Chronicle Editor
ON December 4, 1893, Cecil John Rhodes declared newly-occupied territory the town of “Buluwayo”.
On March 4, 1896, The Bulawayo Chronicle announced a change in the spelling of the name of the town from Buluwayo to Bulawayo.
Many places had corrupted names but those corrected after independence include Wankie, now Hwange, Tokwe (Tugwi), Shabanie (Zvishavane) and Gwelo (Gweru).
Many roads, suburbs and townships were named after Rhodes and his fellow occupiers. Some were named after their leaders back in England and other imperialist heroes.
Zimbabwean and African liberators have, since 1980, been honoured through the naming of roads, schools and other public institutions, one of the major benefits of independence or self-rule.
Bulawayo, a city whose name was once Gubulawayo and later Buluwayo, must understand the importance of names.
It is, therefore, befitting that Bulawayo will honour a living African icon, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
President Kenyatta, whose full name is Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and is the son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president, will have a road named after him before the start of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) later this month.
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) will rename one of the city’s roads after President Kenyatta following a request made by Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo in terms of the Names (Alteration) Act.
President Kenyatta was born on October 26, 1961, in Nairobi, Kenya). He is a well-respected businessman and politician who held several government posts before being elected president of Kenya in 2013. He was re-elected in 2017.
President Kenyatta is expected to officially open this year’s 62nd edition of the ZITF which will be held from April 26 to 30 under the theme: “Rethink, Reimagine, Reinvent Value Chains for Economic Development.”
Bulawayo Mayor, Councillor Solomon Mguni said the renaming of the selected road should be finalised before President Kenyatta’s visit to the country.
The three roads under consideration are Hillside Road from 14th Avenue to Cecil Avenue, Banff to Hillside Dams and the George Avenue from Harare Road to Old Esigodini Road.
According to the latest council minutes, the three roads are best suitable to be renamed in honour of President Kenyatta as they are close to the ZITF grounds.
This noble move should mark the start of a continuous programme aimed at renaming public spaces to names that resonate with the culture, history and values of Zimbabweans.
It is also befitting that the honouring of President Kenyatta is being done in independence month. Also, at a time when the national Independence Day event will be held in Bulawayo and outside Harare for the first time in the country’s history.
April 2022 will surely be recorded as a record-breaking month in the country’s history.
Zimbabwe is our country, Bulawayo is our city, we are independent! We can give our roads, suburbs and institutions the names of our heroes and remove the names of our former oppressors.
Online Reporter