Cape Town – Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe's former aide Dumiso Dabengwa has
reportedly labelled the veteran leader a "tribalist"
following Mugabe's recent Kalanga tribal jibe.
According to Southern Eye , Dabengwa, who is the
leader of opposition Zapu, said Mugabe's insult
aimed at Kalangas reflected his "tribalist"
mentality that led to the Gukurahundi massacres
which saw up to 20 000 people killed in
Matebeleland in the mid 1980
Memories of the killings, carried out by Mugabe's
North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade in the south of
the country, remain strong among many in
Zimbabwe's Ndebele ethnic group and contribute
to their distrust of the Mugabe-led government.
Most of those killed were Ndebele.
Petty criminal activities
Mugabe, 91, made headlines last week when he
said most Zimbabwean emigrants to South Africa
in the past were Kalangas from Matabeleland
. He said they (Kalangas) had little education and
that they were also reputed to be crooks.
Mugabe said Kalangas were widely regarded in
the past to have engaged in petty criminal
activities in South Africa.
Mugabe said this while responding to a question
on the xenophobic violence that swept through
parts of Durban and Johannesburg last month.
The state-owned newspaper The Herald on
Monday quoted Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo as defending the nonagenarian. Moyo said
Mugabe's remarks were taken out of context . He
said Mugabe was referring to the pre-
independence stereotype about Kalangas when he
made the remarks.
Dabengwa, however criticised for Moyo trying to
defend Mugabe.
"Some Zanu-PF apologists have tried to cover up
his grotesque insult on Kalangas as uneducated
people most of who are involved in crime in
South Africa," Dabengwa was quoted as saying.
- News2
Mugabe's former aide Dumiso Dabengwa has
reportedly labelled the veteran leader a "tribalist"
following Mugabe's recent Kalanga tribal jibe.
According to Southern Eye , Dabengwa, who is the
leader of opposition Zapu, said Mugabe's insult
aimed at Kalangas reflected his "tribalist"
mentality that led to the Gukurahundi massacres
which saw up to 20 000 people killed in
Matebeleland in the mid 1980
Memories of the killings, carried out by Mugabe's
North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade in the south of
the country, remain strong among many in
Zimbabwe's Ndebele ethnic group and contribute
to their distrust of the Mugabe-led government.
Most of those killed were Ndebele.
Petty criminal activities
Mugabe, 91, made headlines last week when he
said most Zimbabwean emigrants to South Africa
in the past were Kalangas from Matabeleland
. He said they (Kalangas) had little education and
that they were also reputed to be crooks.
Mugabe said Kalangas were widely regarded in
the past to have engaged in petty criminal
activities in South Africa.
Mugabe said this while responding to a question
on the xenophobic violence that swept through
parts of Durban and Johannesburg last month.
The state-owned newspaper The Herald on
Monday quoted Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo as defending the nonagenarian. Moyo said
Mugabe's remarks were taken out of context . He
said Mugabe was referring to the pre-
independence stereotype about Kalangas when he
made the remarks.
Dabengwa, however criticised for Moyo trying to
defend Mugabe.
"Some Zanu-PF apologists have tried to cover up
his grotesque insult on Kalangas as uneducated
people most of who are involved in crime in
South Africa," Dabengwa was quoted as saying.
- News2
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