The Sunday Mail
The venue for this year’s 21st February Movement celebrations was at the heart of Matabeleland South, which is famously known as the “Rainbow Province” because of its heterogeneous mix of ethnic groups.
Matopos Primary School, which until yesterday was Rhodes Estate Preparatory School, was the venue where thousands gathered to celebrate President Mugabe’s 93rd birthday.
It was, indeed, a befitting site, largely due to the “rainbow feel” brought about by Ndebeles, Kalangas, Tswanas, Shonas and the Venda who interacted harmoniously in an illustrative show of a united nation.
The province’s cosmopolitan nature was highlighted by Zanu-PF Matabeleland South provincial chairperson Cde Rabelani Choeni, who, in his welcome address, expressed gratitude to the party’s Youth League for choosing Matobo as the venue for the celebrations.
Besides being a “Rainbow Province”, the district is home to the majestic Matopo Hills — a World Heritage site that mesmerised British imperial agent Cecil John Rhodes, who, on his deathbed, requested to be buried there.
His wish was, indeed, granted by his lieutenants, and his grave is a constant reminder of the wanton brutality of the British imperial conquest project and its disregard for local customs, traditions and values.
And just a few kilometres from Rhodes’ grave on the hills is the revered Njelele Shrine, a place where locals used to perform rain making ceremonies and is still a much venerated place.
In his memoir, “The Story of My Life”, Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo alluded to the significance of Njelele as a place where Zimbabwe’s arch national spirits resided.
He recalled hearing a voice spurring him to lead the liberation struggle.
So, Matopos Primary School was not only a befitting and significant venue because of its rainbow nature, but also because of the historical importance attached to the place.
As an appreciative gesture, Cde Choeni assured President Mugabe of the province’s unwavering support in the 2018 harmonised elections.
He said Zanu-PF was going to wrest back all the parliamentary seats in the province as a bonus gift to President Mugabe and also as a way of showing those who still pay homage to Rhodes that Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.
Zanu-PF Secretary for Youth League Cde Kudzanayi Chipanga reiterated the significance of the venue as being at the heart of Zimbabwe’s historical trajectory to independence.
“We trample on the grave of Cecil John Rhodes and all that he stood for,” said Cde Chipanga.
He reiterated the league’s wish to declare the 21st February Movement a national holiday in recognition of President Mugabe’s immense contribution to the well-being of Zimbabweans and Africans across the continent.
Likening the President’s birthday to that of Jesus Christ, Cde Chipanga said President Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s own messiah as he led the country’s liberation struggle and has never wavered in ensuring that the country’s national resources remain in the hands of indigenous people.
In line with this year’s theme: “Honouring our icon and unlocking value in youth,” First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe urged the youths to emulate President Mugabe’s leadership and personal lifestyle.
Unlike the previous celebrations, there was no slot for the two Vice Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko.
Instead, it was the First Lady who had the honour of giving a brief about a man who she described as a “loving husband and an exemplary father.”
Dr Grace said the President was to her an iconic leader, a revolutionary par excellence, a statesman, and a liberator.
It was befitting for the First Lady to be given the honour not just to speak about her husband’s exemplary attributes but also because of her close working relations with the party’s Youth League.
Since her appointment as the Women Affairs secretary, Dr Mugabe has struck a cordial code with the Youth League, a move that has made the party more vibrant and reconnected with the party’s grassroots support base by highlighting the party’s empowerment policies and urging members to desist from fomenting factionalism. The toast of the celebrations was an anecdotal episode initiated by Cde Chipanga when he called the two Vice Presidents, Cdes Mnangagwa and Mphoko, to the dancing floor and swap their wives as dancing partners.
The dancing episode was probably meant to douse any aspersions of disunity within the presidium and a symbolical gesture to all party members to cast away personality differences in favour of unity.
This was also the gist of President Mugabe’s address in which he emphasized that the party must be united and that any ascendency to higher office must be done in accordance with the party’s constitution.
In highlighting the need for party members to adhere to the party’s constitutional dictates, the President said he has never canvassed for a position in all his political life.
He reflected on his days as the publicity secretary, the secretary general and later the President of Zanu.
At any given time, it was the party’s membership that vouched for him.
As the curtain came down on this year’s 21st February Movement celebration, party members left the venue in buoyant mood, not only because of the show of unity exhibited by the leadership but also that the President assured them that he will remain with them until the party’s relevant organs decide otherwise.
And contrary to aspersions from some opposition political parties that the venue of the celebrations reignited Gukurahundi memories, the celebrations actually brought back memories of the Unity Accord signed on 22 December, 1987, by President Mugabe and the late Dr Nkomo.
