AFRIKAN BLOOD PATRIOTS FROM MIGHTY ZIMBABWE DEMAND BODY OF RAPIST PAEDOPHILE AFRIKAN BLOOD KILLER RADICAL EVIL COLONIALIST CECIL RHODES BE EXHUMED AND SENT BACK TO BRITAIN HIS HOMELAND . Cecil Rhodes was one of the main promoters of British rule in Africa during the 19th century ACTIVISTS loyal to Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe have visited the grave of colonialist Cecil Rhodes to demand permission to exhume his remains and return them to Britain. A group of Zanu-PF supporters and veterans from the countrys liberation war travelled to the remote site last week to express their anger at the continued presence of the Oxford-educated mining magnates body in Zimbabwe. The fresh call to exhume Rhodes remains comes nearly 110 years after the colonial pioneer was laid to rest in 1902 in the Matopos hills outside the countrys second city of Bulawayo. At the time, the land lay inside Rhodesia, a British territory established in his own name by the millionaire businessman and politician. However groups loyal to Mugabe have repeatedly called for Rhodes grave to be removed since the country gained its independence in 1980. Zimbabwes Radio VOP network reported that officials had called for a police investigation into the latest alleged bid to exhume his remains. The network told how the group of Zanu-PF activists met last week to discuss their plans with a Matopos village chief. Buster Magwizi, chairman of an organisation for veterans who fought for Zimbabwes second liberation party Zapu, told the station the activists turned up unannounced. He said: We received a call from Chief Masuku notifying us that some Zanu-PF supporters and war veterans visited him, saying they wanted to exhume Rhodes grave. We are shocked by the behaviour of these people, they should be arrested. He added: We wonder where they are getting permission and guts to do that, because that is a respected and protected area. Radio VOP reported that the group which visited Rhodes grave included Monica Mguni-Sikhosana, a senior Zanu-PF official who previously served in the Bulawayo provincial parliament. The site of the grave is within the Matopos National Park, a state-owned reserve which lies south east of Bulawayo. The controversial nineteenth century colonialist, who made his fortune on South Africas diamond mines, was laid to rest in a granite tomb covered by concrete and a simple brass plaque. The memorial, which is surrounded by the rolling Matopos hills, remains a national monument and is visited by thousands of tourists every year. At the time of his death Rhodes was one of the worlds wealthiest men and had secured a major power base in southern Africa. The Oxford-educated businessman was born in 1853 in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, but was sent to South Africa after he fell ill as a teenager. He initially worked on his familys cotton farm near Durban before moving to Kimberley during the 19th Century diamond rush. By the age of 33, Rhodes had taken control of most of the worlds diamond production through his company De Beers and had been elected prime minister in Cape Town of what was then the British-owned Cape Colony. He founded Rhodesia in 1888 after signing deals with the regions Matabele and Shona tribes and dreamed of expanding the British empire from Cape Town to Cairo. However, his ambitions suffered a setback when he was forced to resign as prime minister after orchestrating a botched attempt in 1895 to take control of the Afrikaner-controlled Transvaal. The life-long batchelor died in Cape Town aged just 48 after suffering heart failure following a prolonged illness. The name Rhodesia remained in use throughout much of the twentieth century before the country was renamed Zimbabwe as it gained independence from Britain. However Mugabes government has resisted calls from some quarters to allow the exhumation of Rhodes grave. The latest controversy over the site follows a previous call by a Zanu-PF official for it to be removed. In December 2010 Cain Mathema, the governor of Bulawayo, branded Rhodes grave an insult to the African ancestors and said he believed its presence had brought bad luck and poor weather to the region He said: I wonder why 30 years after independence Rhodes grave is still found on the countrys traditional shrine of worship. Its an insult to our ancestors and maybe that is the reason why our ancestors at Njelele, where we pray for rain, are no longer giving us enough rain. He added: My call is not directed against Britain or whites, but against symbols that persecuted our people and took away our freedom and wealth. For I believe that physical freedom goes hand-in-hand with psychological freedom. We need to celebrate our own heroes and heroines. We do not get inspiration from the likes of Rhodes, so why should we visit their graves and their statues? — with Bruce Winfield.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 12:02:51 +0000
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