Mugabe and his roots jig-saw
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...By BONGI DLODLO
Published: June 30, 2010
By Melusi Mlotshwa
Robert Gabriel Mugabe will one day go to the grave leaving behind a jigsaw puzzle about his origins that will be very difficult to solve.
So little is said about the Zimbabwean strongman’s father raising doubts whether he really was a Zimbabwean in the first place as claimed by the ageing despot.
For starters, the well-known Mugabes in Zimbabwe are found in Masvingo. There is a chief Mugabe near Masvingo. He shares the surname Mugabe with some of his subjects, the same surname as that is claimed by the Zimbabwean leader.
The Mugabes that are in Zvimba are Robert Mugabe’s nephews and nieces, children of the Zimbabwean despot’s late younger brothers, Albert and Donato, and children of his sisters, Sabina and Bridget, who chose to use their uncle’s surname instead of those of their runaway fathers. And, there are no known relatives of Robert Mugabe’s father, dead or alive, in Zvimba or anywhere else in Zimbabwe.
That gives credence to the yet to be confirmed story, if ever the Zimbabwean leader is going to do so during his lifetime, that his father was a Malawian immigrant worker by the name Masuzyo Matibili.
President Mugabe claims to be a Gushungo and he is very careful not to confirm or deny any relationship with the Masvingo folk as doing so would invite further scrutiny to his dubious background.
I have tried to ascertain the totem of the Mugabes in Masvingo to no avail but I doubt very much if their totem is Gushungo. If it is not Gushungo, that definitely rules out any claim that Mugabe’s father originated from Masvingo.
Mugabe, a miserable and paranoid recluse who is comfortable only inside the fortified walls of the State House in Harare, is a feared and ruthless dictator who brooks no questioning about his ancestry.
It is not surprising therefore that no one has dared ask him to come out clean about the subject.
It is a fact that Robert was born at Kutama. It is a fact that his mother, Bona, was originally from Chishawasha area and a relative of the well-known “Shawashas”, the Chikeremas and the Karigamombes, who trekked from Chishawasha area near Harare to Kutama where they eventually settled. And, it is a fact that by virtue of his birth, he is a Zimbabwean.
However, Zimbabweans want to know about Mugabe’s father because of a law the dictator enacted at the turn of the century that required Zimbabweans whose parents were of foreign descent to renounce any claim to foreign citizenship. Thousands of Zimbabweans lost citizenship of their country of birth as a result.
Many Malawians, for example, still dispute that the late Ngwazi Hastings Kamuzu Banda was a Malawian. The late dictator extraordinaire could not speak any Malawian language and used interpreters to communicate with fellow Malawians.
If indeed he left Malawi when he was 13 to study abroad as is claimed, how come he could not speak the Chewa language that is spoken in the area of Kasungu in Malawi where the late strongman claimed he was born?
That is the tragedy the Malawians have. They cannot up to now say with certainty that Banda was a Malawian. He ruled them with an iron fist that no one dared scrutinise his background.
We do not want the same thing to happen to us. Somehow we should make Mugabe tell us more about his father. Who was he? Where did he come from? How come Robert Mugabe has no uncles and aunts from his father’s side? George Charamba, please tell us!
If indeed Mugabe’s father was from Malawi as is widely rumoured, did he himself renounce his claim to that country’s citizenship? What about Leo Kandemwa, his nephew who now uses the surname Mugabe, did he also renounce his claim to a foreign citizenship?
And, Patrick Zhuwao, Ignatius Chombo, Bright Matonga, etc, etc, people who are and were members of Zimbabwe’s august house? Did they renounce their claim to Malawian and Mozambican citizenships?
Ngwazi was Malawian. Malawians accept and recognise Kamuzu Banda as a bonafide Malawian.He spoke perfect Chichewa, though he preferred to address the public in the country's official language (English). Mind you Malawi is a multi-lingual society and I think it was a good idea for the Ngwazi to speak in a neutral language rather than align himself to a tribe. Next time you visit Lilongwe, don't forget to visit the Ngwazi's mausoleum and learn some history.
But what's the point of this story? if indeed Mugabe is half Malawian, this will make you Zimbos egg faced. Imagine being mis-ruled by a foreigner over 30 years and failing to dislodge him by the ballot. Now that would be a national shame!
Remember that in those old days there was no malawi,zimbabwe,zambia,mozambique etc, but a vat expanse of fertile land owned by the Maravi empires,monomotapa kingdon etc, and mind you there were no borders. Chewas,shonas,vendas etc all have the same origins from eastern Congo. Rupiah Banda -the Current President OF ZAMBIA was born in Zimbabwe-Gwanda…What is the Fuss…THE FEDERATION IS HERE!
He was known as Robert Gabriel for a long time including his days at Kutama. He assumed the name Mugabe. He is a legitimate Zimbabwean of Malawian origin. He assumed the name Mugabe. His father was a Malawian who naturalised Zimbo. Just like your nephews cousins and grandchildren born in UK, Canada, Australia, Wanuwatu Islands etc. This is the modern world. Get over it. And so should Mugabe get over his racist attacks on whites born in Zimbabwe! Redistribute the land yes, but no assuming that white people born in Zimbo do not belong to Zimbabwe. Indeginisation is a veil for racism.
Hapana mugabe anozviita ndiyezimbabwe wacho we want to know who he is because he tells other people that there dont belong to zimbabwe,kamubrandaya i want to know who he is may be he was adorpted by bona,i think mwana wemakuna kuna zvinonyadzisa kutaura.
Leave Malawi alone. Just deal with your Mugabe. Malawi has nothing to do with Mugabe's despotic rule and why should you trace Mugabe's origins to Malawi and try to parallel the story with that of our father and founder Ngwazi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the Destroyer of the Stupid Federation? By the way, Ngwazi spoke Chichewa well and often corrected his interpreters when they made mistakes in interpreting what he said. If he didn't speak Chichewa, then how did correct them? He also spoke Chitumbuka, another language spoken in the north Malawi and some parts of central Malawi. You should have done your research very well before rushing to publish your article. I don't even see the point of your story. What's so important with knowing Mugabe's or any other person's origins for that matter? So that you should trace his despotic "genes" to Malawi? Just get over it. Mugabe is Zimbabwean. He was born and raised in Zimbabwe.