The Sunday News
Phineas Chauke
AS tourism in Zimbabwe roars back to life, it is important to ensure that there is a variety of attractions for the consumers.
As has been mentioned in this column a few times before, our history is one of the things with vast potential to generate great interest in both the international and domestic tourist.
The Pupu-Shangani Memorial in Lupane is one of the sites people can really look forward to visiting in the near future once all the administrative nitty-gritties have been completed. The monument is an applaudable example of a tourism product development by the Government. The site is a National Monument under the care of National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe.
The Pupu-Shangani Memorial Monument marks the site where the last battle between King Lobengula’s army and the Allan Wilson Patrol took place. The monument stands as a constant reminder of the resolve and enduring determination of the native people of this country to resist the encroachment of colonialism during the late 19th century. The defeat of the settler forces by the Ndebele army on this site on 4 December 1893 stands as a sure testimony that no pursuit is insurmountable and even the most herculean adversary is not totally invincible.
The colonisers could be defeated. The victory served as an inspiration for the nation’s protracted fight for its freedom from the clutches of colonialism culminating in independence in 1980, over 100 years after the arrival of the Pioneer Column.
The display panels at the site show the armed resistance of colonial forces by the Ndebeles manifesting in the battle at Bonko by the Shangani River and at Gadade in Mbembesi. The Ndebeles were defeated in both clashes thus they failed to stop the onward movement of the pioneers into the Matabele interior. This outcome can be attributed to the superior artillery wielded by the settler fighters.
The period 1890 to 1893 was characterised by tension between the settlers and the native Ndebele and Shona. While the Jameson Line had been drawn as a demarcation between the settlers and the Ndebele king’s territory, Rhodes felt that Matabeleland was very strategic to his
“Cape to Cairo” dream and the Pioneers were willing to deliver it into his hands.
King Lobengula was therefore, viewed as a stumbling block to progress. The territory itself was highly attractive with huge gold reserves under its soils. The settlers therefore, sought for an opportunity to eliminate Lobengula, decimate the Ndebele Kingdom and take over the territory.
An opportunity to invade Matabeleland presented itself in 1893 following a conflict between King Lobengula and one Shona chief around the then Fort Victoria who had paid a fine to the colonial administration using cattle claimed by the king to be part of his royal herd. The settlers did not waste time but they fully took advantage of the skirmish to fight the Ndebeles.
The exhibition also relives the burning of King Lobengula’s Royal Capital at Emahlabathini. When the king got wind of the news of the defeat of the Ndebele army at Bonko and Gadade he ordered the burning down of the royal town as per tradition and fled towards the Shangani River accompanied by a force of about 2 000 to 3 000 men.
The exhibition also shows the pursuit of the king by the pioneers. A force of 34 men, later known as Shangani Patrol, was assembled to pursue and capture the king. The settler army reached the southern banks of the Shangani River on the evening of 3 December 1893 only to learn that King Lobengula had crossed the day before and that his entourage had briefly rested under a Leadwood tree before proceeding north.
Major Wilson and his 33 patrolmen crossed the Shangani River that evening before heavy rains flooded the river later that same night. The following day, the Shangani Patrol, as Allan Wilson and his men were later referred to as, fell into a Ndebele ambush and they all perished in the battle that ensued.
Also very well depicted on the display panels at the site is the crossing of the Shangani River by King Lobengula and his men, the actual battle between the king’s army and Allan Wilson’s men as well at the last deliberations between the king and his subjects before he “disappeared”.
The site of this monument is not a new discovery but what is exciting about it is that it has now been reconfigured to represent the whole story and is now vindicating the victors in the battle that took place there. While they were unable to stop the wave of colonisation that was upon them, as was then the case in many other parts of the African continent, the Ndebele army took pride in the fact that they managed, through military prowess, to defend their king, ensuring his safe passage and avoiding his capture and embarrassment by colonial forces.
Phineas Chauke is a tourism consultant, marketer and tour guide. Contact him on +263776058523, [email protected]
