly with the Shona by joining the Shona nationalist party ZANU-PF, some people refused to join ZANU-PF while others joined but could not be rewarded to their satisfaction for their collaboration and hence pulled out and were to be part of the opposition.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was formed by those who initially refused to collaborate and by collaborators dissatisfied with ZANU-PF. What is significant to note is that in the final analysis the Ndebele collaboration led to the MDC formation. Why do we say so? We need a recall from our history. The historical split of the Zimbabwean nationalist movement in 1963 was over the refusal by Shona nationalists [the likes of Leopold Takawira, Robert Mugabe, Eddison Zvobgo, Edgar Tekere, Herbert Chitepo and collaborator Enos Nkala] to have an Ndebele in the person of Dr Nkomo in the leadership position.

Zimbabwe’s independence has shown that this Shona belief and practice is not confined to political leadership only but to virtually all spheres of life be it in business, education and even in churches. One would have expected the Ndebele elite to resist that overt marginalisation.

However, since the Gukurahundi ideology is the ruling ideology, it is now the Ndebele elite propagating the fallacy that no Ndebele can lead in Zimbabwe – remember Welshman Ncube’s utterances. Although this Gukurahundi ideology was propounded in ZANU-PF, it has permeated other political formations like the former Forum Party and recently the MDC. Those Ndebele elites in the MDC have become the agents and purveyors of Gukurahundi hegemony. Ndebele collaborators suffer from false consciousness since they have internalised their own marginalisation and rationalise it as natural. They falsely perceive Ndebele oppression as ‘natural’ yet it is socio-politically and economically constructed.

The MDC which apparently had to be led by Gibson Sibanda was prostituted by the Ndebeles themselves and opted for a Shona, Morgan Tswangirayi. The reason they would give whenever we asked was that if an Ndebele were to lead the opposition the majority Shona would not support it. Therefore, the Ndebele people have to be subjected to a Shona leader just to woo Shonas into the opposition. The Ndebele choice and feelings do not matter to these collaborators, what matters are Shona feelings. In a nutshell, MDC reflects the betrayal of Ndebele aspirations by collaborators who led that opposition outfit.

The MDC Split and Ndebele Collaboration

Just when the Ndebele collaborators in the MDC felt confident that they had won the Ndebele masses against fellow collaborators in ZANU-PF, the inevitable happened. The faked unity in the MDC project collapsed on its own. Bootlicking by the Ndebele elite could not whet the appetite of the hegemonic Shona in the MDC.

It is obvious to all that Morgan Tswangirayi was on the wrong but he stood his ground against the cowardly Ndebele collaborators and apparently got away with his political mischief. He took advantage of the political vulnerability of these Ndebele MDC leaders – the vulnerability borne out of their collaboration and bootlicking. When these Ndebele collaborators were nearly rendered irrelevant they had to hire yet another Shona [Arthur Mutambara] to lead them.

Those few Ndebele members of Tswangirayi faction of MDC do not necessarily agree with Tswangirayi’s misdeeds but because they saw an opportunity to replace fellow Ndebele collaborators ejected from higher echelons of that party, so they persevered. Both Ndebele groups in the Tswangirayi and Mutambara factions of the MDC are victims of their internalisation of the slave mentality.

Coalitions and Ndebele Collaboration

The Shona elite in the MDC have not ended there. Just like their ZANU-PF brethren they know that they can prostitute almost anyone in Matabeleland to serve their hegemonic and internal colonial interests. The latest victim is Paul Siwela’s version of ZAPU that was bribed into collaboration without any dime being paid out but the mere sound of tinkling coins. What a bunch of desperados!! In the name of coalition one group after another in Mthwakazi is being trapped in the name of alliances and Zimbabwe nationhood.

Notwithstanding the ideological contradictions in Paul Siwela and his version of ZAPU, he at least apparently stood on the right side of the Matabele people all along. His political adventurism of late smacks of opportunism typical of all Judases. How else could one describe people who seemingly resisted incorporation into ZANU-PF and MDC only to backtrack at the eleventh hour. It is sad that Ndebele groups compete for Shona recognition and this applies to civic groups, church, youth and women organisations.

The Ndebele people will never forget how organisations like the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) diverted and thwarted efforts to bring up the Ndebele question. All collaborators through this pro-Shona organisations are known and marked.

The Aspirations of Collaborators


Maybe it is crucial to understand the reasoning behind collaboration if this evil habit amongst the Ndebele is to be stamped out and minimized in future generations. We have unmasked the disguise used by both ZANU-PF and MDC collaborators alike. Let us try and understand their true intentions which are of course personal agendas. Some of the reasons include;

· Some seek a parliamentary/senatorial seat in the Zimbabwean parliament and the associated benefits

· Possibilities of a ministerial or ambassadorial post in a Shona government

· Wealth, status, influence and abuse of power that goes with being ZANU-PF or MDC

· To gain recognition from the Shona masters and be accepted as ‘Zimbabwean’ therefore courting envy from the marginalised fellow Ndebele people.


