Unidentified men disrupted the inaugural Qhubekani Dube Annual Memorial Lecture in Bulawayo on Tuesday, ordering attendees to disperse and bringing the proceedings to an abrupt halt.
The lecture, organised by pressure group Ibhetshu LikaZulu, was held in memory of Dube, a founding member and former chairperson of the organisation who died on 10 November 2010.
Held under the theme, “A Defiant Voice for Justice”, the event was scheduled to run from 9am to midday, with Dr Samukele Hadebe as the guest speaker and Sindiso S. Mazibisa as the discussant.
Eyewitnesses said police officers entered the venue on the fourth floor at around 10am and ordered those attending to leave.
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Ibhetshu LikaZulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo questioned whether those who disrupted the meeting were genuine police officers, saying they had failed to identify themselves.
“It’s unfortunate because I honestly don’t think those guys were the police. The police don’t do things like that. They usually introduce themselves before they do anything,” Fuzwayo said.
He added: “They refuse to introduce themselves. They were just violent. Police don’t do that. So, it is just criminals that are associated with criminal activity. They should be either these criminal institutions, or people coming from the opposite party.”
Dr Hadebe said Dube had dedicated much of his adult life to the struggle for social justice, describing him as a prominent voice for equality, development and human dignity.
“He dedicated a good part of his brief adult life to the struggle for social justice. As his colleagues have said, he was a co-founder of Ibhetshu LikaZulu and one of Zimbabwe’s foremost voices for justice, equality, development, and human dignity,” Hadebe said.
“It is befitting for Ibhetshu LikaZulu to hold this memorial lecture for one of their own. We believe you are going to have subsequent lectures in memory of this voice.”
Dube’s relative, Douglas Dube, said he was pleased to see people gathering to celebrate his relative’s life and recognise his contribution to society.
“I am happy to see that people are celebrating his life and the achievements that he did and how he made an impact on society. I just wish his son would have been here to see the work he had done but overall I am happy to see people gathered here to honour him,” he said.
Ibhetshu LikaZulu chairperson Melusi Moyo recalled the difficult circumstances surrounding the organisation’s formation, describing Dube, who served as its founding secretary, as a fearless activist who inspired others.
“Under very hard circumstances we built Ibhetshu LikaZulu. I remember when we started Qhubekani was the secretary and I was the treasurer. Ibhetshu LikaZulu is an organisation for the people and Qhubekani was a revolutionary and a fearless person,” Moyo said.
“He was those people that used to throw eggs to the ministers as they were passing by, I’m sure most of you have heard the story, but overall he was a serious activist.”
Moyo said Dube had influenced his own involvement in activism, adding that the organisation had faced challenges because of its controversial reputation but remained committed to its work.
“He was a person who brought me into activism. I was copying some of the stages of activism from him. Ibhetshu LikaZulu is a very controversial organisation, it was said that we would not be able to get donors because of the controversy that the organisation has, but the people stuck by us and we remained with Ibhetshu LikaZulu,” he said.
Moyo said the organisation would continue to promote a better Zimbabwe and preserve the history of those who had contributed to the country’s struggle.
“As controversial as we are, our agenda is to make our country a better place, to also remember our fallen heroes. If we don’t do these memorial lectures our children will get the wrong history about us, so it is our duty to get the right history about our people who have fought to make this country better,” Moyo said.
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