Trust lobbies for renaming of Nketa

KING Mambo Dynasty Trust has written to the Bulawayo City Council requesting that the local authority change the name of Nketa Township to King Mambo Township saying the name was derogatory and dividing the people of Matabeleland.

The Mambo Dynasty Trust is an organisation that was formed to retrace and revive cultural traditions, customs, correct social order, research and re-write the history of the Lozwi Empire which was destroyed by various groupings which invaded present day Zimbabwe during the Mfecane period.

In a letter addressed to the mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo and dated 6 February 2018, Mambo Dynasty Trust chairman Mr Mike Moyo said they were requesting the city council to ensure names of places in the city reflect the people positively.

Mr Moyo said the name Nketa was derived from “Nketa abetshabi” which is derogatory and belittling to the majority of the people of Matabeleland.

“We therefore request Bulawayo City Council to consider changing derogatory street and place names to reflect our positive rich history and its diversity starting with Nketa which we find not only derogatory but also invokes memories of the class segregation and nearly 200 years of lost dignity.

“We hereby lobby your council and the city fathers to propose changing Nketa Township to King Mambo Township as first step of the city’s stance to acknowledge the rich history of its majority residents.

“We will be guided by your esteemed office in following; the set processes and procedures to achieve this objective for our people,” said Mr Moyo.

He added that the history of the township could be traced back to show that the name Nketa had a belittling tone.

“Oral evidence and research has proven beyond reasonable doubt that Nketa Township was named with a derogatory term which has been given to a small mountain for meetings of Mzilikazi’s subjects where attendants would be seated in social citizenry classes of superiority based on three classes.

“The first class were the Ngunis who left Zululand with Mzilikazi, second classes of tribes captured along the way and forcibly naturalised and the third class of the Lozwis who had been colonised in their land (derogatory referred to as Amahole) yet they were the owners of the land,” the letter reads.

King Mambo Dynasty was established as a trust organisation in July 2015, to research the Lozwi history and resuscitate the Lozwi chieftainship which was displaced first by King Mzilikazi and subsequently by the colonial system.

Efforts to contact the Clr Moyo were fruitless as his number was unreachable.