The Consequences of Collaboration

We can only measure the consequences of collaboration in relation to the aims and objectives of our enemy. The enemy might have a deadly agenda towards us but he might not achieve that goal without a collaborator. Therefore, a collaborator enables the enemy to achieve goals that otherwise could not have been achieved.

It is in that light that the traitor is more dangerous to the Ndebele than the enemy itself, and in dealing with the enemy it is crucial to address the fate of traitors. The goal of the Shona elite under ZANU-PF is to wipe out all Ndebele people from existence, and hence the Gukurahundi genocide. The genocide was not motivated by tribal animosity but by excessive greed to usurp Ndebele territory and its wealth minus its inhabitants. The following are therefore some of the consequences of collaboration seen in light of the aforementioned:

· The permanent colonization and annexation of Matabeleland

· The suspension and criminalization of the Ndebele Question

· Neutralization of Ndebele identity, culture, history and national pride

· Keeping Ndebele protest at minimum levels that render it irrelevant

· Removal of Ndebele voice in the politico-economic arena in Zimbabwe

· Facilitating and naturalizing Ndebele acceptance of Shona dominance and hence docility and subservience towards the Shona people

· Unabated plunder of Matabele resources and underdevelopment of the region

· The full implementation of the 1979 Grand Plan and accomplishment of the Gukurahundi mission

How Collaborators Have Been Treated by the Shona

So far the focus has been on collaboration after the Unity Accord of 1987, however for the fate of collaborators especially in the hands of ZANU-PF it is crucial to draw from cases even prior to the Unity Accord. We want to show how the Shona have been cruel to Ndebele collaborators who had saved the Shona system so well and for very long periods.

In any case, why would anyone keep a dog that bites its own master. Collaborators are dangerous to their people so even the enemy does not need them after their dirty acts. Ndebele collaborators have been used like political condoms that are immediately discarded as worthless and dirty after use. The following cases are of note:

· Enos Nkala – the archetypical Ndebele traitor not only collaborated in the formation of an anti-Ndebele Shona nationalist party but went on to mastermind the Gukurahundi genocide against his own kith and kin. He was ejected from his ministerial and party post and spent his last years languishing in regret and self-rebuke. As if to confirm the adage that once a traitor always a traitor, he sponsored the Patriotic Union of Matabeleland (PUMA) in order to try a revenge on ZANU-PF.

· Canaan Sodindo Banana – accepted the title of president that had been rejected by Dr Nkomo and signed for the extermination of his own Ndebele people. The Shona retired him from that useless post, humiliated him in courts and imprisoned him for sodomy. Failing to contain the humiliation any further he died and was buried next to his father’s dusty grave in rural Mzinyathini – and not in the glittering Heroes Acre in Harare where he had hoped to. Even his own wife and children could not attend his funeral – confirming the Ndebele saying that walahlwa njengomgodoyi!

· Mark Dube – Ex-ZANLA Director of Training who fought gallantly in the ranks of the Shona army was elevated to Governor of Matabeleland South only to be dropped, ignored, and forgotten. He died a bitter and broken man amidst hunger, poverty, divorce and near-destitution.

· Cain Nkala – ExZipra turned ‘dissident’ turned ZANU-PF militia hitman but faced a more brutal death in the hands of his comrades and party. To ice the humiliation they buried him in Harare at Heroes Acre where he never ever imagined during his short troubled life. His fate was no different from that of his predecessor traitors like Moven Ndlovu and John Mbedzi.

· Callistus Dingiswayo Ndlovu – That Ex-ZAPU chief defector and traitor against his own people during their most trying times was given a ministerial post which was later taken away in a humiliating manner and is spending his last days licking his wounds in junior public service tasks.

· Welshman Mabhena – the once outspoken ZANU-PF Governor for Matabeleland North grew too complacent in his newly found party only to survive an attempt on his life through poisoning then later humiliated out of the post. Like another collaborator Enos Nkala, he joined Tswangirayi’s MDC hoping to become the second vice-president in a Tswangirayi-led government.

· Thenjiwe Lesabe – as leader of ZANU-PF Women’s League she falsely believed herself the most powerful woman on the land and sang all known praises to Robert Mugabe only to be demoted into oblivion when Joice Mujuru ascended to vice-presidency.

· Jonathan Moyo – the genius political scientist once Mugabe’s fiercest critic turned his greatest propagandist for reasons that he even cannot explain. He courted the wrath of Ndebele people more than any other collaborator save for Enos Nkala. In spite of the efforts he expended on the dirty campaign for ZANU-PF he was briefly rewarded with a junior ministerial post only to lose it faster than he got it. ZANU-PF relegated him to oblivion only to be saved by the hapless people of Tsholotsholo.

