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Peter Matika, Senior Life Reporter
NOT much has been said or chronicled about King Mambo since his demise decades ago, with much prominence being given to King Mzilikazi.
A few historians have over the years made efforts to make known his history and how he came about to settling in Zimbabwe and ultimately becoming a benevolent emperor.
With the usual and most accepted norm in society being that history is better known by the elderly, a set of youths running a media company seek to go against that norm.
A local media company, comprising a youthful team seeks to reincarnate the king in the form of a film documentary, which will unravel and document the life and times of King Mambo.
In their quest to do so the team seeks to become one of the youngest custodians of history and also to preserve and promote the country’s various cultures and traditions.
“For many years, even to date King Mambo and his people have been unsung, unheard, uncelebrated and voiceless. This has resulted in total loss of cultural values, identity, language, land and kingdom,” said Thabiso Makhubedu from Media Bait.
He said they were in the process of shooting a documentary about King Mambo, where they sought to educate the people about one of history’s kings.
“The film production will seek to meet its objectives, which are to educate and resuscitate culture, identity awareness, celebrate Mambo’s people and embrace our heritage and legacy. We will interview key people, historians, Mambo’s community leaders, the elderly and ordinary people. We will also set about visiting key areas such as Intaba zikaMambo, Injelele and Great Zimbabwe, among many other historical sites. We also hope to visit and interview key people in other countries that make up the history of Mambo, such as Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia,” said Makhubedu.
He said it was rarely often to hear about King Mambo; instead many conversations dwelt around King Mzilikazi.
“Very often when you mention King Mambo, many will only relate to the popular song, that goes like Kudala kwakunganje umhlaba uyaphenduka kwakubusa uMambo loMzilikazi. There is little information given and easily accessible about King Mambo. Therefore this production will provide a detailed story about King Mambo and his lost clan,” said Makhubedu.
He said the documentary would have four episodes and will be available on local TV and also on DVD and the internet.
“The film will get people to know who Mambo is, his rulership and the relations he had with other nations, his fall and the rise of Mzilikazi. The production being done by us Media Bait in partnership with Mambo Dynasty Trust and for Mambo Dynasty Trust,” said Makhubedu.
Media Bait, is a company started by a group of professionals with the objective of establishing a unique media/entertainment company. The company’s main objectives are film making, marketing, publications, advertising and distribution.
“This film project is here to promote peace, togetherness and stability among people. The project will also drive the branding mileage for its stakeholders. It is developing an innovative menu of community projects designed to promote the social, educational and inspirational value of film. It is one of the few initiatives within Mambo to provide essential community engagement and encourage social inclusion through a film experience,” added Makhubedu. -@peterkmatika
derick.khumalo