Why I 'Fight' the Domineering Ndebele Identity and Seek to Replace with with Bukalanga Identity in Most of Matebeleland

Too many times since I began writing on the Rebirth of Bukalanga I've been attacked especially by sections of the Mthwakazi Movement accusing me of being a Zanu PF/Shona spy, agent bent on "deviding Mthwakazi", etc. am sure those who read my blogs and articles and have read my book, The Rebirth of Bukalanga, know for sure these accusations are...very untrue, neither do I "hate" the Ndebele as some in the Mthwakazi movement allege.

The truth is I am seeking to overcome the predominance of the Ndebele identity (I don't apologize) in the so-called Matebeleland precisely because it has now become a liability that incapacitates the struggle for self-government and self-determination. Believe it or not, Shona arrogance is based on just one belief: "all people in Mat'land are Ndebele who recently came from Zululand and stole Shona land, cattle and women." That is what informs the Shona attitude whether you read high school history books or watch TV or read comments on facebook or online newspapers, including the Zanu Grand Plan!

But the truth that we know is that the Ndebele element that came from Zululand is a very small minority, and the largest population group, Bukalanga (that is, Bakalanga, Babirwa, Banambya and Vhavenda, including the majority of Ndebele speakers) were settled in this land now called Zimbabwe over 1500 years before the Shona. And in fact, the Shona have never at any point in history settled the so-called Matebeleland. It is therefore wrong and improper to accuse Bakalanga, Babirwa, Banambya and Vhavenda (plus the Tonga and Khoisan) of having "stolen Shona land, cattle and women.

I know some people say the argument of who arrived where first doesn't matter, but like it or not that is the basis of Shona arrogant behavior towards the so-called Ndebele. I therefore refuse to be branded a "Ndebele from Zululand" because that means I cannot be able to reclaim my history and heritage and use it in the struggle for self-government and self-determination. As a "Ndebele" there is no way I can lay claim to Kame Ruins or the Njelele Shrines or anything else as evidence that my ancestors have been in this land for two millenia now. As a "Ndebele" I'll always be accused of being a "foreign intruder from Zululand who stole Shona land, cattle and women".

But as a Kalanga, Venda, and Nambya I can stand and demand self-government and self-determination without the 'baggage' of being a "foreign intruder from Zululand who stole Shona land, cattle and women". My identity as a Kalanga literally pulls the carpet from under the 1979 Zanu Grand Plan, for all of its accusations fall away. Even the justification for the Gukurahundi Genocide falls away, for no one can claim it was "payback" time since my Kalanga, Venda and Nambya ancestors never "stole Shona land, cattle and women", and they have nothing to pay back the Shona for.

For these reasons I stand opposed to the domineering Ndebele public image, not the Ndebele people. In fact, it is a fact that the Rebirth of Bukalanga will naturally result in the emancipation of the Ndebele themselves, for having settled in Bukalanga and most of them having Kalanga, Venda and Nambya mothers makes them as Kalanga-Venda-Nambya as we are.

Therefore, the Rebirth of Bukalanga Movement, which has chosen Devolution of Power and/or Federalism as a route to self-government and self-determination as opposed to Secession (which will inevitably lead to civil war just as a unitary government system), is not a counter movement to the Mthwakazi Project, but simply takes a different approach.

Rooted in this history and heritage of the majority of the people of Matebeleland and the Midlands - Bukalanga - it seeks liberation from Zezuru Imperialism and Colonialism through federal means, but it knows that a domineering Ndebele public image has become a liability in the struggle whether we like it or not, precisely because some Shona elements have absolute disdain and disrespect for things Ndebele, whereas not the same can be said of Bukalanga, for the Shona know without any shadow of doubt that their own ancestors were allocated the land they now occupy by the then ruling Kalanga-Lozwi Mambos.

It is no wonder that for all his mischief and evil intentions, Robert Mugabe has sought to keep the Kalanga close to his chest as Permanent Secretaries, Judges, Ambasadors, Army Generals, Senior Police Officers, University Vice Chancellors, College Principals, etc. I am convinced that Zezuru Imperialists know that the real threat to their power is not the Ndebele and the Mthwakazi Movement, but the Kalanga and Karanga.

It is therefore untrue that I hate the Ndebele or want to destroy their langauge and identity. It can only be true to those whose intention is to maintain Ndebele hegemony over Bakalanga, Banambya, Babirwa and Vhavenda. That we cannot, must not and will not accept. The Mthwakazi Movement had better pay serious attention to the Rebirth of Bukalanga Movement. Ndaaa.