· MDC leaders like Welshman Ncube, Gibson Sibanda, Fletcher Dulini, Paul Themba Nyathi, etc worked tirelessly and more often risking their lives mobilising for MDC. ZANU-PF even labelled them sell-outs to Anglo-American imperialism but were eventually rejected by their master Morgan Tswangirayi in spite of the priceless work for him. Today, the same Tswangirayi faction calls them sell-outs and agents of ZANU-PF.

· Paul Bayethe Damasane - a cultural traitor masquerading as a Ndebele poet who has not only praised the system but has betrayed the legacy and pride of his fore-fathers by being isikhothamathe. The petty rewards he has received from his master in the form of the so-called presidential scholarship to Fort Hare will never make him a hero amongst our people.

The above cases are just few examples of public cases where Ndebele collaborators have paid painfully for working for the Shona cause rather than their own. There are too numerous other cases and some of the cruel treatment meted out to Ndebeles once they are thrown out is very painful to narrate. We do not feel sorry for these collaborators but we feel sorry for ourselves for having our own people descending to such low levels comparable to that of dogs.

The Wages of Collaboration : What Should be done to Collaborators

It has been said before and we repeat that the wages of sin is death. Collaboration is the worst and dirtiest sin against one’s own people. It is treason! It does not matter whether everybody is doing it or the seemingly powerful are doing it, it is wrong, it is betrayal. Whichever way collaborators may disguise their treachery, history will be cruel and expose them. Like in any self-respecting society, the Ndebele could do the following to collaborators:

· Record for future generations all collaborators from the genocide period to date and beyond

· Dispossess of all ill-gotten wealth obtained through betraying the nation

· Investigate, try, imprison and/or kill the traitors

These are some of the possible options available to deal with collaborators whenever opportunity arises. By the way, the people should not wait for possible victory first, which will be delayed by these acts of collaboration. The elimination of traitors should be a fore-runner to the people’s victory. The people of Matabeleland should never repeat the mistake of allowing traitors to gain political ascendancy again – never again.

Kungani silezinja ezinengi kangaka? Could it be the results of bad parenting by Ndebele women and men? Do we teach our kids to be proud of their history, culture and language; i wonder? It seems like some of our people only care about the money they get, today. They do not care about their fellow men. Just look at the names on that list and tell me that's not depressing....Saf' esihle...

Mthwakazi

Ayikho dai deng ebhalwe ngu Sikhathele wansondo.

How come everyone is a traitor, except Nkomo? This is madness.

Kubuhlungu ukuthi amaNdebele are quick to spot traitors amongst them, benzele phansi wonke umuntu ozama ukuthi azi mbandakanye kwi polotiki yaleliya zwe. This is the singlemost reason why amaNdebele enga bambene, ethi stab each other in the back & are easily paralysed, used & abused by ezinye izinhlanga. This is the reason why abantu besiNdebeleni benga thembakali, bengeke baze bamenzele lutho omunye wakubo.

It seems everyone is a traitor emehlweni amaNdebele. OZwangendaba laba abadunyiswa nsukuzonke la eNkundleni, they were once ZAPU FP or is it ZAPU Cont Mhlanga? It was alleged by some idiots ukuthi at that point, they were being used by Mugabe's agents. At the same time, this Zwangs was once a manager/coach of Air Zimbabwe Jets, a team yamaShona anama thumbu ayi green. Kuthiwa he was fraternising namaShona, elwisa iBosso ukuze inga nqobi ediskini lase zweni lika Mugabe. Yint' enjani lena?

Today, the selfsame Zwangs wants abantu to join him in his stupid Mthwakazi People's Congress. Same applies with Magonya - kusukela kudala enukwa la eNkundleni, ebhecwa ngezi nsolo zokuba yi agent kaMugabe. Now he is also part of MPC. Madoda, yini le, ngu mdlalo noma yiku sangana?

OGeorge Mkhwanazi laba ba part of i-scheme se NCA ka Madhuku, iShona. At the same time, bafuna i-Secession ngemikhonto nezagila. Kunjalo, babukwa ngeso lengwe ngamanye amaNdebele. Kuthiwa badayisa ngamaNdebele esitheni.

U-Chief Kayisa Ndiweni had a vision ngo 1980. Watshena uNkomo ukuthi mabathi fight for Federation e-Lancaster. He was labelled a traitor, a sellout, a colonial stooge by the selfsame & self dubbed father Zimbabwe. Kepha namhlanje kuya caca ukuthi uKayisa was the real McCoy, as opposed to Nkomo, whom I consider to be the most successful political fraud that history has ever produced. Nkomo was a delusional fool, an idiot par excellence. Loya mafukufuku wabulalisa abantu ngobu lima bakhe, wadlala ngemizwa yabantu, wafa waba shiya ehlathini. He is the number 1 enemy yamaNdebele. He is the sole reason why amaNdebele are as downtrodden as they are today.

At the end of the day, who is clean & who's worthy to be trusted?

Mina ngithi, maybe amaNdebele vese yizinto eza qalekiswa kusukela ekuqaleni. They are cursed. This is why uthola ukuthi noma iNdebele likuphi all over the world, he/she is not welcome, for everything that goes wrong, he/she gets the blame.

