• New Ndebele King coming, VP Mphoko guarantees.
• Revival of the Kingdom, the only way resources can comeback

Staff Reporter| The controversial revival of the Umthwakazi Kingdom of the Ndebeles appears to be gathering momentum following this weekend’s Gadade Battle commemorations.
An estimated 5 000 ethnic Ndebele people gathered at Gadade in Ntabazinduna on Saturday to commemorate the day the last Ndebele Kingdom under King Lobengula Khumalo was destroyed. History records that the point at Gadade is where the last of Lobengula’s bravest warriors were killed off by the cannon gun wielding British forces on their way to burning down KwaBulawayo Lobengula’s palace.

All dressed in Ndebele traditional outfit, the thousands of people who gathered at the event sang and danced to Ndebele war songs calling for the revival of the Mthwakazi Kingdom. Some opportunistic elements in the gathering used the chance to send messages demanding for the cessation of Mthwakazi from the rest of Zimbabwe.
Leaders of the Mthwakazi Kingdom revival groups used the stage to call upon government to immediately facilitate for the crowning of a new King for the Ndebele people. They also demanded that government accords the Ndebele warriors who were killed at the Gadade battle the national heroes status and declare Gadade as a national monument.
Addressing the crowd, Chief Nhlanhla Ndiweni of Ntabazinduna where Gadade falls under, called on government to start respecting the cultures of the people of Matabeleland and have the income generated from the region benefiting the people in the region.
Chief Ndiweni castigated the marginalisation of Matabeleland region by the ZANU PF government since independence claiming that the region fought the toughest battles in the liberation of Zimbabwe but it’s never recognised for its efforts. He also took swipe at people who are bent on dividing Matabeleland into different ethnics groups.
Ndiweni reiterated his recent remarks that he was not happy with having the Police and Prison training depots in his area while they do not employ locals. Ndiweni claimed that his father the late Kayisa Ndiweni had allowed for construction of the depot as a skills training centre to benefit local people but was shocked when it was unceremoniously turned into a Training Depot for the police and prisons services.
Addressing the same gathering, Chief Gumede of the Ndebele people based in South Africa called on the people of Matabeleland to remain focused on fighting for the restoration of the Mthwakazi Kingdom. He claimed that the revival of the Kingdom will be the only way under which the people of Matabeleland can begin benefiting from the resources in the region.
The Gadade commemorations come just a couple of months after the King Mzilikazi commemoration which was attended by a similar crowd including Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko. In his address, Mphoko assured the people that government was working hard in ensuring that the king of the Ndebele people is coronated before the end of this year. Speakers at the Gadade commemorations assured the crowd that the king will be coronated before the end of the year as promised by Vice President Mphoko.