BULAWAYO strips, the late National Hero Takawira of the honour of having a major Bulawayo city road named after him,

MAJOR BULAWAYO CITY ROADS/STREETS NAME CHANGES COUNCIL, INCLUDING STRIPPING, the late National Hero Leopold Takawira of the honour of having a major Bulawayo city road named after him, and renames the road King Mzilikazi Road after King Mzilikazi who was the father of Lobengula and the founder of the Ndebele nation.
King Mzilikazi Road is a wide road leading to South Africa past the Centenary Park and Ascot mansions – originally known by its colonial name, Selbourne Avenue then renamed Leopold Takawira Avenue under the Robert Mugabe regime which butchered over 20,000 Ndebeles in the Gukurahundi genocide in the early 1980s.
Leopold Takawira was the former deputy president of ZANU who rebelled from Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU in 1963.
Ever a powerful people, readily defiant to oppressive authority from Harare, the Bulawayo councillors also resolved to maintain Avenues maintain the streets numbering system from 1st Avenue to 15th Avenue in the CBD will , openly defying a 2019 Mnangagwa Zanu pf regime directive last to rename 6th Avenue to Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa .
Reading between the lines the city fathers knew that this would be inappropriate at this present time , considering that Mnangagwa was the Minister of State Security in charge of the feared CIO, Shona Fifth Brigade led by Minister of Agriculture Perrance Shiri which conducted the brutal slaughter of the unarmed Ndebeles, yet they are still to account for what happened, if not face justice for their crimes against Humanity.
It did not come as a surprise that Mnangagwa and several Zanu pf including Minister Oppah Muchinguri were targeted in the Bulawayo bombing which wounded several people and left others dead, then less than a month ago, the first lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s vehicle was broken into in Bulawayo while her close security were galavanting around in restaurants.
Bulawayo people are rightly bitter over years of marginalisation, oppression by Zanu pf and the failure by Mnangagwa’s militarised regime to apologise, account for what happened, compensate people and begin healing and moving a united people forward. All that is happening in Bulawayo is a manifestation of what transpired and has been festering in peoples hurting hearts all along and obviously can never be forgotten until its resolved by Mnangagwa’s militarised Zanu pf.
King Mzilikazi Road will start from Samuel Parirenyatwa Road, and run all the way to the Umguza River Bridge. The rest of the road leading up to Bulawayo’s Tredgold Magistrates Court will be 7th Avenue.
In further open defiance to the Mnangagwa government directive, the councillors also, resolved to rename a smaller road, George Avenue – which runs from Harare Road to Old Gwanda Road past Holiday Inn hotel – after Mnangagwa.
A motion to adopt the name changes, tabled by Ward 17 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo, before being adopted by the full council, said in part: “It is desirable to preserve the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history and heritage of the local people of Bulawayo and promote national cohesion, healing, peace and tranquillity in a devolved unitary state.”
Apart from renaming some of its roads, the BCC is also correcting some street and road names. Lobengula Street will now become King Lobengula Street; Moffat Road in Hillside suburb is to be known as Robert Moffat Drive while Leander Road in Hillside will carry the full name of Dr Leander Star Jameson Road.
Cecil Avenue, which runs from Harare road past the National University of Science and Technology past Matopos Road all the way up to Morningside suburb where it ends at the intersection of Ullswater Drive and Wellington Road, will now be known as Cecil John Roads Avenue.
Coghlan Avenue in Kumalo is being corrected to Charles Patrick Coghlan Avenue.
The BCC has also announced name changes to honour some of the country’s liberation heroes and heroines.
Nketa Drive will now be known as Queen Lozikheyi Dlodlo Drive, after the Ndebele matriarch who was one of the wives of King Lobhengula.
Athlone Avenue is changing to Simon Vengai Muzenda Road and 23rd Avenue is to become Landa John Nkomo Road in honour of the two late former vice presidents.
Also honoured is independence war hero Nikita Mangena, who will have Fife Street being renamed Nikita Mangena Street. Fort Street is to be known as Lookout Masuku Street, immortalising the former ZIPRA commander.
Basch Street is being renamed Dumiso Dabengwa Road, in honour of the former ZIPRA commander who died last year.
Old Khami Road is now Sydney Malunga Road, a tribute to the late relentless campaigner against the marginalisation of the Matabeleland region.
OTHER BULAWAYO STREET/ROAD Name Changes are
Lady Stanley Avenue to Mama Joanna Mafuyana Avenue
Steeldale Road and Anthony Tylor Road to Albert Nxele Road
Dunde Drive to Sikhanyiso Duke Ndlovu Drive
Waverley Road to Jairos Jiri Road
Fairbridge Road to Erick Bloch Way
Hillside Road to Sir Garfield Todd Road
Van Riebeck Road to Joseph Msika Drive
Connaught Avenue to Cephas Cele Avenue
Collenbrander Road to Daniel Madzimbamuto Road
Manchester Road to George Nyandoro Road
Vera Road to Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu Road
Birkenhead Road to Sikanjaya Muntanga Road
Doncaster Road to Maria Msika Road
Landmark Name Changes
Pelandaba Clinic is to be renamed Thenjiwe Lesabe Clinic
Stanley Hall in Makokoba has been renamed Liberation Legacy Square.Sibusiso Ngwenya- zimlive
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