Kazi kwakhala nyonini emaNdebeleni.

UMgulukudu wakudala
Tsotsi van Kofifi

Tsotsi!
Unga uzalana lo Muntongenakudla na??
Yini ndaba lizonda amaNdebele okufanayo kangaka!

Mthwakazi
To an extent i agree with Tsotsi when it comes to Nkomo, although i woud not have used his kind of language but i agree with him, Nkomo lacked vision and courage. He missed many opportunities during the liberation struggle and after it to set the record straight.

It is true that we have so many collaborators in Mthwakazi, but we must be careful not to go around diagnosing people as taitors or collaboratorsas the respected wrter of the article has done. Collaboration is not only willingly and actively working with the enemy but it goes further than that, even those who do not work with the enemy if they do not do anything to actively oppose the enemy the are in actual fact collaborating. Just writting articles only, although an imprtant part of ou struggle is not enough.

What should we have done here? Absconded everything to do with the Zimbabwean government in the name of being Ndebele? No, no! That would have been foolishness. I think, to some extent, the "collaborators" had good intentions. They intended to be representatives of the people in their regions. I think it would have been visionless to fight for Ndebelehood outside the office. It is a fact they were kicked out, but they were men and women enough to go for their dreams for the people. I don't agree with those that went on to organize the obliteration by the 5th Brigade, but some had good intentions.
By the way, I agree with the last responder about the need for more action. And if there be any action by anyone I would advise them to collaborate with everyone for the good cause. There's nothing wrong with good collaboration, the American system is based on this collaboration and it is successful. If I'm president I'll collaborate with all the sons and daughters of that beautiful country of ours. I have to outgrow the ills and mistakes from past politicians and be progressive for the nation's sake.

"To me unity is paramount to our success."
____________Norris M. Ncube (From Dust to the Skies)

Hatshi Tsotsi, yikho phela abakumeleyo laba abazithi bangu Mthwakazi, not amaNdebele. Umsebenzi yikutshona bedinga lawo ma traitors bona bengenzi fokolo.This blame culture they have adopted is spreading in their "Mthwakazi nation" like wild fires zase California. Their so called pressure group (MPC)has done nothing in its 3 plus years of formation ngaphandle kokukhohlisana lapha ku Inkundla. Ungahamba e Nkayi, Gwanda, Lupane, Tsholotsho akulamuntu oyaziyo leyo MPC. Pho yiwaphi lawo maNdebele abazithi bawamele? Bamele yena "Mthwakazi" wabo lowo, they should never claim to represent the Ndebele people. Kabahambe bayekhonya bekhonale enjeni koMgaxabe nxa bemele amaNdebele, yiwo amaNdebele afuna uncedo kakhulu. La asemazweni aziphilele kawadingi MPC.
Yena owakhohlisa abako "Mthwakazi" wathi bona ngabakhethiweyo sokumele bezihlalele bodwa ezweni labo ngubani? Stop living in your fantasy land bantu baka "Mthwakazi".
At least some of the so-called collaboraters at one point or another had good intentions, lina le MPC yenu likhonkotha licatshile. You are the worst collaborators?

Batshele Tsotsi bazonde nxa bezonda, kodwa iqiniso lizasikhulula.

Mhlangeni
Uyitshaye ikhaleni mfoka mdala.

Mthwakazi,

Ngqamngqotsho,

Ilwalicatsha! Mxolele ungaze wamembula ubethi ucatshile.

Madlenya,

Uthi wena uNkomo wayeswela umbono? Mina ngithi cha akunjalo wayeswela amaqhawe namaqhawekazi ababezokuma laye. Mina ngithi abasekeli kumbe abancedisi bakhe were in it for the ride. Babebheke ukuthi uNkomo nguye ozadonsa ikhuba lenkululeko eyedwa bona bazavumbuluka sokuvunwa. Nx.

Yikho okungumkhhlane esibhekane lakho namhla.

Awubheke sivuthuzana labalezibindi abakubone sekufanele ukuthi ilizwi likaMthwakazi lizwakale njengalaba abe MPC. Sonke sijikijela imbokodo kodwa asizimbandakanyanga labo. Namhla sibabiza abangelambono. Mina ngithi abangela mibono yithi esihleli phezu kwezandla singazisondezi siphatheke kunye nabanye elimeni. Lindaba yeMPC imi mpo nje kuyikuthi mina lawe asikho ukuba siyithuthukise, nanku silokhe siphenduka efusini leli iNkundla kulokuthi siye ensimini entsha. Olendlebe uyezwa bakithi.

