By Nomazulu Thata | In an effort to distort history by those who want to integrate the San populations as the Ndebele people is historically false, geo-politics defines them as such. To this date the San populations have managed to confine to themselves because they know the history of themselves and about themselves. They have never wanted to be part of the populations that settled forcefully into their lands. These San peoples have resisted colonialism by any: black or white to this day: they resented being part of any tribal affiliations that came with subjugating them into becoming part of it because they are looked down upon as primitive people. (Defined by leather clothing as backward) History has evidence of it how the San populations endured almost decimation of its people. They are in a way special in the sense that the San people vehemently resisted to be part of any tribal wars that took place before this land was colonised by the new settlers without “knees:” the British.

As luck would have it, the San peoples in South Africa are now represented in parliament, a far cry for the very San peoples in Zimbabwe. The San populations in Zimbabwe are third class citizens in Zimbabwe by any account. They are not only looked down upon by the government of Zimbabwe that has done little-to-nothing to uplift their lives, but by the Ndebele people equally. If Shona people were first class people, then the Ndebele people are second, leaving the San population as the third worst. The San peoples are the most despised peoples in this country by both Ndebeles and Shonas equally. It is for this reason they have kept to themselves. A San person does not trust Ndebeles living in the same province to this day. How much fun is poked on San peoples by the Ndebele who openly deem them inferior peoples? When the Shona people treat the Ndebeles by the same set of insults and downgrading, it pains them to the extent of wanting to cessed from Zimbabwe altogether and demand a Mthwakazi State.

The peoples of Mathebelelands call the San people abaThwa. The people of Kalanga ethnic group call them Basangwa. The English settlers called them the Bushmen tribes of southern Africa. These people were the first to occupy southern cone of Africa and yet are treated as aliens in their own lands. The San populations are found in all regions of southern Africa: Zimbabwe they are only 1200; in South

Africa they are 10000; in Namibia they are 27000; in Botswana they are 27000. Their population is dwindling seriously especially in Zimbabwe. In the past century and more, the San populations lived under the dominion of the Ndebele and the Kalanga tribes who undermined them looked down upon them and were treated like outcasts. This is despite the fact that the whole of southern cone Africa was habited solely by the San populations for centuries before they came: the San people are the FIRST people in the African cone.

The lifestyles of the San people to some extent remained the same, foraging; they are hunters and plant gatherers for them to subsist. Today when they live their normal and traditional way of their lives they have maintained for thousands of years they are termed “poachers” and are arrested for “poaching.” The government of Zimbabwe has put on strict enforcement of “anti-poaching laws: Poaching! The plants gathered have been adversely depleted due to climate change: they have been pushed to arid parts of the regions whereby the vegetation does not afford of them any meaningful subsistence.

The San people today live sedentary lives. The criminalisation of their way of life has induced poverty and dependency in their lives. Plan International has made several investigations to their plight and provides them with food assistance, but the food assistance is not the kind of food they are accustomed to: mealie-meal and oil is strange to them. Some are forced to adapt to local ways of life: the Ndebele/Kalanga life styles. They speak those languages of their colonisers: the Ndebele language. Some have even sent their sons to South Africa to work in those mines: the gold mines as a means to alleviate poverty. This loss of culture, identity and traditions forcefully reduces them to a mere sub-peoples sub-section of peoples in their own lands.

The kind of life they have always known; nurtured and cultured for centuries before the northern tribes invaded their lands is threatened; consequently their demography is dangerously dwindling. The loss of land and then again the loss of animal kingdon lead to gradual and not so visible extinction of them as a tribe, as a distinct people in the whole world: The San people. The demography is shrinking because either the government or the local population do not recognize them as equal citizens of this country. They are at best described and known as uncivilized, backward sub-tribes

of southern Africa. The San peoples have endured all kinds of discrimination, decimation by northern and southern newcomers who arrived in their large numbers: killed, and looted mostly women from them.

The African history is mostly oral it is for this reason audacious articles are written without much historical background to support it. Reading the article written by Etiwel Mutero, the falsehood of history is evident in his effort to counter Mthwakazi Restoration program. (What is there to restore in the first place?) San populations do not only own a strip of land demarcated by Sir Leander Starr Jameson by all account that is false representation of history. Correction, the San populations are the original owners of these lands from the Zambezi escarpment right down to the shores of the “Cape of Good Hope.” There is no boundary to demarcate their rightful lands by settlers. The settlers of Shona and Ndebele came in their big numbers and chased the larger populations of the San away from their lands and this is a historical fact.

Dear Etiwel Mutero, correction again: the Gugurahundi atrocities were a grand plan designed to decimate the peoples of Mathebeleland and Zapu political party members. Yes, it was not all the peoples of Mashonalands but the fact remains: genocide atrocities were to decimate the peoples of Ndebele tribe together with those Shona peoples who were Zapu members. The architectures of genocide were indeed politicians of Shona and Ndebele tribes (Enos Nkala) who orchestrated genocidal activities as you put it, but it is the army-wing of peoples of Shona tribes: indeed the Zanla soldiers who executed the genocide of the 1980s.What is infuriating in your article is that you seem hell-bent to exonerate Shona tribe: but the fact is 25 thousands Fifth Brigade was of Shona tribe that actually executed the atrocities. Who butchered, who maimed who raped, is it not the soldiers? That dirty work was done by Zanla soldiers all of Shona tribe sent by the very politicians you are talking about.

Sadly but very curious, we see the Shona peoples and the Ndebele people fighting for Zimbabwe, a land that does not belong to them both. The peoples of Mathebeleland are enraged and incensed about the treatment and humiliation they suffer from the hands of the Shona people. Notwithstanding the fact that the San in Mathebeleland region are marginalized and are given second class attention by the Ndebele people who are also rebelling against Shona stronghold in Zimbabwe. The

San people suffer the same set of insults and humiliation and derogatory language they have to endure at the hands of their neighbours; the Ndebele peoples.

In Mathebeleland itself, people are still classified in tribal hierarchy: the most noble are the Ngunis, then comes the Mzansies, then comes the Kalanga, below this defined hierarchy, they are just sub-humans (unspoken) bundled up as HOLE who have no say whatsoever in the region hence the Nguni tribe can afford to crown three kings from the same Nguni tribe that constitute 5% of the entire population in the region. It has never escaped them for once; they still think in their mind sets that they are nobler than the rest of them all. From this defined hierarchy of tribes in the Mathebeleland region, the San peoples are the last and the least, best termed uncivilized peoples of southern African continent.

The San populations in South Africa have hit the ground running, this heat will not be stopped, and the San population will make demands to the powers that be; one of them is citizenry; they demand rights to exist, rights to equal treatment despite their distinct race differences with the rest of the populations: They demand that the resources in this land called Zimbabwe benefit them equally. The population of the San people is dwindling seriously because of climate change; the government of Zimbabwe is obliged by international law to look into the causes of their ever decreasing numbers. It is for this reason; the San population have to inclusively be integrated into mainline regions.

The San people must a have representation in parliament that will look into their immediate problems, strategise ways to transform their lives so that they contribute to community development locally, regionally, nationally and indeed globally. Socially and culturally, the San peoples of southern African have a lot to share with the global village. Concrete jungles of Harare and Bulawayo Cities should never define civilized standards in comparison to the San populations.

In this loaded context, we believe that peoples, be it black, white, red, yellow and green; that have lived in a country for centuries are indeed citizens of that country and must enjoy all freedoms like all other citizens the country can offer. This separate development or marginalization of any kind unnecessarily destructs, impedes, and mares meaningful development. Inclusivity and climate change related

challenges should be the buzzword in Zimbabwe today. Minority demands must be addressed to remove unnecessary conflicts in a developing country like Zimbabwe.-state media