Zimpapers Logo

Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
THE restoration of King Lobengula’s original capital, Old Bulawayo has started taking shape with major civil works, which include the reconstruction of the King’s Palace, cattle kraal and 10 beehive huts having started as Government steps up efforts to revive the iconic cultural heritage site.

Old Bulawayo, which was built by King Lobengula in 1870 and was burnt down in 1881 to counter invasion by white colonialists, is part of the Heritage Corridor recently launched by President Mnangagwa.

Old Bulawayo is an important cultural heritage site for tourism and education.

One of the King’s generals, Magwegwe Fuyana led the process of burning down the capital after which the King and his people moved northwards to the present-day State House in Sauerstown suburb in Bulawayo, but there were efforts later to restore it in the 1990’s.

King Lobengula was the last King of the Ndebele and his monarchy collapsed in 1894 after it was raided by white settlers marking complete colonisation of present-day Zimbabwe.

Old Bulawayo was gutted by a veld fire again 11 years ago. It is envisaged that once complete, Old Bulawayo will boost the city’s tourism industry.

Chronicle news crew yesterday visited the site and there was a hive of activity as workers contracted by the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) worked on the different structures.

The cattle kraal, which is also an integral part of the settlement, is in the process of being fully reconstructed and lot of ground has been covered. The refurbishment of the wagon shed is almost complete and the facility has already been thatched.

Work on the reconstruction of the beehive (iqhugwana) using wattle sticks (umyezawe) has started including the erection of perimeter for the palisade, which demarcates the central part of Old Bulawayo from the periphery.

The construction of the King’s Palace is almost complete with only thatching and installation of wooden louvres yet to be done.

Already, Government has completed the upgrading of the 7km stretch from the Matopos Road leading to the site under the first phase of the programme.

Government through the Ministries of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, and Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, is spearheading the project.

NMMZ executive director Dr Godfrey Mahachi said there is tremendous progress on the ongoing works.

“There is a lot of work being done at Old Bulawayo and the project, which is within the 100-day cycle, is progressing well. Our intention is to do the different components of the project that we have committed to complete within that period,” he said.

“We have done the wagon shed, which is nearly complete in terms refurbishment and we are now left with doing the presentation of that component, which we are working on. We are also working on the King’s Palace to make sure that we roof it within this period.”

Dr Mahachi said they are targeting to reconstruct 10 beehive huts, which were central to King Lobengula’s existence at the site. The structures are associated with King and the royal family.

“We have enough materials to do at least 10 beehives and what we are doing is just sampling because if we were to use the archaeological evidence to reconstruct each and every beehive that was at Old Bulawayo, we would do 100 structures,” he said.

Dr Mahachi said they would ensure that the cattle kraal, which is also an integral part of the settlement is fully reconstructed and work has already been done.

He said they were also working on revamping the museum exhibition centre, which will be completed under the first phase.

“We will also renew the information panels including the material culture which is part of the thatch of the interpretative centre. We also intend doing something on the Jesuit Mission because it also very integral to Old Bulawayo,” he said.

Dr Mahachi said they would want the role of the Jesuits to come out clear within the story of Old Bulawayo.

“At the moment we are mobilising the information around how the Jesuits interacted with King Lobengula and how their presence contributed to the demise of Old Bulawayo,” he said.

The site is already connected to the national grid with running water being electrically pumped from a borehole.

Dr Mahachi said they were optimistic that by October, most of the major works would have been completed at Old Bulawayo.

The restoration of King Lobengula’s capital was mooted in 1993 in the run-up to Bulawayo’s centenary celebrations and work was completed in 1997 with the help of royal experts from KwaZulu Natal Province in South Africa.

However, the palace was gutted by fire in August 2010 and has remained an eyesore as the Khumalos and NMMZ disagreed over who should initiate the restoration process.

Also, King Mzilikazi’s grave, some 26km from Bulawayo along the Old Gwanda Road, has been lying derelict for some time.

NMMZ later erected a gate to the cave where the King was buried. That was in late 2004 after
cultural groups protested that the grave was getting desecrated.

King Mzilikazi died on 28 September in 1868 and his remains were buried in November of the same year on a hill called Entumbane — a northern fringe of the Matopo Hills after a series of ceremonies befitting his royal status.- @mashnets