Chantel Takudzwa Zambukira
The founder of the original Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) continues to receive favours from his nemesis 22 years after his death.
Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole continues to be ‘honored’ by the party that vindicated him until he died.
Rev. Sithole was one of the founders and chief architect of Zimbabwe African National Union party in August 1963 in conjunction with Herbert Chitepo, Robert Mugabe and Edgar Tekere in Harare’s Highfields high density suburb a house that belonged to Enos Nkala.
ZANU was formed after a fall out with Joshua Nkomo who led Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU).
A Congress held in 1964 in Gwelo now Gweru, saw Sithole elected president of ZANU and he appointed Robert Mugabe to be his secretary general.
Like many parties fighting white minority rule ZANU was banned in 1964 by Ian Smith’s government and its leaders were imprisoned.
Rev. Sithole was to spend 10 years behind bars after being arrested on 22 June 1964 alongside Mugabe, Tekere, Nyagumbo and Takawira for his political activities. While in prison he specifically chose Leopold Chitepo to continue the struggle from abroad as a representative of ZANU.
Rev. Sithole was ousted by Robert Mugabe while he was in Tanzania and was accused for abandoning freedom fighters during the war of liberation. He was also accused of signing a secret agreement with the Ian Smith regime to sabotage the liberation struggle.
Mugabe never forgave Sithole.
At an annual commemoration of fallen heroes of the liberation struggle held at the Heroes Burial shrine in Harare this August, President Emmerson Mnangagwa posthumously conferred Sithole a National Hero “for his contribution towards the liberation struggle”.
This comes after the death of the then President Robert Mugabe who never ‘paid condolences’ and had labelled Sithole, the founder of ZANU, a sellout.
A Music gala to honor the now late national hero, Ndabaningi Sithole has been postponed.
On 11 October the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Ndabaningi Nick Mangwana announced the preparations for the event.
“The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) is working on a Musical Gala to celebrate the life of the late former ZANU Leader and National Hero, Rev Ndabaningi Sithole. The Gala will be in Chipinge where he hailed from. We will soon provide the actual date and other specifics.”
The announcement came after President ED Mnagwagwa had declared Sithole a national hero in August at the National Heroes Acre.
Mangwana made the announcement through a tweet,
“Please be advised that the Musical Gala for the late National Hero Rev Ndabaningi Sithole which was under consideration has been postponed indefinitely. The public will be advised when there are changes.”
Many critic’s believe this is a political ploy by the President to win over supporters from Chipinge as ZANU-PF has failed to wrestle that seat from his rivals.
Commentators have viewed the conferment of Heroes status to the late Reverend and the Music Gala as a way of wooing voters and pacify the Chipinge electorate.
There has been a backlash from from twitter users who feel that this move by the government, implemented 22 years later is a farce as many believe Ndabaningi Sithole is a revolutionary hero despite the fallout with his former party which he founded.
“When you see cult leaders planning to celebrate a person they vilified, it only means one thing, they are being haunted.”@ ChitambiraNaomi
“You vilified this guy now you all want to pretend to honor him. The best u can do for people in Chipinge is to fix roads, modernize hospitals, build clinics and schools. Not this gala rubbish. Chipinge folk must not fall for this nonsense.”@ MagumboLioness
“We do not want a Gala, we need you to implement the ideas of Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole, surely, the late Rev did not believe in looting, murder and violence!!” @ NgoniDanzwa.
During the Mugabe regime, Sithole was sentenced to prison after denouncing ZANU-PF led by Mugabe but through appeals he never set foot in prison, he however went into self-imposed exile as he fled persecution under Mugabe reign.
Sithole died in the United States Of America in 2000.