Le ye idle collaboration uyiqamba ushilo. Kakhulukazi lale eyokuloba amaphepha kumbe izingwalo layo ngiyakuzwa. Kodwa phela njengoba ngake ngatsho, ibutho ukuze kuthiwe libutho kubakhona abakwazi ukuphohloza ngesagila, kube khona abakwazi ukuphonsa imikhonto, kubekhona njalo ababona ngezokudla lempilakahle yamabutho njalonjalo. Ngithini ya, wena kukhona okwenza ngcono kulami kukanti lami ngingabe ngilakho engikwenza ngcono kulawe, kangako ke ukuze mina lawe siphumelele kusamele sinikane amathuba okuthi senze esikwaziyo kodwa sisebenzelana ndawonye. Abalobayo kabalobe, abanikela ezengcebo labo benze kanjalo, o'strategiser' njalonjalo, kuthungwe ingubo enhle.

Babugagashi,

Ye uqinisile ukuthi iMPC ingabe ingazakali ngendlela obe uyifisa wena. Mina ngithi mnakwethu, mina lawe nxa siziqhenya ngokuba yithi kwethu kusamele singaziyangisi ngokukhonona lapha esigungwini sichitha amathuba okuthi siqhubekisele umsebenzi phambili. Ngithini ya, asiphumeni esigungwini lapha siyeni emakhaya ethu ngamunye ngamunye sibatshele abantu ngeMPC. Wena Baba, nxa ungaya kwabakini mina lami ngiqonde eMgodi Masili, uSgero eqonde koPhondo, uTsotsi eqonde koDlamini, uMthimbali eqonde eSigodini, amajaha akoMafu aye koGodlwayo, njalonjalo siyehlanyela lintanga yeMPC, ngilethemba ukuthi kungatshengisa umahluko omkhulu kabi.

Ngiyazi ukuthi uzakuthi wena awukho kwezeMPC kumbe Mthwakazi, yikho nxa kunjalo kungangcono uzimele eceleni njengami ugoqe ezakho ubukele. Kodwa ngiyezwa ukuntshukuntsha kwakho ngokomuntu olentshiseko, kangako ngithi bambisana lamanye amaqhawe namaqhawekazi lilungisise okunamagobo khona.

Utsotsi uthi yena uMthwakazi ulele khahla yikhonje edlithizwa mahala mgceke. Ye, kuliqinisa lelo. Mina ngibona sengazathi lobubulima bubangelwa njalo bukhuliswe yithi thina esitshona lapha esigungwini sisembulana izidwaba lamakhwapha kulokuba sihlangane edale eliqondileyo.

Isigungu lesi asikhethi mhlobo, kanjalo nxa sixoxa asazani ukuthi sixoxisana labobani. Nxa sizembula amakhwapha sodwa, sibhadlula imfihlo zethu, isitha asidingi kungena eguswini ukuze sithole amangenanjani. Asiyekeleni ukuzixhopha sodwa bakithi. Kudala ngatsho mina ngathi odinga ukuphatheka okuloncedo kulezi izindaba kathinte ngasese laba asebazivezayo ukuba bamele lezinhlanganiso esixoxa ngazo.

Mayihlome.

Hlukana lobulema wena baba, loTsotsi wakho loyo omqakezela izandla lilema futhi, upopayi womuntu. uma ungazi ubobuza, uma usazi kodwa uzenzaongaziyo kutsho ukuthi ulilema. Vele nje sibilili ngicabanga ukuthi uyazenzisa wena mdala. Hlukana lokucabanga kwaboTsotsi, umuntu uyakutshela ngebizo lakhe ukuthi umngumgulukudu wakudala kodwa awulaleli. Vuka emaqandeni sikhwehle.

Bafowethu.

I made a resolution this year, and I will stick by it. I refuse to be distructed from the path I have chosen to highlight the plight of our people abakaMthwakazi.

Zwangendaba is not going to apologise for having been a Team Manager of Air Zimbabwe FOOTBALL CLUB, not Political Club. That is part of my history. A path that I went through, and it gave me an experience I can refer to today. Zwangendaba is not going to apologise for having been a ZIPRA or ZAPU, not ZAPU FP not at all. ZIPRA was a necessary phase of our path to human dignity, as today we freed our people from racial bondage. I am very proud of that part of my life. I have something I can refer to when I set my sights on NEW FRONTIERS.

I REPEAT, when MPC was formed, our elders invited all of us, You the CLEAN ONE, and us THE COLABORATORS. A new order was announced, THE CHILDREN OF MTHWAKAZI HAVE TO FREE THEMSELVES. Thina ama COLABORATORS decided to put down everything that had anything to do with Zimbabwe. We finaly found something that was ours in total. We joined MPC. I am proud of what I did.

From thence forth, I never looked back. I WILL NEVER LOOK BACK. Nxa i MPC isifa, ngiyakufa layo. Finaly I found something I truly believe represents MTHWAKAZI, not Zimbabwe. If the children of Mthwakazi want to punish me for having been a Zimbabwean in the PAST, I will kneel down in front of them and gladly take that punishment.

For those who want to see us in Gwanda, Plumtree, Whange, Nkayi, Beit-Bridge, Gwelu, Qweqwe, Lupane, Tsholotsho, Musiwatunya, Binga, Matopo, etc, I Zwangendaba lithi: MINA I WANT TO SEE YOU BANTU BAKULEZO NDAWO. WONKE MUNTU OSEZWILE NGE MPC KATSHELE IZIHLOBO LABANGANE.

Vuka Mthwakazi. We have no business in Zimbabwe.

Li Zwangendaba.

Well said Babugagashi lo Tsotsi, but believe me or not, u will always be unpopular kule inkundla ngenxa yokuthi inengi labo bayalizonda iqiniso bathanda ukukhohlisana.

Mthakathi wezigodo27!
Sicela wekele ukuthuka abanye nxa ungelanto yokubhala, vala ugebhezi lwakho!

Oqakezela inhlanya.......



Is this a fact or sentiment? Whose truth are we talking about here? ElikaMthwakazi or of those who have been suckered up the a***s of ezinye izizwe and have blindly and foolishly forsaken who or what they are. Engxenye sokulesepa yokugeza ukuba nguwe komuntu, asazi njalo. Mina iqinisa lezinye izizwe ngilithatha ngifake ulimi esihlathini (tongue in cheek).



Ye zihlobo asiyekeni lomkhuba wokushawutana sitshengise ukuphucuka nokuthuthuka lokhu esiziqhenya ngakho. Kambe singasola abantu abanamaphupho abo (uMthwakazi nabeHlubi) okuthola inkululeko ekuncindezelweni ngabafowabo sithi abaphucukanga thina singahloniphani sodwa. Phela ukuphucuka yikuthi sihloniphane sihloniphe njalo ukwehlukana kwemibono yethu.

Ok baba maphisa72 ngizakwenza njengoba ungicebisa, kodwa abantu abafana lawe lobaba ugagatshe ngizabaqondisa khona lapha esigungwini. angingeke ngisathuka lomangithethise abantu, even ugagatshe angingeke ngisamthethisa, usilile wena gagatshe, uyohlala usinda njalo, usinde ngokulambisa.

Well researched and well explained mfowethu! Sisonke!

As for uNkomo bakithi it is a different story. UNkomo did what he had to do and wasebenza kanzima. He should be praised for that. Kusenjalo uNkomo had the greatest support our people ever gave any other leader or would be leader. People died still shouting 'Phambili loNkomo while he was making political decisons that cost their lives. They still loved him. They still voted for him. They never retreated. They never left him.

But the guy had a weakness like all of us have. As the struggle continued, he became the sole decision maker, untando kayiphikiswa kwi-PF Zapu. Apparently whatever he decided kwakuyikho. He became a mini-god and would not listen to advise or those with a different view to his. Even during the Unity accord wala ukulalela abanye bemcebisa ngamaweaknesses e-Unity accord lena and is said to have stated ukuthi labo abangafuni ukujoiner bangasala phandle uzahamba yedwa kwi-Zanu PF lena esilwa layo lamhlanje.

If we fail to tolerate different views then we are damned as a people. Any public organisation that wants to coat public support will always be subjected to public scrutiny whether siyafuna kumbe kasifuni. Any other wish is merely not a true reflection of the reality of politics.

Those who have a different opinion should air their views kahle without demanding to cause chaos and asking for violence to visit people who have a different view to theirs. They should aim to win the hearts and minds of those who have a different view to them. The call for violence to visit those who have a different view to them should be deplored and strongly condemned by all who have Mthwakazi's national interest. At the same time those who are presented with a different view should never go into the defensive mode and start throwing away everything found in the pram. They should take the opportunity to win the hearts and minds of those who are opposed to their view. Throwing all sorts of tantrums against those of a different view will never move issues forward. It is retrogressive and myopic and indeed not a reflection of true leadership.

Mina angingeke ngisho ukuthi uNkomo ube ngena mbono njengo Madlenya, kodwa ngizothanda ukukwehluka kancane kulokho okushiwo wuSiphepheli. When did Nkomo lack support? Any kind of support for that matter? Saying that Nkomo lacked support from ebantwini akulona iqiniso eliphelele, there never was any leader who enjoyed Mthwakazi's support like Joshua Nkomo. I am wary of hero-worshipping any leader, i know what that translates into, we must be careful never to give our emerging leaders the God-like stature. I want to be clear from the very onset that i will never be part to misleading our leaders, be they dead or alive. Nkomo erred and he erred fundamentally. Nkomo became too big not because he was clever but because people accorded him that greatness. There is one thing that i want to quash once and for all, right here, i don't agree with those who say that Mthwakazi people abathembakali njalo they tend not to support their leaders. That is not true, what i know about Mthwakazi is that when she start believing in your leadership no matter what comes Mthwakazi will die with its leader. Leaders must never expect people to readily swallow their agendas, leaders must pass the test of time, the test of credibility. Mthwakazi people are ready to liberate themselves today.When the right person presses the right buttons you will ask me. I believe in our people, they are the most loyal people you could ever ask for. We must learn from our past leaders, Nkomo was a good hearted man, but lacked political acumen, he was outfoxed by Mugabe several times but he never learned a thing. I loved Nkomo and i still do, i respected Nkomo and i still do, but that does not mean that the truth should not be told. As current leaders we must learn to listen and react quickly to what people advice us, being leaders does not mean that we know better than anyone else. Failing to listen will deem us irrelevant and out of touch.
Our organisations must never expect people to come to them but instead we must take our organisations to the people. Let us not take people for granted by expecting that they must see the way we see or that they must aspire the way we aspire. We must work hard to win them to our way of thinking.

