The research by Mthwakazi Institute of Research (MIOR) has shown that people of the same philosophy tend to support each other. This becomes more pronounced if the people under scrutiny once have a chance to wield power.
A careful analysis of the appraisal given to Mugabe by once South African President Thabo Mbeki becomes true.
It is not surprising that Mr Mbeki has all praise for Mugabe and no condemnation at all. The two had a lot in common.
History pits the two as bed fellows in the persecution of Mthwakazi (largely known as the Ndebele).Thabo Mbeki is Xhosa while Mugabe is Shona. Whether by coincidence or by agreement, there has been a trend by the two to seem to be helping each other or cleaning up the other’s mess by either supporting financially or diplomatically.
During his initial stages as Prime Minister of the newly independent Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe did more harm to the Struggle for South Africa than the Apartheid regime. Better put, the Apartheid regime was assisted by Mugabe to do the damage it did. Were it not for Robert Mugabe, the regime would not have inflicted such damage to the ANC’ Umkhonto and exiles. The history of ZANU formation by the CIA and the British came at play once again. The research has unearthed that Mugabe, with the aid and instruction from the CIA intiated the formation the Front Line States whose primary aim was said to be, to dislodge the White minority rule in African countries, yet infact the initiator was to use the platform to spy on unaware fellow Africans particularly ZAPU and the ANC. All the Southern African countries were wood winked to believe Mugabe, and showered praises to him.
The coalition functioned while Mugabe kept an eagle eye on ZAPU until Zimbabwe was independent. At that time, Mthwakazi under ZAPU was shielding MK guerrillas and their weapons. Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia was informed so was President Oliver Regionald Tambo of the president of the A.N.C. Mugabe who pretended to his peers at Front Line Conferences, got little information of that but he did not know where exactly the cache was and as a result the Apartheid regime bombed every country from Mozambique, Angola and Namibia. In Zimbabwe Bulawayo ‘s Suburb of Trennance was bombed and ANC and MK operatives were killed.
In false accusations that Joshua Nkomo planned to topple him, Mugabe arrested ZAPU leaders for aiding the ANC despite his refusal to keep them in the country. The instability presented Mugabe with the chance to hit back at his old enemy- Samorah Machel of Mozambique. The question is, why did Mugabe want Samorah dead?
When Edgar Tekere forcefully took Mugabe to Mozambique as a boy to join the liberation struggle, Samorah Machel was not impressed and made his views known to Josiah Tongogara that Mugabe was not needed in the revolution and would subsequently sell out the struggle and needed elimination forthwith. Tongogara agreed and Mugabe was put under house arrest. He was saved by Phelekezela Mpoko who freed him and they both fled to Julius Nyerere in Tanzania. Mugabe kept grudges for both Tongogara and Samorah Machel. The chance for him to assassinate Tongogara presented itself when Tongogara made a second treasonous offence by declaring that Joshua Nkomo should lead independent Zimbabwe and he was killed in a mysterious car accident in Mozambique on 26 December 1979.
It then happened that Mugabe picked on the information of Samora Machel’s visit to South Africa and he (Mugabe)relayed information of the plane’s route to the Apatheid Regime in Pretoria and Samorah’s plane was shot down at Embuzini in South Africa just near Swaziland and Mozambique borders in 1986 October 19.
Back in Zimbabwe Mugabe, together with the British and the Apartheid regime were butchering Mthwakazi for aiding the ANC. Women were raped, maimed, tortured and burned with plastic paper dripped into their private parts for hiding UMkhonto guerrillas and their weapons. Massive arms caches were unearthed by Mugabe. He was told they belonged to the ANC but chose to cook his own stories. Many MK cadres were killed and thrown in to the Bhalagwe mine shaft together with their Mthwakazi allies. These actions by Mugabe had the whole SADC disturbilised the whole of 1980s. Mugabe delayed South Africa’independence by about 10 years!
The research found that Mugabe was very disappointed by the release of Nelson Mandela and Toivo ya Toivo of SWAPO of Namibia. These giants sort of took part of his limelight away from him.
This was more pronounced in the case of Nelson Mandela because Mandela was informed of Mugabe’s activities that were retrogressive to the Struggle of South Africa. Mandela openly told Mugabe that he was not welcome to greet him after his release, they were never close. Mugabe saved his face by shifting SADC attention to Kabila’s DRC. At one occasion Mugabe retorted that those not interested in military contribution to save Kabila to just shut up in reference to Nelson Mandela who had warned that all those intending venturing into the DRC would only realise they are wrong when their economies run bankrupt.
During Mandela’s reign, Mthwakazians were treated as Comrades. Those within the borders were given dual citizenship documents. Those who had fought on the Umkhonto side were demobilized and integrated into the South African society. The Zipra-UMkhonto spirit existed. Those who had survived the onslaught by Mugabe for supporting the ANC flocked en-mass since Mugabe was still hunting them down and openly telling them that all Mthwakazi were Zulus and should go back to where they originated. Way before Zimbabwe independence, Mugabe’ ZANU had produced the document called The 1979 Grand Plan where Mthwakazi and Mandela are vilified and the roadmap on the future treatment of Mthwakazi was inscribed.
When Thabo Mbeki came to power, things changed for Mthwakazi. Lindela Transit Camp was established. This is a Camp where Mbeki’s government put all Mthwakazi without documents before being deported to Zimbabwe where on arrival were categorized. Others were arrested others killed and very few were let free. Mbeki’s government had a lot of Mthwakazi people killed by Zimbabwe government. People escaping political persecution in Zimbabwe were arrested by Mbeki and sent back to Zimbabwe where they were killed.
When Mbeki was recalled some senior police officers were arrested for allegedly taking Mthwakazi people to be killed by the Zimbabwe Government.
It was further uncovered that President Mbeki was responsible for Mugabe
Election rigging by endorsing Zimbabwe elections as free and fair even after evidence of malpractices were on record. He was responsible for a re run of elections of 2008.
In an effort to establish and acertain why Mbeki and Mugabe were so close despite Mbeki being once the hunted while Mugabe was the hunter during the liberation struggle for Africa, MIOR tracked back the reasons why Xhosa people are found in Mthwakazi. The research found that the Xhosa of Mthwakazi arrived in Mthwakazi in 1894-4 to assist, aid and back up the combined British- Shona invading forces who were attacking the Kingdom of Mthwakazi under King Lobengula. It picked that the Xhosa helpers however arrived after the Mthwakazi impis had been defeated but because they had shown loyalty to Cecil John Rhodes, he could not let them back to South Africa. They were given land to settle as had been promised and they were presented with the title Deeds for the land. To date they are the only rural population who have that right in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe and Mbeki are both former presidents of former British colonies.They are both Knights. A Knight is a man ceremonially inducted into special military rank usually after completing service as page and squire. It remains not clear why among many leaders of the liberation movements, only President Mbeki and Mugabe were knighted. What exactly were they standing out tall on, in the eyes of Britain. It was not only them in that crop of African leaders who had university qualifications. Nelson Mandela had studied law at the University of Fort Hare.
To give weight to Mbeki and Mugabe being Whitemen’ sympathisers and persecutors of Mthwakazi, the research noted that both former Presidents have had no soft spot for Zulu and Ndebele leaders they worked with as witnessed by the persecution of Joshua Nkomo by Robert Mugabe soon after independence while he (Joshua Nkomo) had played massive role in liberating Zimbabwe. On the other hand, Thabo Mbeki tried all he could to keep Jacob Zuma at bay, leading to his ouster in September 2008.
Mthwakazi Institute of Research can be contacted on [email protected]