The destruction of socio-political institutions begins with the destruction of that which creates socio-political institutions, i.e. good judgement. There is no substitute for good judgement if we want good institutions that will protect the poor and the rich, the young and the old.
Mthwakazi has endured a Zimbabwean government that systematically blocks the aspirations of our people on the basis of ethnicity; it is a government that denies freedom of expression and human rights to those holding a different political view.
Failure is not an event, rather, it is a series of fractional errors in judgement, repeated daily. It is good judgement that will drag Mthwakazi out of Zimbabwe’s political hold. It is important that our political judgement is not driven by emotion but reason.
It must not be lost to Mthwakazi that the world we live in is intertwined and ever-changing; our decisions have to take that reality into account, let us consider the world as is today and the world as it will be tomorrow. We then need to objectively define the world we want, consider the possibilities available to turn possibilities to reality and make that important step – act!
I strongly believe in the building of a Mthwakazi based on equal rights with protections, support and justice for all. We do not want a government that treats people favourably on the basis of their ethnicity, race, gender, religion, etc. We want every human being on the land to be special because they are human and entitled to respect and special treatment, just on that basis, no more. Unjustly compromised judgement compromises justice; numbers should not be used to endorse the abuse of minority rights.
I have been asked the question, ‘When and how does Matabeleland start changing itself?‘. “There is no simple answer” is my answer to the question but, what I can safely and confidently say is that change is not an event but a process. Mthwakazi has been going through that since the 19th Century. People of Matabeleland will need to take the initiative and change their political outcomes.
We can say with a high degree of confidence that what we are seeing today is a continuation of what actually started months into Zimbabwean independence in 1980 when ZIPRA ex-combatants challenged their unfair treatment by Harare authorities and when people such as Chief Khayisa Ndiweni (who actually had called for an independent Mthwakazi state even before the 1980 independence), Sydney Malunga, Welshman Mabhena, Dumiso Dabengwa, Lookout Masuku, Joshua Nkomo among others began questioning the Matabeleland (mis)representation and balance of power within the Zimbabwean State.
Today’s experience is not a new political phenomenon but a continuation of the process started in the 1970s/ 80s. We do have to acknowledge that we cannot do everything at the same time. We need to consider our possibilities, explore what is realistic, set our priorities and then decide when and how we act. You determine your destiny by what you do and what you say; it is through how much we believe in our judgement that others will believe in it.
There is time and place for emotions but a decision to change our socioeconomic structure and politics to suit our interests need not be driven by emotions but knowledge. Timing is vital, now is the time to speed up the process of working towards a different state, a state that upholds people’s rights to speak, a state that increases access to opportunity to all residents irrespective of ethnicity, gender and race and a state that ensures every injustice is detected and remedied without fear or favour.
MTHWAKAZI INDEPENDENT 