Hundreds of members of Zimbabwean-based Mthwakazi Republic Party descended upon the United Nations headquarters in Tshwane to demand self-determination for the people of Matebeleland alias Mthwakazi.
Mthwakazi/ Matebeleland lies in the Western part of Zimbabwe.
Mthwakazi Republic Party President Mxondisi Moyo told Tshwane Talks that his party was formed on 11 January 2014 in Bulawayo, which is the second capital city of Zimbabwe and represents the 13 tribes that are found in Matebeleland/ Mthwakazi area.
“We are here at the United Nations offices to present a petition wherein we state our demands which must be met by the UN with regards our predicament as the Amandebele people of Matebeleland alias Mthwakazi,” he said.
“We want complete cessation from present day Zimbabwe so that we can stand alone as an independent country,” said Moyo.
He explained that historically Matebeleland was never part of present day Zimbabwe; that it was arbitrarily incorporated together with Mashonaland into Zimbabwe(known as Rhodesia at the time) by British colonialists on 12 September 1923 during a period known as “the scramble for Africa.”
He said the people of Matebeleland have been suffering since their last king Lobengula was defeated in 1893 by British colonialists and that in modern times they have suffered from acts of genocide perpetrated by the present Shona-dominated Zimbabwean government from 20 January 1983 to 22 December 1987 under the leadership of Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Munangagwa in an operation codenamed Gukurahundi.
He said though it has been recorded that about 40 000 Amandebele people were exterminated during Operation Gukurahundi campaign, more than 300 000 Amandebele people actually perished as a result of Gukurahundi.
Operation Gukurahundi is a military onslaught inflicted by the government of Zimbabwe upon the Amandebele people of Mthwakazi/ Matebeleland who were regarded as being rebellious against the regime of Robert Mugabe.
Moyo described Matebeleland/ Mthwakazi’s attachment to Zimbabwe as “a marriage of convenience” which has not benefited the people of Matebeleland/ Mthwakazi in any way whatsoever.
He alleged that operation Gukurahundi was also implemented so as to displace the ANC’s military wing Umkhomto We Sizwe which was supported by the late Joshua Nkomo, leader of Zapu political party as well as its military wing Zipra.
Moyo claims that after the attainment of Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, Robert Mugabe’s Zanu Party actually supported the apartheid regime and collaborated with the the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) to unleash Operation Gukurahundi on the people of Matebeleland/ Mthwakazi so as to sabbotage the ANC’s efforts to liberate South Africa.
He stressed that ANC cadre John Xabi was killed in Zimbabwe by Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF government in 1984 and that large arms cache of Umkhonto We Sizwe were confiscated by the Mugabe regime.
He revealed that presently there is over 2 million people from Matebeleland who are living in South Africa illegally because they have been forced to skip Zimbabwe due to the political persecution that they have experienced in their own country and came here as political refugees not economic refugees.
He dispelled efforts by the Zimbabwean government to institute a commission of inquiry regarding Gukurahundi massacre and called for a commission that is internationally- constituted.
Matebeleland/ Mthwadkazi political activist told Tshwane Talks that he is a qualified teacher but had to flee Zimbabwe after being arrested in 2021 and serving a three-year jail term in many of Zimbabwe’s notorious prisons where he was tortured endlessly and that after his release persecution against him continued and he therefore decided to flee to South Africa.
He said he can’t get a job in Zimbabwe because he is of Ndebbele origin and that all jobs in Zimbabwe are reserved for people belonging to the Shona tribe.
Sthabile Ndlovu who also hails from Mthwakazi/ Matebeleland told Tshwane Talks that she came to the protest march because they as Amandebele tribe are always sidelined by the Zimbabwean government in terms of job opportunities and that her children don’t have a future in Zimbabwe.
She pointed out that when factories get opened in Matebeleland it is only the Shona tribe people who get employed in those factories and that many factories have been shut down and all resources in their area have been taken away by the Zimbabwean government to benefit those living in Mashonaland land, which is a stronghold of Zanu-PF.
“Our president Mxondisi Moyo has enlightened us regarding our plight as the Amandebele people and another depressing factor is that our children are forced to learn isiShona as a medium of instruction at school while their isiNdebele mother-tongue is ignored and I am saying to all Amandebele people that they must wake up because enough is enough,” she said.
Skhethile Tshuma who was born in Tsholotsho area in Matebeleland told Tshwane Talks that the Gukurahundi massacre affected her badly because her own brother and several other people were killed by the Zimbabwean government because they were regarded as dissidents.
“I was young at the time the Gukurahundi massacre happened but I am still traumatised today, but I am fighting for the rights of the people of Matebeleland to get self-determination,” she said as she revealed that she too can’t be employed in Zimbabwe as she is not a Shona-speaking person.
She lamented the fact that her children are university graduates but can’t be employed either in South Africa or in Zimbabwe.
Two UN officials came out, signed and received the memorandum and promised X feedback.
Copy of Memorandum: