Chronicle Editor
On November 4, 1893 invading colonial forces arrived in Bulawayo only to find King Lobengula’s capital burnt to the ground and abandoned.
The king had ordered Chief Sivalo Mahlangu to burn Bulawayo before fleeing the heart of the Ndebele kingdom to avoid capture.
The Insukamini Regiment under the command of Manondwane Tshabalala had been defeated on October 25, 1893 near the Shangani River. Another crushing defeat followed on November 2 in Gadade, Mbembesi, this time pitting the crack regiment, Imbizo.
Never satisfied with battle victory and determined to capture the king, Majors Patrick Forbes and Allan Wilson led a patrol in hot pursuit.
They led patrol members to their death.
This was in Pupu where King Lobengula’s Imbizo Regiment killed 32 colonial forces led by Major Wilson in December 1893 in a battle that should never be forgotten.
Chief Mtshana Khumalo was the commander of King Lobengula’s warriors that defeated the Allan Wilson Patrol – and wiped it out completely – marking a great start to colonial resistance.
The first automatic firearm in the world – the Maxim gun, a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim – was the response of the white settlers.
Allan Wilson was honoured and his legacy preserved. Monuments were created and days of remembrance observed. Songs were written and sung in honour of the defeated patrol.
Yet, ironically, Chief Khumalo and his victorious regiment were almost forgotten.
This is why we celebrate the completion of the construction of Pupu National Monument in Lupane, Matabeleland North, which is now ready for commissioning.
Government started upgrading the Pupu site, about 50km east of Lupane Centre into a national monument a few years ago with a view to tell the true Zimbabwean story.
Chief Mtshana Khumalo, who has since been granted National Hero status, will now get the honour he truly deserves together with his men.
The previous government let the nation down by failing to preserve the rich history of the Ndebele people. It failed to honour the true legacy of the fight against colonialism.
The Second Republic under President Mnangagwa deserves much praise for the great work in preserving and telling the true Zimbabwean story.
Our news crew visited the Pupu shrine and observed that it has been fenced off, with two 5 000 litre water tanks installed that connect to a solar-powered pump from a borehole about 200 metres from the shrine.
The piping for water from the borehole to the shrine has been completed and villagers have started benefiting from it. Also, a clinic has been built near the monument in recognition of the shrine and for use by the surrounding community.
National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) director Dr Godfrey Mahachi said the major features of the new national monument are now in place and the department was waiting for direction from Government on when it can be commissioned.
We say there is no better time to commission this great shrine than the month of April, the month of independence. The month when the national Independence Day event comes to Bulawayo and leaves the capital for the first time since independence in 1980.
The independence that Chief Mtshana and the Imbizo Regiment fought for has finally come.
Online Reporter