Nkululeko Sibanda
20 June 2009
Bulawayo — King Lobengula must be turning in his grave at the way his last royal residence, a few kilometres from the present day's "City of Kings", has deteriorated.
The alarming state of neglect of Old Bulawayo, which has angered Ndebele traditionalists, first came to light during a recent state visit by Swaziland's King Mswati III whose scheduled tour of the site was cancelled at the last minute by authorities who feared embarrassment.
Touted as Zimbabwe's first cultural theme park when it was officially opened by Vice- President Joseph Msika in 2006, the monument is now an eyesore.
Old Bulawayo was rebuilt along the lines of settlements in King Zwelithini's kingdom in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal by the department of National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe in order to attract tourists.
But a visit to the site last week showed that the reconstructed beehive huts that were once inhabited by King Lobengula and his inner circle were caving in.
There is no evidence that the royal residence has been maintained after the official opening.
Pathisa Nyathi, a prominent historian who has written extensively on the Ndebele state, said the collapse of the monument had stymied a number of important cultural events.
"The original plan was to create a theme park at the monument where people would live and lead a Ndebele lifestyle," Nyathi said.
"This means that the people would conduct traditional ceremonies such as umbuyiso (bringing home ancestral spirits), weddings, and installation of a king.
"All this was aimed at ensuring that the Ndebele culture is preserved and people keep on being reminded of their cultural values."
Bulawayo Publicity Association's Valerie Bell said the country could be losing millions of dollars in potential revenue as tourists interested in visiting the cultural site were not able to do so.
She said the road leading to site was in a deplorable state, further diminishing Old Bulawayo's potential as a high-profile tourist attraction.
Critics blame the NMMZ for the neglect of the theme park but the department's director for the western region, Darlington Munyikwa, said the site is a victim of the country's unending economic problems.
"As a parastatal, we depend on government funding and so far we have not managed to get any money from the government and this has made our operations a bit difficult," Munyikwa said.
"It is not that we are neglecting our monuments.
"We are conserving these sites but we have a lot of challenges that we are facing in our effort to manage the sites."
He said the department had started cutting grass at Old Bulawayo and there were also moves to start reconstructing the fence at the king's homestead.
Munyikwa said Lobengula's descendants were still being allowed to hold traditional ceremonies at the site.
"To let that monument die just like that would be the most tragic thing ever to happen to a society and a country in general," Nyathi warned.
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