Award-winning actor Zenzo Nyathi, who is best known for his yesteryear role as Mzambane on ZBC TV’s hit series Amakorokoza, has requested a King Mzilikazi Day.
His request follows President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s controversial decision to declare his birthday, September 15, a holiday to be celebrated as Munhumutapa Day.
Posting on his social platforms, Nyathi asked if his request would result in too many holidays.
“May someone please ask that September 5 be declared King Mzilikazi Day. Might they think public holidays are now too many?” said Nyathi.
King Mzilikazi Day is an annual cultural event held on September 9 in Bulawayo to honour the founding Ndebele King Mzilikazi,
King Mzilikazi was a commander in the historical Zulu army who broke ranks with King Shaka in the 1820s to start his own empire, which he eventually moved north to present-day Matabeleland.
For many, this would be a worthy holiday, considering Mnangagwa’s Munhumutapa Day declaration.
“If Government’s explanation is that Munhumutapa Day is genuinely intended to honour an important pre-colonial African kingdom, then Zimbabweans are entitled to ask why our extraordinarily rich pre-colonial history has been reduced to one kingdom and one royal tradition,” said Defend the Constitution Platform (DCP) leader Jameson Timba.
“The Mutapa State was unquestionably an important part of our history. It deserves study, recognition and preservation. But it was not the only important African state or kingdom in the history of the territory that became Zimbabwe.
“The Rozvi State under the Changamire dynasty subsequently became a dominant political power across large parts of the Zimbabwean plateau. Changamire Dombo defeated Mutapa forces and established a formidable state which became central to the political history of this region. Why, therefore, do we not have Changamire Day?
“The Ndebele Kingdom subsequently became another major political formation in the history of what became Zimbabwe. Why do we not have Lobengula Day?”