I think the following statement is ever so true about Nkomo and about what actually transpired:

Zihlobo,

Hayi kabi, mina angilabo ubufakazi bezenzo lemikhuba kaJM. Kodwa ngizokwala ngisithi abasekeli bakhe bebehlezi bechobana intwala na lapho kudingakala lawo madecisions? Supporting leaders should not be restricted to being party members, praising and going along with leaders' decisions. Support can also be in the form of effective engagement in the decision-making process.

By effective engagement I mean being pro-active and ensuring that decisions are arrived at after an inclusive and democratic process. Many a time we as Mthwakazians just go along with decisions that are faulty, whether it is for patriotism we will never know. When things go wrong, we, the same Mthwakazians, who in all appearances had ample opportunities to prevent such half baked decisions from fruition, somersault and divorce ourselves from the decisions, assault the leadership in public fora when we had not harnessed the ample opportunities available to us in the decision making process.

Granted, the leadership also steamrolls certain decisions without including supporters' views. Some decisions have to be expedient but not all. Leaders should then be wary which decisions to make without consultations and which to consult. In my opinion, the decisions requiring consultation should constitute the majority of any democratic institution's decisions and policies. Those that need expedient decisions should be kept to a minimum. If the leadership fails to observe and respect such a balance, it can be safely concluded that we are as doomed as hoity toity tshabis.

Ngizaphinda njalo ngithi maqhawe namaqhawekazi, asibekeni ukuzidla nokuziqhenya phansi, siphakamise ihawu lokuhloniphana lokuzwelana, sihlome ngemikhonto yesineke lokuzithoba, sihlalisane phansi silungisise amagobo endaba yethu. Nxa sisehlukana imibono singaze sazembule amabhetshu emphakathini, ngoba siyobe sesehluleka ukwedlula uJM labasekeli bakhe. Thina we need to harness i-hind sight which are we are blessed with, lokuqeqesha kwethu okuphezulu which we have acquired, ukuze sithuthukisele phambili umsebenzi owatshiywa yila amaqhawe.

Ngiyabonga.

Ngiyamuzwa u "Sikhathele Mkhwahla" ethetha nge collaboration, which to me is part of our 'axis of evil', the three Cs of Capitulationism, Collaborationism and Cowardice.

Kodwa-ke, as far as the 'naming & shaming' of 'collaborators' is concerned, what criteria does "Sikhathele" use? Also, if he is going to name names, why leave out others? I think u Editor we phephandaba should have exercised his editorial powers to remove the "witch-hunt" tendecy esobala kwi phepha lika "Sikhathele".

Kambe ikhona i collaborator edlula eyimi nawe, esinika imali esiyi sebenze kanzima nyangazonke to ama agents we regime yaba cindezeli? We have now regularised Capitulationism & Collaborationism such that we don't even question our own everyday activities, believing that they have no political consequences. What a people!

Vuka Mthwakazi, the entire nation is mired deep in capitulationism, whose by-product is inevitable cowardice. Uyala? You only have to listen or look at the eloquent excuses eziphuma kubantu bakithi, when it comes to action. Nami ngi guilty kulokho.

Kunjalo-nje, ibambeni, lingay'yeki. Zabalaza!

One of the biggest ways Ndebeles have fertilized collaboration politics is to allow their leaders to develop a Messianic complex. Nkomo was a great leader but people cultivated a Messianic complex in him and he took that with both hands. No one dared challenge him and apparently those who challenged him wayebakhomba ngenduku yakhe and send them packing or threatened them with dangerous consequencies if they dared raise their voices. What then happened was that he began to surround himself with the yes men and women, the unprincipled lot who could not stand up for what they believed in and the rest is history.

Now as a new crop of Mthwakazi people, we should never participate, if we are principled, in creating Messianic complexes in those who would eventually emerge as our leaders tomorrow.

