Indelible, ugly scars of injustice define the social, economic, and political space of Matabeleland with no realistic signs of an immediate recourse. Idle industrial sites, informal traders fighting for survival, etc., characterise the Bulawayo scenery. This is a result of decades of unobstructed ZANU PF policy founded on Shona supremacism and a palpable hatred for Ndebele people.
We require a change in our political tone and discourse, an apologist approach will not resolve our problems because it entrusts the same forces who created the political farce we are subjected to today with the responsibility for change, yet we all know they will never willingly change.
Progressive politics is our pathway out of the political Armageddon that is Zimbabwe. There is an urgent need for people of Matabeleland to proactively change course of the present politics or risk existential threat.
Silence in Matabeleland has strengthened the Shona hegemony. Let us make it clear to the public that by not challenging the corrupt and tribal system authored by Mugabe and his colleagues in ZANU PF, not questioning institutions, and policies whose nature is such that they require you to be the agent of injustice to fellow citizens you automatically become an enabler of the injustice.
We are not pandering to a victimhood mentality but being realists when we say Matabeleland has been hit the hardest by political injustice driven by the tribal supremacist policies of mainstream Zimbabwe politics; as indicated in the previous blog, we accept that elements of our tradition have perpetuated and maintained the repression of girls and women.
Injustice must not be ignored but met with resistance and rejected by any means necessary, even if that means breaking the law. Transparency is central to democracy; we will need to adopt progressive politics to break down barriers to achievement; we believe progressivism must form the foundations of politics in Zimbabwe for Matabeleland to be truly independent.
Gigantic steps must be taken to tackle systemic oppression and dismantle structural tribalism and discrimination for our diverse communities to live side by side in peace.
Diversity defines Matabeleland’s social space, and we believe in the equal treatment of all humans; we believe that people must be treated with dignity, and we challenge the government of Zimbabwe to be the equaliser of opportunity for everyone not certain population groups in the country.
A good start to resolving Zimbabwe’s problems will be an acknowledgement of the fact that embedded in the country’s history is a pitiful legacy of repression, tribalism, and Gukurahundi genocide. And it is our belief that elected leaders have an obligation to confront this legacy and dismantle the systems of repression and discrimination that allow tribalism to persist in the country.
Gukurahundi injustice hidden under the veil of current formal historical narrative must be unveiled and corrected. When Matabeleland’s past is written by Matabeleland historians, how that past is understood will reflect true local feeling, direct interventions, and lead to closure and progress in the territory and country.
There is unwavering support in our society for the view that Gukurahundi is the denominator of economic, social, and political injustice in Matabeleland and that for any system to be truly inclusive and transformative in Zimbabwe, it must advance the goal of tribal justice and actively rid itself of the toxic tribalism. To that end, legislators must unilaterally support a truth commission and reparations to address and repair the continued effects of the Gukurahundi genocide and discrimination.
We also see it as the duty of leaders to challenge harmful stereotypes that continue to disproportionately increase the vulnerability of people of Matabeleland to unjust treatment by Zimbabwean security and law enforcement agents and discrimination by employers, and we further argue that legislation or policy that marginalises certain population groups need to be actively challenged.
Shonalisation of institutions of governance has led to a coup de tat that oversees a concentration of power on the Shona dominated State and the well-connected such that government has become too powerful and arrogant to respect certain population groups. In a matter of life and death, it is now a necessity that the public takes aggressive steps to ensure elected officials are accountable to the public, not to the wealthy and the elites; power must be in the hands of the people, not concentrated among the rich and well-connected.
Clinging to archaic tribal supremacist policies has not only damaged Matabeleland institutions but has caused irreparable damage to public trust on politics and politicians. It is important that we establish a transparent and accountable government which will work to improve Zimbabwean society. We need to invest in progressive policies to pursue our interest in furthering social and political reform, curbing political corruption caused by political machines, and limiting the political influence of the wealthy and the elite.
MTHWAKAZI INDEPENDENT 