By Princess Gina Eugene Majuru.
London (News of The South) – Wednesday saw Zimbabwe Cabinet approving the name change of Harare Central Hospital, one of the City’s government hospitals to Sally Mugabe hospital after the late first lady who was married to the late President Robert Mugabe.
The tragedy of Chief Mbari
It is ok to alter colonial history and names associated with colonial history but the name Harare is the name of Zimbabwe’s former Paramount Chief Mbari who ruled his territory Harare, part of Mazoe and Mount Hampden. I was also born at Harare Central Hospital the hospital named after my great grandfather. It is a human right to protect one’s heritage and as a descendant of Paramount Chief Mbari I feel it is our duty to protect our heritage because thats thats our DNA, our origins, that is what makes us who we are.
Rezende street is also listed for renaming to Julia Zvobgo street. Rezende is not a colonial name but the bane of Mbari’s son.
With the current economic crisis facing Zimbabwe besides me protecting my heritage changing the name is also an insult to Zimbabweans because the hospital is currently closed and people are struggling to access healthcare. Costs that come with name change can and should be channelled to improve service delivery, even the costs associated to the ceremony of the name change should be channelled to service delivery ie buying equipment, medicines or even giving free healthcare to the under privileged or those requiring urgent treatment but lacking funds.
In understanding and appreciating Zimbabwe’s history it is important to remember when Zimbabwe was colonised by the British around 1890 they arrived in Harare and massacred masses of people from the Mbari clan as they took over the land. It was also in Harare where the greatest number of massacres took place. First Chimurenga war heroes were also executed in Harare including more from the Mbari clan. The surving Mbari clan members fled and sought refuge in other Chiefs land. Till today Mbari
clan are scattered all over Zimbabwe living in destitution under other Chiefs. Zimbabwean government is well aware of it and Harare Chieftainship has till today nearly 40 years after Independence not been rescuscitated. To rescuscitate Mbari Chieftainship in Harare Cabinet needs to re- allign the constitution but this exercise is stalling, according to Zim government the re- allignment was to be done early 2019 but we are now approaching end of 2019 and the issue has not even been raised in Parliament.
Understandably efforts are being made to get Zimbabwe back on track but among the urgent problems to be dealt with in solving Zimbabwe’s problems is the outstanding issue of Mbari Chieftainship, this also includes the cleansing of Harare which till now is considered to be dirty and needs cleansing ceremonies dating back as the 1890s to cleanse all the people killed on the land from the time of the 1890 colonisation of Zimbabwe. The Mbari clan who died are yet to be told that the land they died fighting for has been taken back and then the Chieftainship also needs to be rescuscitated as part of resolving the outstanding traditional issues.
The Mbari clan were killed when sold out by the Hwata who told the British that the Mbari people were hiding in the caves, the spirits of these people are not resting in peace and as a result there are endless problems in Harare which then affects the whole country as everyrhibg that drives Zimbabwe is housed in Harare.
Being a member of the Mbari clan of the Shumba gurundoro totem myself, we are aware of the exisiting problems which Mugabe’s administration has been well aware of but almost 40 years after Independence nothing has been done about it yet innocent people continue to suffer due to problems in the country. I personally have a spiritual connection to the City of Harare and various messages of things that need to be done to ressolve issues are communicated to us every now and again.
Zimbabwe is a spiritual country in a religious and traditional way. Following the announcement of the aproval by the Cabinet I engaged various Zimbabweans and they expressed ignorance of the history behind the City of Harare and hiw the city was named and who Mbari/ Harare was. Some of them include several people in the Cabinet who approved the name change. One then wonders what was discussed during the session that came up with the decision to rename the hospital.
My forefathers were great people who played a very important role in the history of Zimbabwe. My great grandfather Paramount Chief Mbari also had special abilities which he used to assist the people of Zimbabwe. Many travelled from afar to seek his services. He became so popular that he had many people waiting and he ended uo working throughout the night thus not sleeping. That is where the name Hatate emerged from as they then referred to him as Haarari (one who doesn’t sleep) Harare is a corrupted name of Haarari.
Harare central hospital
I personally feel the cabinet has been insensitive by approving this name change. As Mbari clan we have a Heritage to protect and it’s infuriatiing to see these attempts to erase our history. It will be deleted one by one from the look of things. Recently Harare international airport named after ny gteat greatfather was renamed to Robert Gabriel Mugabe airport yet orher airports will be built and can be named after Mugabe. So renaming Harare airport and Harare hospital is already erasure of two major attractions of my heritage. My forefathers have also communicated that we the Mbari clan need to preserve the Kopje area, that was his muzinda (headquarters where all traditional ceremonies were conducted from it is also from the Kopje that Paramount Chief Mbari was assisting the masses.
Mbari was a paramount chief of Harare and part of Mazowe area and earned himself a totem (chidawu) called Shumba Gururendoro (Gurundoro) after allocating land to all the chiefs surrounding his area of jurisdiction. He handed over chieftaincy of the area to his younger brother Makombe (Chitemamuswe) after being possessed by spirit medium (mhondoro), as in our culture you cannot perform both duties as a spirit medium and as a chief. Makombe took over and ruled the area up to the time it was commercialized by white settlers and subsequent colonization in 1897.
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