Lobengula’s Spear Stolen

A spear that belonged to the last  Ndebele King, Lobengula, have been stolen from Old Bulawayo with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) coming under fire for poor security.

The gold coated spear, measuring 1.2M, was stolen from the historic site on the outskirts of Bulawayo where other artifacts of the Ndebele Kingdom are kept, this incident was discovered on Sunday by a caretaker at Old Bulawayo.

It is said  that the caretaker, Stanley Gwebu, discovered that the spear, a 45CM black fly whisk and a small brown clay pot which were placed near King Lobengula’s statue, were missing at around 1:45PM while conducting his chores and reported the matter to the police.

Charity Charamba , national police spokesperson confirmed the incident saying police were looking into the matter. ”I can confirm that there was a burglary at Old Bulawayo where some artefacts were stolen. But I don’t have the finer details on the matter. However, police are investigating the matter,” said Snr Asst Comm Charity.

This came as a shock to King Lobengula’s descendant Prince Zwide Khumalo  as he expressed shock at the incident saying the family has not been notified about theft. He rapped the NMMZ for failing to provide adequate security at the historic site saying royal artifacts deserved to be kept in a more secure place.

”It raises a lot of concerns within the family, the Ndebele speaking people as well as other Nguni ethnic groups whose history was being kept at Old Bulawayo. There’s something grossly wrong with the security in the national museums. This is not the first time there has been a break in at the museums meaning there is a weakness in their security system,” he said.

Khumalo reminded the museums that they are custodians of peoples cultures. Cont Mhanga, social commentator also added that the break in exposes NMMZ for its recklessness in preserving culture.

”This isn’t the first time such an incident has happened. There was a break in four or five years ago. Mahachi (Godfrey director of NMMZ) must address this issue. This falls right on his door step,” he said .