adminNqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
THE National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) has launched an investigation into a burglary that happened at Old Bulawayo on Sunday. A gold-coated spear and other artefacts that the last Ndebele monarch, King Lobengula, used were stolen following the security breach. Police are also investigating the crime.
National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba told Chronicle on Wednesday that law enforcement agents were hunting for the criminals who broke into the historic site and stole the artefacts.
Yesterday, NMMZ’s director Godfrey Mahachi said he will be in Bulawayo on Monday on a fact-finding mission. “I’m on my way to Bulawayo on a fact finding mission to find out what exactly happened at Old Bulawayo. The museum has security personnel so we want to know what led to lapse in security resulting in the objects being stolen,” he said.
Mahachi said the NMMZ as custodians of the country’s heritage have a duty to dig into the circumstances that led to the theft of King Lobengula’s priceless artefacts.
“I think by Monday I’ll be in Bulawayo. We’ve to be on the ground and find out what happened,” said Mahachi.
Sources said Old Bulawayo historic site’s caretaker Stanley Gwebu observed that the spear, a 45cm black fly whisk and a small brown clay pot which were placed near King Lobengula’s statue were missing and reported the matter to the police.
The theft has raised a public outcry.
One of King Lobengula’s descendents, Prince Zwide Khumalo, and social commentator Cont Mhlanga rapped NMMZ’s for its failure to provide adequate security at the monument.
The duo highlighted that the NMMZ has security loopholes as about five years ago; there was another break-in which resulted in other artefacts being stolen.
They said Old Bulawayo was not being given the status befitting a historic site citing that it was nearly razed down by fire in recent years.
After being engulfed by flames, nothing concrete has been done to rehabilitate the site causing some people from the region to argue that this is a deliberate ploy to undermine their history and culture.
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