EDITORIAL COMMENT: New ‘Ndebele King’— a cloud that bears no water

23 Jul, 2017 - 02:07 0 Views
EDITORIAL COMMENT: New ‘Ndebele King’— a cloud that bears no water

The Sunday News

Ndebele King

Senzeni Na? is a song popularised in the country by dub poet Albert Nyathi in the 90s.

Across the Limpopo South Africans know it as an anti-apartheid folk song. The song is commonly sung at funerals, demonstrations and in churches.

Online reports say the song has been around at least since the 1950s, and it reached the height of its popularity during the 1980s, though the origins of the song are unclear.

Zimbabwean dub poet Nyathi says he wrote his version on the day South African anti-apartheid hero Chris Hani was gunned down.

However, Nyathi’s “Senzeni Na?” literally translated into English, “what have we done” (to deserve this) uses a different melody and altered lyrics.

Our take home from the song by Nyathi is the poetry line when he says with that booming voice; “Our children must know the source of the cloud that does not bear water.”

We say so amid frenzied attempts by some secessionists to sow seeds of disunity and confusion among the people of Matabeleland, Masvingo and Midlands regions, disguising themselves as culturalists “sent by God” to revive the so called Mthwakazi Kingdom.

The group, led by Mr Stanley Raphael Khumalo, who surprisingly since birth was known as a Tshuma, has been moving around trying to sell their ill-fated vision to the people, and recently held a rally disguised as a prayer session at the Large City Hall in Bulawayo where Mr Khumalo or Mr Tshuma, depending on what you want to believe, unveiled what he claimed was the flag to be used in his imagined republic, after he would have pulled away from the rest of the country in September.

We repeat that such antics are treasonous, divisive and uncalled for and thus, “Our children (and adults alike) must know the source of the cloud that does not bear water.” That cloud is Mr Khumalo.

This is to say Mr Khumalo and his gang should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve by progressive and peaceful loving Zimbabweans, regardless of tribe or ethnicity.

The truth of the matter is that there is no room for separation of this great country called Zimbabwe.

This great country that came into the life after sacrifices by our great grandfathers and mothers, grandfathers and mothers and fathers and mothers of the liberation struggle, who came from all corners of the country regardless of tribe and ethnicity to fight colonialists.

And to put icing on the cake, liberation movements led by President Robert Mugabe and the later Vice-President Joshua Nkomo signed the Unity Accord in 1987, bringing together those who fought imperialists on the side of PF Zapu and Zanu-PF under one umbrella.

In the same vein, Government has warned claimant to the Ndebele Kingdom throne, Mr Khumalo, against his treasonous machinations, saying authorities will not hesitate to arrest and charge him accordingly if he crosses the line with his antics.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Cde Obedingwa Mguni described Mr Khumalo’s plans as treasonous and an affront to Zimbabwe’s founding fathers.

The Minister of Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage Cde Abednico Ncube has described Mr Khumalo as “mad”, and echoed Cde Mguni’s statements that Mr Khumalo risked being arrested for his treasonous antics.

Traditionalists and descendants of the Khumalo royal family have also dismissed him as a fraud.

His treasonous antics have also drawn annoyance from the Mthwakazi KaMzilikazi Cultural Society, an organisation that promotes Ndebele culture and is made up of members of the royal family.

The society feels that Mr Khumalo is dragging the name of the royal family through the mud with his antics despite the fact that there are doubts of him being part of the Khumalos.

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