By: Vitalio Angula

……… “He is my President”, Charlotte Ncube* responds when asked about her relation to Mqondisi Moyo, President of the Mthwakazi Republic Party.

Charlotte Ncube* earns a living selling arts and crafts in Namibia’s economic and tourist hubs of Windhoek and Swakopmund.

“I am selling, I am just Zula Zula”, Ncube exclaims as she explains what she does for a living.

Ncube and many of her fellow countrymen have found refuge in Namibia, where they live on three month visitors permits before they are required to return home and apply for visitors permits again, to live another three months.

“It is a tedious process but we are left with little options due to the security concerns we have as people from Matebeleland who witnessed the Gakurahundi of the eighties and fear a repeat of the tragedy that killed so many Zimbabweans, many of them civilians who are not or were not involved in the politics of the day”, Ncube explains.

“Gakurahundi”, or “the early rain that washes away the chaff before the spring rains”, is a codename derived from the Shona language of Zimbabwe that refers to mass killings during the period on 1983 to 1987.

Amnesty International describes Gakurahundi as a systematic and widespread campaign of violence, severe torture and property destruction that resulted in an estimated forty-thousand (40, 000) extra-judicial killings and thousands of disappearances.

Mqondisi Moyo, the President of the Mthwakazi Republic Party which seeks autonomy for Matebeleland fears Zimbabwe (more specifically the people of Matebeleland) are on the brink of another Gukurahundi.

He fears history will repeat itself!

“The Mthwakazi people have suffered greatly in the past and their concerns must be recognised and addressed”, Moyo says.

“While addressing a rally at Lupane in 1983, Emmerson Mnangangwa, then Minister of State Security, described the Ndebele people as cockroaches that needed to be crushed. Today, in the same region, there have been reports of arbitrary detentions, disappearances, torture and killings”, Moyo says.

“On the 14 August 2024, The Zimbabwe African National Union –Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)’s National Commissar, Munyaradzi Machacha, vowed to crush Mthwakazi and the Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) significantly heightening tensions and this is not an isolated incident but a consistent demonstration of Mnangangwa’s administrations disregard for human rights and freedom of political association”, Moyo explained in a telephonic interview.

Jason Pantikin of Amnesty International, who was contacted to substantiate the claims made by Moyo, on the ZANU PF Commissar vowing the crush Mthwakazi and the MRP, says Amnesty International has no record of the event.

When asked other questions regarding the political situation in Zimbabwe, Pantikin refused to answer.

Questions on the security situation in Zimbabwe sent to Tshidi Leatswe of Amnesty International Zimbabwe also went unanswered by the time of publishing.

Mqondisi Moyo attributed the lack of cooperation by Amnesty International Zimbabwe to internal political strife between Shona and Ndebele people in Zimbabwe.

“Amnesty Zimbabwe is full of Shonas and unfortunately they will never comment on unjust treatment of the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe”, Moyo said when asked why Amnesty International Zimbabwe, UK and South Africa are not able to substantiate or deny the claims he is making regarding the security situation in Matebeland.

Zimbabwe Ambassador to Namibia, Melody Chaurura says Zimbabwe enjoys peace and harmonious relationships within the country.

This is contrary to several news reports in the lead up to the country’s elections in 2023 with various news outlets reporting violence meted out against those who oppose the ruling ZANU-PF which has ruled the country since independence from Britain in 1980.

Reports of violence targeting members of the opposition were also reported in August this year as Zimbabwe was preparing to host the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit of Heads of State and Government, which saw Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa take over the SADC Chairmanship.

“Zimbabwe continues to enjoy absolute peace and tranquility and is characterised by stability and vibrant community”, Chaurura told this publication.

“The government of Zimbabwe under the visionary leadership of His Excellency Cde Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa has continued to prioritise national stability and security as fundamental components for the country’s leadership agenda”, Chaurura said.

On the question of the Mthwakazi Kingdom seeking autonomy Chaurura says this is not in line with the country’s constitution.

“As a constitutional democracy, all processes in Zimbabwe are guided by constitutional provisions. I wonder which section of the constitution provides for such a process because certainly this is not in line with the constitution of Zimbabwe.

“It is also worth stating that no one has the authority to make any projections that have not been subjected to due process in line with the constitution”, Chaurura told this publication in emailed responses to questions regarding the MRP’s quest for autonomy.

The Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) was founded on 11 January 2014 in Bulawayo, the Second Capital City of Modern Day Zimbabwe.

“The MRP seeks self-determination, which is total independence and separation from Zimbabwe. Matebeland and Mashonaland were amalgamated on 12 September 1923 by the British imperialists without our consent” Moyo told this publication.

MRP has a membership of 40 000, and Charlotte Ncube* is one of them.

A lady who sells arts and crafts on the streets of Windhoek, Namibia, Ncube is one of Mqondisi Moyo’s ardent supporters, a man she refers to affectionately as My President.