Some people have been there and done it, some people are looking at the issues at hand from outside, while some are looking at them from another angle. Some have tirelessly and faithfully worked for the struggle from within, they know what they are talking about. These same people are some of the most dedicated and patriotic people for the struggle of an independent state of Mthwakazi. Their zeal, their commitment to the struggle is unshakable. At times strategic decisions have to be made and some times tactical manourves become a necessity in order for the struggle to gain momentum. Some of these freedom fighters have been out there on the ground, mobilising people in person, not wearing masks nor false names. These soldiers have committed their lives to the struggle, the struggle though, might be multifaceted, it can be fought in many different capacities. What remains is that these soldiers know what they are talking about, what can propel the struggle to dizzy heights and what could drag the struggle to the dogs. No amount of uninformed defensiveness will change the fact that the struggle is at a point where seriousness is the only trait needed to push it forward. Public organisations will always attract public scrutiny. Organisations must and should be accountable to the members of public they purpote to serve. No amount of hiding behind the finger will liberate us. Mthwakazi the solution to our problems is within our reach, we only need to realise that now is the time to move on, move forward or never to waste our time.
These brave soldiers are prepared to lay their lives for their leadership, but before that they have to answer two fundamental questions: 1) Is the leadership prepared to lay its life for the people? 2) Is the leadership aware of the task ahead and prepared to soldier on regardless for the sake of the Mthwakazi nation?

When the enemy starts throwing spanners into the works, will we be able to focus at our one and only goal, of liberation without running away and leaving people to suffer on their own. Death in a struggle like ours is certain, it might be me, it might be you or it might be our leaders. When we get involved in such politics we are all very aware that our lives maybe cut short. That to me must never scare us, we must prepare ourselves, we must employ all possible measures to protect our lives, but not to be petrified into non-action.

Bakwethu

Mina lo, ngiqinisile ngiqinisile ngithi lini, I am willing to bet my bottom dime ukuthi lo nguMuntongelakudla, lakanjani. It's more that just a gut feeling.

the leopard did not in fact lose its spots.

Kungabe kuliqiniso na ukuthi abantu abanjengo Khayisa Ndiweni labanengi abazibiza ngokuthi ngamaNguni bala ukukhokhelwa nguNkomo? Bala ngenxa yokuthi besithi uliKhalanga!

Kungakho kutholaka ukuthi oKhayisa kabasabekanga imibono yabo bephakathi kwenhlanganiso enkulu enjengeZapu, basuka bayibeka kokuyinhlangano okungaziwayo okwathola ama voti ambalwa.

Mahlabezulu


Much as i am not well versed in political science, i want to differ with this part of the post that says Welshman Ncube's utterances meant that a Ndebele is unable to lead in Zimbabwe. I think Ncube is either being quoted out of context or his utterances are being used to score some kind of academic points.

In my mind, Ncube is not resigning himself (and by extention those he may represent) to the fact that amaNdebele ngeke ebuse. Ncube, or anyone else for that matter, is not qualified to say any such thing with any level of conviction. there is simply no way of ascertaining that there can be no individual or association of people from the Ndebele nation that are capable of leading in Zimbabwe, whatever the word 'leading' may mean in this case. let us all, including amatshona, forget about that.

this is not even a question of proportional representation, talking in this case about Shonas outnumbering amaNdebele. all things being equal, or even taking the situation as it is komgodoyi, it is wrong for any sane human to go about assuming that all Shonas and all Ndebeles are bound to make political decisions along tribal and ethnic lines. Unless we want to insult our very society we exist in, contemporary history tells us that political ideologies favourable with the masses are the ones most likely to gain popular support, regardless of ethnic lineage. Ncube, of all people, will know that no doubt. at this point some will scream obsceneties about how mgabe has been using the very ideolgies that i am attempting to downplay. but we all know, even this discussion has acknowledged that without reining in members of other tribes, with all the Shona numbers, mgabe may have not succeeded in doing what he has done. evidence of this is there for all to see. but this is besides the point.

what i see as having been meant by umfokaNcube is that ubuNdebele lobuShona, as identities, have always been set against each other. bheka ukuthi akupheli 10 minutes i-discussion ye-politics zikamgodoyi ingantshintshanga yaba ngeyetribalism. it is all well and fine ukuthi, for example, u-Amaru Yar'adua waseNigeria is Fulani in origin, kodwa he presides over 'majority tribes', never mind how tribally divided Nigeria is. how come he was voted into power. some may claim ukuthi i-election yaseNigeria was a fraud, etc, etc, but he is the president as we speak, period.

now, can this happen koMgodoyi? the answer is 'maybe', but indications are that 'no' it may never happen. amaNdebele have ruled in Zim before, there is no saying it can never happen again. but ngendlela both amaShona lamaNdebele esazi-condotiona ngayo, including, in my opinion, i-suspicion amatshona abheke ngayo any developments, political or otherwise, emaNdebeleni, there is always that acute alertness to thwarting loba yini amaNdebele angabe efuna ukuyenza in political spheres.

therefore, does this translate to ukuvuma ukuthi amaNdebele angeke abuse on the part of uNcube? NO! it does not. it simply means ngendlela izinto ezingakhona, we will have anyone rising from emaNdebeleni countered at every turn nguMgodoyi lezinye izinja zakhe ukuze kungenzeki ukuthi leloNdebele lifike e-Statehouse.

ngumbono wami lowu madoda.

Bafowethu.

Thank you Vunguza.

IN SHORT, AKULA NDEBELE ELIZAKUFA LABUSA E MZIMBABGWE.

Li Zwangendaba.