Zimbabwe: A woman of valour

SOKWANELE

Enough is Enough

Zimbabwe

PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

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Sokwanele reporter

10 January 2004

Zodwa Sibanda

A Woman of Valour

Zodwa Sibanda died on December 24 after battling a long illness. Her death marks the end of a life symbolized by a remarkable dedication to family, community and country. This powerful and committed woman carried enormous energy into every facet of her life, as wife to Gibson Sibanda for thirty four years, mother to four children,political activist, community worker and entrepreneur.

Her husband, Gibson Sibanda, is vice president of the Movement for Democratic Change(MDC).

Born Ntombizodwa Elnora Mbambo on April 3, 1946 in Donkwedonkwe village in the Kezi District,Sibanda established her vigorous reputation in fighting for the rights of women,promoting self-help projects and developing business creativity at a young age.

She was a powerful political ally to Gibson, a former secondary schoolmate and sweetheart whom she married in April 1969. The Sibanda’s cut their political teeth early in the country’s struggle for independence against the oppressive Smith regime. She was a fighter who believed passionately in the liberation of her motherland and in the empowerment of society and especially women, as reflected in her work with non-government organizations and community groups that fought poverty, hunger and unemployment.

A dynamic source of creativity, Sibanda at her death was running her own consultancy and a shop trading in cultural arts and crafts. She is remembered for her deep seated respect for her cultural roots and dedication to the preservation of her heritage.

Her strong traditional roots are evident in the upbringing of her children, her relationships with relatives, friends and associates. “She was a strong character driven by conviction and leadership in all spheres of her womanhood,” Gibson said of his wife of 34 years. “She was passionate about respect and she inculcated that virtue in everyone she was privileged to interact with. She was my right hand both in trade unionism and in politics.” Growing up in rural Kezi, Ntombizodwa was the last child in a family of seven girls and one boy born to Sifunela and Janet Mbambo. Her family lineage has a sprinkling of royal blood through her grandfather, Jozana, the chief of Emambanjeni. Jozana served as regimental commander to King Lobhengula, the last of the Ndebele monarchs. But the chieftaincy of Emambanjeni did not pass on to Sifunela. Ntombizondwa lost her mother while she was still on the breast, so her paternal aunts raised Zodwa through her early days at Donkwedonkwe and Mbembeswana Primary Schools. She attended secondary school at Tegwani Mission run by the Methodist Church, where she completed her GCE Ordinary level. It was at this school that she met her future husband, Gibson who was her senior.

Gibson proudly recalls that Zodwa was a sportswoman of note, never missing out on a game of netball and athletics. Their fate was sealed after high school when Gibson entered formal employment and politics. While Gibson entered the arena of trade unionism under the Railways, Zodwa was not far behind working underground as secretary of the Bulawayo district for the People’s Caretaker Council (PCC). Later she was invited to be the secretary for Bulawayo province under Joshua Nkomo who then led the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), a position that saw her being jailed for political activism.

She was detained, alongside her husband, for a year in 1977 by the Smith government. After independence in the mid-1980s, she was again detained, this time by the Mugabe government, for six months on suspicion of "political subversion".Those who did not know her would have concluded that the jail terms had killed her political zeal, but it was merely subdued temporarily.

She left the political limelight after Zimbabwe’s independence and entered the world of business as a leading innovator and consultant. Armed with a secretarial course and qualifications in the management of Boards, Decentralised Cooperation Programmes and Skills Training, Zodwa laid a solid foundation in a career in business. She was at one time President of the Women in Business in Bulawayo and sat on the boards of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), Matabeleland Development Foundation and Small Enterprises Development Corporation (SEDCO). She also played a leading role in her work as the Secretary General of Insiza Development Association, and the Indigenous Business Development Corporation (IBDC) for the Bulawayo region. Sibanda also served as President of the Professional Women of Matabeleland Region, an empowerment grouping.Her qualities as a businesswoman were recognized when she went to Nigeria to receive an award for outstanding leadership from the National Federation of Business and Professional Women.

For more than 15 years Zodwa Sibanda worked at Jairos Jiri Centre in charge of the Craft Shop which promotes crafts made by the handicapped and later she played an instrumental role in expanding the craft shop concepts to all major centres in the country. It was her love for crafts that gave birth to the Rural Cottage and Craft, a business that became her hallmark. Although Zodwa Sibanda expended much energy in her business pursuits,raising a family was a greater challenge. Sibanda raised her three girls, Sibongile, Zanily and Thandi and a son, Mbuso.

It was in 1998 with the birth of Zimbabwe’s first opposition party, the MDC, that the political embers in Sibanda’s heart were rekindled. She was back on familiar turf, supporting and encouraging her husband, Gibson who overwhelmingly won the Nkulumane Parliamentary Seat. Nkulumane residents reflect on Zodwa Sibanda’s determination to change the lives of many in her husband’s constituency by establishing social work programmes for the vulnerable and the aged. She sourced and donated clothing, food and blankets for those in need. It is not surprising that when spouses of MDC parliamentarians sought a leader they chose her as the chairperson of the MDC’s Spouses Association.

Once again Zodwa Sibanda, a woman with three grown children, a "gogo" or grandmother in the local idiom of her Ndebele culture, was leading women to stand up against political oppression. "Women need to stand up and fight for themselves," she said, explaining why she joined Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)."Most women don't know how powerful they are," said Sibanda.

The Zimbabwe police threw her in jail on Feb. 14 2003 with 16 other women and two men for daring to protest. Their crime was walking on city sidewalks on Valentine's Day, passing out roses with notes calling for an end to Zimbabwe's state-sponsored violence. This was her fifth time in jail, but the first where police showed so little respect to female arrestees that they forced them to strip in the presence of male officers.

It is not only the Sibanda’s who have lost a celebrated wife and mother but the country’s political, civic and business communities are robbed of the ever smiling Zodwa. Her legacy is an inspiration to all who believe in justice and action.

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