AS millions of Zimbabweans embraced the opportunity to exercise their constitutional rights by stepping into voting booths, the significance of this process was particularly profound for the San Community in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North. For the very first time, they took part in a national election that marked a substantial leap forward in their reintegration into Zimbabwean society.
Previously relegated to the sidelines, the San community had watched their Ndebele and Kalanga neighbours participate in voting for years, fostering a sense of envy and rendering them feeling voiceless and like second-class citizens in a country they rightfully called their own.
In the Mtshina area of Tsholotsho, under the leadership of Chief Goledema, the inaugural San chief, villagers woke before dawn to cast their votes, driven by a determination not to miss out on a process that had seemed exclusive to their neighbouring tribes since the nation’s independence in 1980.
Once nomadic hunters and gatherers, the San had largely been relegated to historical texts and sporadic tourist snapshots before the Second Republic emerged. Despite enduring years of marginalisation after independence, the Government took steps to integrate the San Community into national affairs by granting them access to essential national documents. This move aimed to ensure their active participation in Zimbabwe’s journey toward achieving an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
Finally, the fruits of these efforts were evident yesterday as members of the San Community experienced the exhilarating opportunity to select candidates deserving of their votes, underscoring a crucial stride toward inclusivity and national unity.
Chief Goledema, who was one of the first to cast a ballot at Butabubili Primary School in the Mtshina area, said he had been thoroughly impressed by how peaceful the period leading up to this year’s elections had been.
The San Community chose Goledema, original name Christopher Dube, as the inaugural chief in 2021. He was officially appointed by the Government on November 10 last year.
“I have to say I am very happy about all that I have seen on the run-up to this election. Everything has been peaceful and that is commendable. Well, maybe I can only speak for the people under me because anything can happen elsewhere but so far, everything has been pleasing and all the different parties have been able to campaign in peace. I have been very pleased to notice that those working towards getting elected have been doing so in a timely and peaceful manner and for me as a leader of the San people that is very pleasing,” he told Chronicle in an interview.
Chief Goledema said while for this time efforts were geared towards encouraging as many people from the San Community to vote, the next time could see more villagers grasping at the opportunity to lead.
“I have not heard any reports of any disturbances and it has pleased me to see people going about their party business in peace. Of course, maybe they may have been untoward things from other wards like Ward 7 that I have not been able to hear because of a lack of communication but so far, everything has run smoothly and as the San people this pleases because for a lot of our people this is the first time they have been able to participate in the electoral process.
“The San community is still learning and it is learning a lot. Looking at things as they are now, I am hopeful that maybe the next time we go to the ballot, they will also be eager to become leaders in their own right. The people are learning as they go. In the beginning, we were saying whatever may come, we will accept because we were really not interested in the election of whoever leads in the country. Whoever was the Government of the day being all that mattered and how they got elected did not matter to us,” he said.
While some might have thought convincing older people to abandon their old nomadic ways would be harder, Chief Goledema said encouraging younger people to take part in the process had been the harder task.
“With the situation we are looking at right now, I don’t expect a lot of our young people to vote, it will mainly be the old villages but the process of educating people is ongoing so I expect that in the next one, we will have more young people turning out in their numbers. For now, it is mainly the older generation that has appreciated the process but you might find younger people sporadically here and there,” Chief Goledema said.
With the Government offering more jobs, especially in the security services, Chief Goledema said this would undoubtedly have a ripple effect on the rest of the community, as more and more people were exposed to the fruits of hard worker.
The Government instructed the security sector to reserve a quota for the San in the recruitment of prison officers, soldiers and police.
“What I would wish to see in the next five years, is for people in this community to get more opportunities. In the past, if you got to Prison Services, you’d get there and find no one from the San Community so it was intimidating but now, it is now less so. Employing one person from the community has benefits because one person goes on to educate their younger brother and sister. The standard of living is also changing and the people from our community that can now see the result of hard work in wider society,” he said.
A first-time voter from the San Community, Ms Sicinile Moyo (76) said the process left her feeling like a Zimbabwean for the first time in her life. Ms Moyo left before the country’s independence to pursue what she felt were fairer opportunities outside the country’s borders.
“This will be the first time that I am voting as old as I am. I am in the queue with old women that are as old as I am and I’m welling with tears because they cannot appreciate what I am feeling right now. They have been voting since they were young but I have had to go around struggling for my family because that is what a woman is supposed to do. I don’t begrudge them of their experiences but I am happy that I am finally able to experience and witness something that I was able to view from afar all these years. I appreciate it because I thought I would die before I also became a voter in the county of my birth,” she said.
Another voter, Obvious Mpofu (35) encouraged more young people to take part in the electoral process.
“I am feeling proud and I would like my brothers and sisters to also vote correctly. This has been a great experience and I am encouraged by how peaceful how the whole process has been,” he said. – The Chronicle
