(TALKZIMBABWE) Mbuya Nehanda’s legacy - a heroes day message

Mbuya Nehanda’s legacy - a heroes day message
Arthur Gwagwa–Opinion
Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:00:00 +0000

EXACTLY 110 years ago, an old lady called Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana paid an ultimate price with her own life in a struggle to see Zimbabweans determine their own destiny and realize their full potential in a free country. Ever since then, the quest for freedom undeniably stands as the supreme goal and value all Zimbabweans cherish.

Freedom, like any other right, can only be fully realized and enjoyed in a nation where there is unity of purpose and vision, shared values, tolerance, respect and such other similar virtues. There is no time like Heroes holiday in Zimbabwe when we all need to individually and collectively reflect on whether we have lived these values that underpin the legacy that Mbuya Nehanda passed on to us.

For the sake of completeness and also for us to put our remembrance and reflection in the right context, the following is a brief history of Mbuya Nehanda:

Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana (c1840-1898) was a svikiro, or spirit medium of the Zezuru Shona people. As one of the spiritual leaders of the Shona, she provided inspiration for their revolt against the Rhodesian colonization of Zimbabwe. She and her ally Kaguvi were eventually captured and executed by the British.

The spirit Nehanda is said to be the mhondoro or "lion spirit" of one of the daughters of Mutota Nyatsimba, who is said to have ruled as the first leader of the Munhumutapa state.

As medium of the spirit Nehanda, Nyakasikana performed traditional ceremonies that were thought to ensure rain and good crops, as well as making oracular pronouncements. Nyakasikana at first promoted good relations between the Zezuru people and early European pioneers.

However, following the imposition of a "hut tax” and other tax assessments in 1894, both the Ndebele and Shona people revolted in June 1896, in what became known as the First Chimurenga or Second Matabele War. The rebellion, in Mashonaland at least, was encouraged by traditional religious leaders including Nyakasikana. After the end of the rebellion in 1897, she was captured. Nyakasikana was charged with the murder of Native Commissioner Pollard. She was found guilty after eye-witnesses claimed that she ordered an associate to chop Pollard's head off, and was hanged.

Nehanda’s heroism became a significant source of inspiration in the nationalist struggle for liberation in the 1960s and 1970s. Her name is now usually prefixed by the respectful title of Mbuya, or grandmother. The maternity section of Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare is named after her. The College of Health Sciences of the University of Zimbabwe is located there as well.

It is not enough for us to honour Mbuya Nehanda by naming a few roads and buildings after her name. It is imperative for all of us to revisit our history and understand the values that this lady stood for.

Firstly, as a leader she was concerned with the economic well being of her people which is why she pleaded with God for good rains. She realized the importance of the agrarian economy for the full realisation of the Munhumutapa nationhood.

Unlike what we are told now that Black people only knew God through the British, Mbuya Nahanda realized the importance of prayer to God and interceding on behalf of her people. She was a real woman of honour who knew that without God, all plans would go astray.

As a leader, Mbuya Nehanda realized the importance of respecting foreigners which is why her initial role was to improve the relations between the White settlers and the Black population. As early as 1898, she had already realized the importance of international migration and the concept that the world would one day become a global village.

However, as a leader, she was vigilant in protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Mutapa state from Foreigners which is why she took up arms when the White settlers began breaching the immigration rules.

As a leader, Mbuya Nehanda was alive to the issues of social justice. She revolted against an unfair hut tax. She realized the importance of minimizing the gap between the rich and the poor. She had true Socialist credentials.

Mbuya Nehanda also realized the importance of our culture and traditions as a way of promoting shared values which ultimately unites a nation. It is shared values that unite a nation and as leader, Mbuya Nehanda knew this.

Further Mbuya Nehanda realized that freedom is a fundamental right and the ultimate goal and value for all human beings. She had to pay with her own life for us to achieve this goal hundred years latter.

Finally Mbuya Nehanda understood the importance of grooming other leaders because a leadership legacy can easily die if it is not passed on generationally. Because of this, until this day, we all still learn vital leadership lessons from her brief life.

We need to ask ourselves whether we have reversed or preserved Mbuya Nehanda’s golden legacy. There is no doubt that the past ten years in Zimbabwe has witnessed the fastest erosion of this legacy so far. The irresponsibility of us men has led to the suffering of women and children. We all need to reflect and amend our thinking, attitude and behavior to line with the will and testament of our nation’s founding mother. We must honour women as a show of our gratitude for what this lady did for us.

As a nation we are now at a cross roads. We can either totally destroy or preserve her legacy. The choice is ours. Either way, there is a price to pay. To preserve the legacy we need to embrace true leadership, maturity, tolerance, hard work, patriotism, unity and such other related virtues. Only by doing that can we truly call ourselves a free nation. If we do our part as citizens, we can only hope that the politicians will do the right thing and sign a unity deal in good faith. God bless Zimbabwe.

Arthur Gwagwa–Opinion