THE PATRIOT is on record saying Bulawayo is littered with colonial replicas and the reverence given to some colonial plaques, statues and other Rhodesian memoralabia still erected and decorated in some buildings are symbolic of the long lasting effects of colonialism.
The painful aspects of our history have been left intact through these plaques and monuments, hence the need to do away with some of them which offer no relevance to our present situation.
It is pleasing to note that Media, Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary, Cde George Charamba who toured some of the venues for the Region Five Games in Bulawayo came face to face with what The Patriot has been writing.
Upon reaching a gate at one the venues, Cde Charamba was met with a sign that read, “Rhodesian currency only” and “No towels for hire” at the once whites-only Bulawayo City Pool.
Cde Charamba was disturbed after seeing a notice like that 34 years after independence.
“It’s painful that Zimbabwe has not made up its mind on how to handle its history after 34 years of independence; there is still a message of the terrible Rhodesian era in the country,” said Cde Charamba.
“This is a message of bygone Rhodesia that is injurious and negative given that Zimbabwe is an independent state.
“It took us many years to gain independence from Rhodesia, but then why are we retaining its remnants?
“We changed Milton House to Munhumutapa Building.
“We did this as a way of showing that we are an independent country.”
Cde Charamba noted that some schools in the country were still using colonial names.
“Look at the names of schools such as Milton High School, Gifford and Townsend,” he said.
“That really shows that we have to make up our minds on how we handle our history.
“Such names have a colonial connotation.”
Pundits here contend that efforts should be made through the Department of National Museums and Monuments to put relevant statues and plaques of our own Ndebele warriors who fought Rhodesians in numerous battles.
The irony surrounding Rhodesian memorial sites dotted in Bulawayo is that they are well maintained at the expense of some liberation and historical monuments in the city that are not receiving due attention.
Major examples of some prominent shrines that lay derelict include the graves of King Mzilikazi and King Lobengula, while that of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes and his lieutenants are kept clean every time.
King Mzilikazi’s grave, some 26 kilometers from Bulawayo along the Old Gwanda Road was in a deplorable state.
In 2004 the National Museums and Monuments erected a gate to the cave where the King was buried after bowing down to pressure from cultural groups that the grave was getting desecrated.
King Mzilikazi died on September 28 1868 and his remains were buried on a hill called Entumbane-a northern fringe of the Matopo Hills on November 8 the same year after.
Despite the fact that the grave has been fenced off, it has not received much attention as Rhodes’ grave in the opposite direction in the Matopo Hills.
Debate has also been raging in the country about the wisdom of keeping a legacy of colonialism in one of Zimbabwe’s important historical sites in the Matopo Hills.
Rhodes grave lies atop a sacred African traditional shrine on the Matopo Hills.
The grave on a granite outcrop is covered with a metal lid, it is well kept with trained guides ready to explain history to visitors in stark contrast with King Mzilikazi’s grave.
Near Rhodes’ grave is that of his ‘partner’ Leander Starr Jameson, a former prime minister of Rhodesia, Charles Coghlan and a memorial site in honour of the Allan Wilson Patrol who perished at the hands of King Lobengula’s forces during the historic battle of Shangani in 1893.
University, college and school children have had countless trips to Rhodes’ grave. Thousands of dollars have been spent glorifying a sad part of our history, yet barely some two kilometers from the coloniser’s grave lies one of the great Ndebele Kings, Mzilikazi.
In December 2001 a group of incensed war veterans destroyed some metal plaques on David Livingstone’s statue which claimed the Scottish Missionary discovered Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls).
The war veterans had been angered by the fact that Livingstone was not the first person to see Mosi-oa-Tunya, the name given to the spectacular waterfalls by the local BaTonga people long before Livingstone came to Africa.
Livingstone’s statue is inscribed: “Missionary, Explorer; Liberator”
Analysts believe that resources committed in keeping some of these colonial structures and monuments should be extended to spruce up our own monuments, and resources should be availed for research and preservation of our memorial sites.