MP comes under tribal attacks
Calvin Manika
Daniel Molokele Tsiye, a member of parliament (MP) for Hwange Central, has come under attack on tribal lines as some CCC members believe he is not “local enough” has South African Citizenship. The MP won the ticket to again represent CCC in the upcoming elections following the party’s candidate selection.
Molokele’s triumph left a bitter taste in the mouth of CCC faithfuls that supported his challenger Cosmas Kaboloma Ndlovu who have since launched a campaign against the legislator’s origins.
However, others like Lawrence Chinene Ndhlovu are fighting in the MP’s corner
“This is just a ploy to decampaign him. Without exception, Hon. Molokele is a true Zimbabwean,” said Ndlovu.
Until 2017, Molekele was based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He then relocated to his hometown of Hwange and in 2018 campaigned for the office of the Member of Parliament for Hwange Central Constituency and won.
“He was born on Friday 31 January 1975 at the Number One Hwange Colliery Company Clinic in the coal mining town of Hwange. Hon. Molokele spent all his childhood years at No. 1 Hwange Colliery Company Limited(Lwendulu)village. His family stayed at several homes in Hwange which included P63, O21, L24 and M28,” added Ndlovu.
Despite the fact that Ndlovu called Molokele a pure “mubhoni,” (name give to Hwange locals) other locals claimed that his multiple aliases indicate that he is a hybrid citizen and that some people may not be able to fully associate him with Hwange or Zimbabwe. Daniel Molokele is also known as Fortune Tsiye.
“Why all these names??? I think this is where all the confusion is. If the names can be explained then people cannot be judged to be tribal,” said one of the group members in a Hwange Whatsapp group.
In response to the raised issues Molekele said there is a story behind his many names. “I was raised up as Fortune Mguni. After university l did a legal change of name to align myself with my original family identity. I now have a long double barrelled name on my ID documents Fortune Daniel Molokele Tsiye. To make it easier for people to interact with me l use Daniel Molokele,” said Molokele.
According to Tjenesani Ntungakwa, a researcher with the Revolutionary Research Institute of Zimbabwe (RRIZ), tribalism should be a subject left well alone. To him, tribalism is about a weak national identity. In order to create a sense of national identity in Zimbabwe, Ntungakwa said that Zimbabweans must begin at community level. “Tribalism is an emotional topic by its nature and does not need to be discussed in wrong spheres,” he said.
The researcher suggests creating a national identity forum where ideas can be exchanged in order to eradicate tribalism in the country. According to Ntungakwa, each tribe that feels excluded should express itself on such a forum.
People in Hwange believe they have been deprived for a very long time because non-Nambya (native language of the area) people keep occupying important positions. However
Tribalism in Matabeleland North threatened to split the MDC-T in 2011, amid rumours that the Binga and Hwange East districts would boycott the party congress. A Ndebele-dominated leadership without a single Tonga or Nambya candidate in the hierarchy had emerged in the provincial party elections.
The election of 350 Members of Parliament is mandated under Zimbabwe’s Constitution. The Senate and the National Assembly, make up Parliament and have 80 and 270 members, respectively. Parliamentarians carry out legislative, representative, and oversight duties. They are chosen to serve terms of five years beginning on the day the President-Elect is sworn in and takes office.
Molokele will again face off with Reeds Dube of Zanu PF whom he defeated in 2018.
