In 1980 independence came to Zimbabwe, everybody came out to celebrate, and then the slaughter of Matabeleland people by a pre-dominantly ethnic Shona black majority government began. The government started creating a structure of coercion to control Mthwakazi and its people. To this day, fear remains the most dominant feeling within the Mthwakazi social and political space. This fear and associated resentment have shaped the approach to tribal relations and justice in the country, but the causative factors and impact remain either ignored or downplayed by Harare authorities.

Gukurahundi is the single most significant factor in the design of politics in Zimbabwe. This was characterised by the reign of terror that shaped the lives, including political decisions of Ndebele people and institutionalised the suppression of basic rights by what was effectively a Shona State. The brutality was significant in entrenching a Shona supremacist mentality and objective dehumanisation of Ndebele people.

Institutions in the independent Zimbabwe lean towards Shona culture and creed; these have paralysed Mthwakazi institutions and, with that, set the region’s development back by many decades. Institutions conveniently suppress any questions about Gukurahundi, but Gukurahundi causes and effects in Mthwakazi must not be brushed aside as a minor skirmish; unarmed civilians were butchered by a military unit created especially for that; it was a crime against humanity that needs to be understood and dealt with in its rightful context.

Any system with checks and balances would be arguing that citizens deserve to know all individuals and groups who were involved and the depth of their participation in the creation of a permissive structure that enabled government ethics standards to be reduced to the lowest imaginable level as the state set aside the rule of law and institutions were eviscerated to build a neo-Nazi Shona nation.

Working towards garnering local support and gaining control of the Mthwakazi social, economic and political space and not just gaining international sympathy has become a strategic priority for the region. Mthwakazi has traditionally been a disciplined, socially vibrant place and politically organised society that now requires a political awakening after years of muted activity as it sought to avoid active political engagement in fear of upsetting ZANU PF’s and ethnic Shona elites’ interests and the egos.

Beyond the open, bleeding wounds, Mthwakazi continues to suffer from deeper, more hurtful wounds that never show on the body. The trauma generated by the loss of being. Gukurahundi was instrumental in distorting Mthwakazi’s sense of worth and we have lived in that emotional scarcity since 1983.

Every native of Mthwakazi agrees the region has changed beyond recognition since Gukurahundi atrocities; communities have chosen caution and safety over justice. In Zimbabwe, the supremacy of democratic oversight has well and truly been torn asunder in a bid to silence certain population groups. The failing institutions have paralysed Mthwakazi and deepened tribal tensions.

Vigorous action needs to be taken so politics is not allowed to inform our social engagement, but our social norms and values start informing our politics. Democracy will not defend itself; it requires bold people to act in its defence. Silence in the face of authoritarianism is complicity. Ordinary people in Matabeleland and beyond must participate, be vigilant and courageous, speak out in defence of democracy.

Understanding democracy would be critical to its defence and the revival of Mthwakazi; this requires pointed education, not indoctrination; it requires civic acquisition of knowledge that helps citizens to identify when democracy is threatened and why liberal values matter. We need to break through current curricula barriers that marginalise political education and treat governance ideological knowledge as politically risky. If formal education institutions cannot do it, increased use of modern technologies to improve access to and increase political awareness, encourage local participation is necessary.

Fundamentally, politics that plays in Matabeleland must be reflective of the population and communities in the region not a manuscript from Harare’s elite.

Democracy must be seen beyond procedural features, such as free elections, majority rule and government responsiveness to encompass liberal principles such as checks and balances, judicial independence and protection of minority rights. It must be understood not as an abstract constitutional principle, but as a way of life – a lived practice of rights, accountability and pluralism. An educated and motivated public will be critical in reclaiming the Mthwakazi political space.

Acquired democracy scarcity is a policy choice. Concentrated wealth and power are policy choices. Inequality is a policy choice. Marginalisation of citizens who are not Shona in Zimbabwe is a policy choice. None of it is natural or inevitable. We have the power to eradicate tribalism; we have the power to build a system that serves the many, not the few. Mthwakazi must not allow itself to be driven into existential crisis, let us build a strong, forward looking socio-political ecosystem that protects and empowers citizens.