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Nqobile Tshili
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In November 1893, a fierce battle fought in Mbembesi about 50km from Bulawayo along the Bulawayo-Harare highway between Ndebele warriors and colonial settlers became known as the Battle of Gadade.

Last year, the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe erected a small billboard with an inscription: “Gadade Battlefield 1893. Gazetted in 1961 as Mbembesi Battlefield.”

The banner shows on one hand a Ndebele warrior armed with a spear and a shield advancing towards a white soldier firing a maxim gun.

The monument is, however, unsecured as the perimeter fence is falling, exposing it to vandalism.

Inside, there is a stone with a plaque titled, “Battle of Imbembesi” with a brief narration of how the battle “In a hillock 300 yards south of this pillar the Salisbury and Victoria columns British South Africa Company formed laager about midday on the first of November 1893. During the halt they were heavily attacked by a large force of Matabele Imbizo, Ingubo, Isiziba, and Ihlathi regiments with Amavene, Iqobo and Insukamini regiments in reserve,” reads the inscription.

“The battle was hard and the Matabele charged with the greatest courage three times in the face of machine gun fire but after suffering very many casualties were compelled to withdraw. This was a decisive battle for the Rhodesian and the Column marched on to Bulawayo which then occupied on the 4th of November.”

After winning the battle, white colonialists moved to occupy Bulawayo, but already King Lobengula had burnt down his capital and fled.

While the colonialists viewed the Battle of Gadade as a turning point which led to full scale colonisation of the country, locals contend that the battle is proof that self-determination and sovereignty has always been in the heart of Africans.

It is among the things that saw the country’s freedom fighters taking up arms in the early 1960s with the war getting heated in the 1970s, subsequently leading to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.

But before the brave youths of the 1960s and 1970s took up arms, Ndebele warriors in the previous century had paved the way.

King Lobengula’s warriors suffered heavy defeats in 1893 as they confronted whites armed with guns while they charged with a shield and a spear.

“Vala ngebhetshu” (cover yourself using a shield) became some kind of war cry by Ndebele warriors as they were being massacred as their shields were of no defence to the colonialists’ maxim gun.

Mbembesi community leaders yesterday revealed that during the colonial era, whites would converge at Gadade monument annually in November to celebrate their victory.

However, as tables have turned every November the local community also converges at the site in recognition of the fallen heroes, who died in honour defending their king and country and the right to self-determination.

Mr Judah Mpofu (78), a village head at Mfanyana village in Mbembesi, said while the war became known as Battle of Gadade, the Ndebele warriors had long been involved in a series of battles against the invaders.

“It was an intense battle and we were told that the battle took about three days as the Ndebele warriors were not giving in. It was tough and as they were attacked, the Ndebele warriors would say vala ngebhetshu. But so brave were the fighters that they fought until they grabbed one of the machine guns and they escaped with it. They pulled it into a ditch of water while others had escaped to tell King Lobengula that they were suffering losses,” said Mr Mpofu.

He said whites also suffered losses in the battlefield as there are several graves of some whites who fought in that battle.

He said the monument needs to be properly marketed as it documents how the country’s forefathers challenged the intrusion of colonialists.

“It shows that the country’s war of independence did not start today. We have our forefathers who lost their lives trying to defend their territory. While our forefathers fought using spears, war veterans matched the colonialists as they used guns and that is how this country was liberated. They understood modern warfare unlike their forefathers,” he said.

Mr Mpofu recounted how colonialists after forcibly taking their land, would impound their cattle if they strayed into their farms but liberation restored the dignity of the African man.

Another villager, Mr Leonard Mpofu (69), said the country’s independence did not come easy and it should be defended.

He said there is a need to educate the public about the sacrifices that were made to defend territorial integrity.

Mr Mpofu said after the billboard at the Gadade historic monument was erected, more citizens are visiting the area.

“Most of the people didn’t know the significance of that place until that billboard was erected last year.

After that billboard was erected some people are now stopping to read the plaque. Even motorists driving along the highway are also stopping their cars to read about the battle. There is a need to make that place more pronounced. Even the billboard that is there is not big enough,” said Mr Mpofu.

Lawyer and Ndebele culture researcher Mr Thomas Sibanda said in modern terms the Battle of Gadade was a genocide.

He said Cecil John Rhodes sought reinforcement from the British Protectorate of Bechunaland.

“The peak of the war was the battle of Gadade in Mbembesi where maxim guns mowed Ndebele armies in a rapid and unprecedented fashion. It was a grim harvest of humans never seen before in the militarily history of the Ndebele state,” he said.

“These guys were using maxim guns and Ndebele at the time did not know that type of gun and the impact that it had. So you can imagine warriors armed with spears and a few with rifles and then someone comes with a maxim gun.

“But these warriors were so brave and courageous that these warriors continued to advance towards it and they reached about 100 metres away from it. That is how it decimated them. In modern terms you would decide it as genocide,” he said.

Mr Sibanda said Rhode’s intention was to capture King Lobengula, but he burnt his palace before the arrival of the whites.

He said Rhodes deployed Allan Wilson to capture the King but this was not to be as Ndebele warriors killed him.

“However, Wilson and his troops were vanquished by General Mtshane Khumalo and King Lobhengula’s military guard. Thus, King Lobhengula survived the humiliation of being captured by the white settlers,” he said.

He said while the warriors lost the war in 1893, the fight for self- determination continued as another uprising was recorded in 1896 and at that time it was led by Queen Lozikeyi.

Mr Sibanda connects the 1st Umvukela/Chimurenga to the 2nd Umvukela/Chimurenga saying the freedom fighters in the 1960s were alive to their history and even paid homage to Queen Lozikeyi’s grave at the start of the war.

“After they were trained and were ready to fight, they made a significant move of visiting Queen Lozikeyi’s grave in Bubi. They buried a bullet there and made rituals communicating that they were taking up the armed struggle. The Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) forces linked their fights with the battles of the ancestors. They were continuing where Lozikeyi left, they were continuing where the Gadade warriors left. They were continuing with their ancestral legacy and the most heroic figure was Queen Lozikeyi,” said Mr Sibanda.

He said some of the things that come to mind when thinking of the Battle of Gadade is courage, heroism and dying to defend one’s land.

Mr Sibanda said while the Gadade monument was done by whites to celebrate their victory there is little that has been done to honour the African warriors who died there something that must be addressed.

The director of the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe Godfrey Mahachi was not immediately reachable for comment. – @nqotshili.