Zimpapers Logo

 Nqobile Tshili, [email protected] 

ON Thursday, a vast crowd gathered to witness President Mnangagwa’s dedication to the Pupu Battlefield Memorial Site. 

This site stands as a testament to the valiant Ndebele warriors who fiercely defended the nation’s sovereignty.

The monument serves to rectify historical inaccuracies previously recorded by colonial writers who falsely claimed victory. 

Instead, it honours the true victors, the Ndebele warriors and their successful resistance.

Visitors to the site are greeted by a commanding monument that vividly  portrays the Ndebele warriors’ strategic prowess under General Mtshane Khumalo’s leadership. 

The monument depicts their tactical victory over the Wilson Patrol, a  force determined to seize King Lobengula.

“The Pupu Battlefield Memorial Site is a reminder of the resilience of the indigenous people of this country against colonialism in the 20th century. 

The victory of the Ndebele army against colonial forces at this site on 04 December 1893 inspired the nation to continue to fight for its independence  which was attained in 1980. Today, this site is preserved and presented as an esteemed symbol of African resistance to colonisation,” reads the inscription at the site. 

Below are excerpts of what some notable persons who attended the ceremony said.

King Lobengula’s descendant Prince  Dr Peter Zwide Khumalo: “The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe together with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage tried their best to preserve the history and heritage of this place. 

The constructions and monuments that have been put up are interpretive enough and give the history as it used to be. They have done a reasonable level of research so that the history of the place is as correct as possible.

“This is a nation building exercise, it will have an outlook towards ensuring that our children in schools are also taught the correct history. 

We expect and look forward to having teachers developing an interest in this place and bringing children to come and learn how the Ndebele kingdom ended.”

Finance,  Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube: “This is important in our history as a country, this is the place where King Lobengula’s army defeated settlers who were subjugating people and trying to take away land and assets.

That is a historic feat that is befitting and the Government is honouring those that perished gallantly through that battle. People may not know this, the President’s grandfather was a soldier in the army that defeated Allan Wilson and his men.”

National Council of Chiefs President Chief Mtshane Khumalo, a descendant of Gen Mtshane Khumalo: Pupu Memorial is a very important monument, it proves that the liberation was hard won. There were so many wars that were fought and Pupu is one of the battles where Ndebele warriors fought against whites and won. The battle had started at Gadade and the whites followed them until they reached here. This is the last known place where the King was last seen. We are humbled by what the Government has done. What needs to be done is to teach our children about this battle and this history is mainstreamed into the education sector.”

Chief  Mabhikwa from Lupane: “The Reconstruction of this monument is long overdue; this was supposed to be done in 1980 when we attained independence. This is an important place, this is where King Lobengula was last seen.

It is important that the Government has taken this initiative, this place is not just important for Lupane, it is not only important for the Ndebele but the whole country. There were other chiefs from other provinces whose people fought here. I may name Chief Mapanzura, Chief Gutu, Chief Bere and even Chief Gwebu, they are part of the people who lost some of their people here. This is a national monument, it is not just about the Ndebele people.”

Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube said: “This is an important place where Commander General Mtshane Khumalo led Ndebele warriors and Imbizo regiment fought and totally defeated the whites. President Mnangagwa has done a significant thing which shows that we are correcting distorted history. It was never heard that the Pupu Battle would be discussed but now we are building and correcting the history of Zimbabwe. Our history had been distorted so the President is leading in correcting historic narratives.”

Citizen Coalition for Change Senator Kucaca Phulu:

“Pupu Memorial is a memorial to our heroes, is a memorial to our glorious past and immense contribution to the freedom of this country especially against a backdrop of misinformation and disinformation which is being spread about King Lobengula’s leadership and his stewardship of this country and our land.

We celebrate and welcome such a step as a first among many steps and we hope to see development taking place. We want to see a nice tarred road being done here.”

CCC secretary-general Sengenzo Tshabangu: “This is symbolic. King Lobengula’s last battle was fought here and it was where our heroes and heroines fought imperialism. This is where they fought Cecil John Rhodes and the whites. This is where we say the people of Zimbabwe won that battle. 

“For the Government to make this thing so significant we give it a thumbs up. This is the kind of change that we want to see moving forward. We need to support the national interest programmes.” – @nqotshili