The Sunday News
THE newly-created Mambo Dynasty Trust has torched a storm and set itself on a collision course with the advocates of the restoration of the Ndebele monarchy. The Mambo Dynasty Trust has vowed to block the restoration of the Ndebele monarchy, arguing that the descendants of Mambo are the natural leaders of the land between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. They are also arguing that those calling for the restoration of the Ndebele monarchy have not done enough consultations among the people especially in Matabeleland.
Our Assistant Editor Mkhululi Sibanda (MS) spoke to the Mambo Dynasty Trust chairperson; Mr Mike Moyo a businessman based in South Africa who runs a thriving security company in Zimbabwe and South Africa and also has interests in the property sector. Below are excerpts of the interview:
MS: When was the idea to create the Mambo Dynasty Trust mooted and what motivated you to start such a programme?
Mr Moyo: The idea to create the Mambo Dynasty Trust came after the publication of an article on 31 December 2014 where the Khumalos were quoted talking about the revival of the Ndebele monarchy. The article was carried by one of the country’s newspapers. I must make it clear from the onset that we the descendants of Mambo, the King of the Rozvi are totally against this idea of having a Ndebele king without our participation. People should be reminded that this country belongs to Mambo.
Therefore, after realising that we are going to have the Ndebele monarchy revived without our participation, we started talking about it in different fora and ended up opening social media groups to debate the issue. The other reason why we decided to scale up our efforts is after Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko encouraged the Khumalos to move with speed and revive the Ndebele monarchy.
MS: When you are talking about the Mambo people, who are you referring to under the present circumstances?
Mr Moyo: We are not talking about the Moyo people only but the people who were under the leadership/ kingship of Mambo and there are so many of those people. For example in Matabeleland we are talking about those who are carrying surnames such as Dube, Ncube, Ndlovu, Sibanda, Mpofu and so on. Outside Matabeleland I am referring to the whole of Masvingo where there are Karangas. As a Trust we have also engaged historians who told us that Mambo’s rule was not only confined to Matabeleland, Midlands and Masvingo but parts of Mashonaland as well. Some parts of Botswana were also under Mambo.
Mambo’s rule also extended to parts of Mozambique and Zambia. In South Africa at Mapungubwe is where we hail from. In Zimbabwe, Mambo’s first headquarters were in Masvingo while the last Mambo lived in areas around Inyathi, which is Bubi District in Matabeleland North and died during the Mfecane period under pressure from the Zwangendaba people. I must mention at this stage that recently we had a well attended public meeting at Stanley Hall in Makokoba to commemorate the Rozvi state. At that event we invited a number of people among them historians like Pathisa Nyathi, Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu and a Professor from Botswana. The Prof said King Mambo committed suicide in 1835 after he had been informed that his soldiers had been defeated hence he should flee but he refused and opted to commit suicide. In 1838, that is when a Ndebele group under Gundwane Ndiweni arrived in this country and that one mainly comprised children and women and a few troops. Mzilikazi came via Botswana and arrived here after nearly two years.
MS: Why is the revival of the Mambo kingdom coming up now? Some people are saying you just want to disturb those advocating for the revival of the Ndebele monarchy. What have you to say on that?
Mr Moyo: We are not disturbing anything here; we are actually against the Ndebele monarchy, period. We are against it. I want to give free advice to those calling for the Ndebele monarchy that when you install a king like what they want to do, such an issue should come from the people not the elite. The people of this country cannot blindly follow whims of less than 10 people, who after having their meeting just say they are installing a king. We are saying no to that. When such a thing is going to happen there should be wide consultations on whether people want the king. People should be asked whether they want that king or not. If they want a king, do they want a Khumalo king? After 120 years from the last Ndebele monarchy I don’t think its automatic that the people of this region in particular and people of Zimbabwe in general would say that monarchy should be a Ndebele one. Our view is that people should be the ones who demand the restoration of the monarchy and also specify who they want to be the king. People should speak for themselves on whether they want to revive the Ndebele monarchy or the Mambo monarchy.
MS: Then how should people proceed on this issue?
Mr Moyo: There should be a national debate on this matter to find out what people really want.
MS: Some people are of the view that the Mambo issue is long forgotten, what is your take on that?
Mr Moyo: People can say that and we are not worried. We the people of Mambo have kept quiet for almost 185 years and this is the time to open up because this thing the Khumalos are trying to do, they are not doing it properly. This issue was supposed to first unite people and get people’s views. What we are doing now is mainly focusing on fact finding about the Mambo kingdom and our culture. Since we had a gathering recently in Bulawayo, this is the beginning and soon we will be moving to Masvingo, Midlands and Harare among other areas. What we want is to consult so that we sell the idea to the people. Our mission at the moment is not to look for the king. We want to understand our background as Rozvi people. From there we then come up with a serious awareness programme to educate our people about the Mambo kingdom. We believe we have enough human and other form of resources to see our project through.
MS: Are you sure of your lineage to the Mambo king?
Mr Moyo: On that one I have no doubt; I am a direct descendant of Mambo. There are no questions about it. However, being made the chairperson of the trust does not mean that I want the throne; I am only interested in playing a role to recognise this important kingdom.
MS: How big is your membership?
Mr Moyo: We don’t have membership per se. Anyone who was under Mambo is still under Mambo. One thing is that we are apolitical. People who hold senior positions in political parties will not hold any positions in the trust but are welcome to participate in our activities. When we call our meetings, people should feel free to attend but they should not put on any party regalia. This is something which we will also put in our constitution.
MS: How often do you meet?
Mr Moyo: We used to discuss our issues on social networks, but now we meet every two weeks.
MS: Tell us about the structure of your trust.
Mr Moyo: Now we have only the chairperson who is me. After touring the whole country we will then have a constitution and also full members of the trust and a proper structure. We want all people to be represented. We don’t want a situation whereby people might say we just met and allocated each other positions.
MS: Are you not afraid that if this trust becomes popular it will be hijacked by politicians?
Mr Moyo: We will try to avoid it by all means because when it is hijacked by politicians that will be the end of it. We will avoid such a move because what we want is to have a situation where people from Zanu-PF, MDC-T, MDC, Zapu and any other political party meet as brothers and sisters, the draw card being cultural activities. In South Africa, there is King Zwelithini and when he calls a meeting, ANC and Inkatha members attend without any problems despite the fierce rivalry that exists between the two political organisations.
MS: Suppose the Khumalos also succeed in reviving the Ndebele monarchy, do you see a situation where you will co-exist?
Mr Moyo: That’s a difficult question. However, like I said what we want as people of Mambo is to do what the majority Zimbabweans want. What we are against is the Khumalos proceeding with their project without consulting us, the real owners of this land. We are against this separatist agenda being touted in this region. Whose country are they dividing? This is Mambo’s country and you cannot say you want to divide it and put your own king. That we are against it.
MS: Who is Mike Moyo, some people might want to know?
Mr Moyo: I was born in Mawabeni at Esigodini. My grandfather came from Beitbridge at around 1910. I am a businessman with concerns in Zimbabwe and South Africa. I am a property investor and I own a security company with branches both in Zimbabwe and South Africa. I want to emphasise that we want to educate people about our culture and I am glad that people are appreciating this Mambo Dynasty Trust with open hands. People are saying they want a high council which will group everyone and later map the way forward. By June next year we want to be done with our consultations. We will write a letter to the Government so that they can understand what we are doing and why we are doing it. We don’t want them to misunderstand us and think we have a sinister agenda.
