Rwizikuru

Kingdom of Rwizikuru weRwizi: Humambo hweRwizikuru
Flag of Rwizikuru Flag Emblem of Rwizikuru Emblem
Motto: Tichakunda matambudziko We shall overcome adversity
Anthem: Pasi pemureza wenyika yedu Under the flag of our land
Land controlled by Rwizikuru shown in dark green, land claimed but uncontrolled by Rwizikuru in light green Land controlled by Rwizikuru shown in dark green, land claimed but uncontrolled by Rwizikuru in light green
Capital	Guta raMambo
Largest city	Port Fitzhubert
Official languages	weRwizi
Ethnic groups (2015)	veRwizi (95%) Others (5%)
Religion	tbc
Demonym(s)	Rwizikuran
Government	Absolute monarchy
• Mambo	Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe
Independence
• From Estmere	2 July, 1946
Area
• Total	330,838 km2 (127,737 sq mi)
Population
• 2011 census	18,903,392
• Density	72.2510473/km2 (187.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$49,545,790,432
• Per capita	$2,621
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$26,918,430,208
• Per capita	$1,424
Gini (2015)	57.1 high
HDI (2019)	0.535 low
Currency	Rwizikuran nhovodiki (ſ) (RZN)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	TBD
ISO 3166 code	RZK
Internet TLD	.rz

Rwizikuru is a country located in the Bahia subcontinent of the Coius continent, bordered by Nasana and (TBC). Its capital is Guta raMambo, although the largest city and main commercial centre of the country is in Port Fitzhubert.

Etymology

The name Rwizikuru derives from the weRwizi word for "great river," rwizi rukuru, which also lends its name to the Rwizikuru River. The name was first used to describe the country by Charles Fitzhubert in the 1890s, although it was transcribed as Riziland due to the difficulties of pronouncing the "rw" sound by Estmerish settlers to Rwizikuru.

However, the spelling of Rwizikuru that is more widely used today first gained popularity in 1927 by nationalist leaders Samhuri Ngonidzashe and Shungudzemwoyo Nhema when they created the Rwizikuran National Movement, choosing the "rw" spelling as it was how the river was named in the weRwizi language. Over the next few years, that spelling gained movement among those opposed to Estmerish rule over Rwizikuru, until by the 1940s, it was formally adopted by the first President of Rwizikuru, Samhuri Ngonidzashe, as opposed to the "colonial name."

History

Colonial rule

colonized by Estmere in the 1860s by Charles Fitzhubert, very little white settlement by Estmerish settlers as they're more interested in our resources as opposed to settlement. After the Great War, the Gaullican colony of Yekumavirira was handed over to Estmere, which was placed under the control of Rwizikuru as the district of Olongaland. In the 1940s, increasing tensions between the colonial authorities and the Rwizikuran National Movement escalated until war seemed inevitable.

(TBC)

Republic

Samhuri Ngonidzashe, 1952

On 2 July, 1946, Samhuri Ngonidzashe, leader of the Mubatanidzwa weRusununguko rweRwizikuru, was inaugurated as the first president of an independent Rwizikuru. During his first term, he began to institute policies to "create a consolidated nation-state." To this end, he began reducing the role of Estmerish in schools, and began policies to improve the infrastructure to connect the cities of Port Fitzhubert, Port Graham, and Saint-Germain (present-day Port Tsalar) by both road and by improving the telegraph and phone lines between those three cities.

These policies proved popular among the weRwizi, and in 1950, the electorate gave Samhuri and his party another term. However, the Wopoto people in Yekumavirira, led by Alai Abyodu Tsalar, started opposing Samhuri's policies, and established the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement to advocate for Yekumaviriran autonomy within Rwizikuru. In 1951, a compromise was achieved, where infant schools in Yekumavirira were allowed to teach in Gaullican and in the Wopoto language.

In 1954, as Samhuri Ngonidzashe reached his term limit under the Rwizikuran constitution, he appointed his son, Izibongo Ngonidzashe to be the MRR's presidential candidate, while still remaining leader of the MRR. Izibongo and the MRR won the election.

Under Izibongo's rule, he began to further centralize Rwizikuru, based on the principles of "one nation, one language, and one leader." Thus, the 1951 compromise was removed, and allowed refugees from neighboring Nasana to be given "vacant land" owned by Irfanic residents. This only served to embolden the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement, which caused Izibongo in 1956 to extend his term to five years, although keeping the two terms as set out in Rwizikuru's constitution. He also instituted policies to crack down on Irfanic practices, and deported prominent members of the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement, including its founder, Alai Abyodu Tsalar.

By 1959, the MRR won all of the seats in the state legislature, and Izibongo Ngonidzashe won 99.7% of the vote in an election judged to be not free. With many Irfanic people joining the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement, Izibongo Ngonidzashe responded in February 1960 by closing all but three mosques in the country: the three mosques that were allowed to stay open included two in Saint-Germain, and one in Port Fitzhubert.

This led to protests led by the Irfanic population in Saint-Germain, which culminated in the Rwizikuran Army firing shots into the crowd on 4 March, 1960, killing twenty-two people, and injuring sixty-three people in the Saint-Germain massacre. As a consequence of the massacre, the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement began to engage in an armed struggle against the Rwizikuran government, and over the next few years, they began to carve out a stronghold in rural Yekumavirira.

At the same time, he began to institute policies to reduce foreign investment, with Ngonidzashe saying in 1961 that "foreign 'aid' and investment is a tool for colonial powers to continue to extract our God-given wealth." Thus, he instituted strict rules on investment and aid, ostensibly to ensure that "any development truly benefits the people of Rwizikuru, and not the elites in Ashcombe." This led to many foreign businesses pulling out of the country.

Kingdom

File:IzibongoNgonidzashe75.jpg

Izibongo Ngonidzashe, 1964

In 1964, Izibongo Ngonidzashe reached his constitutional term limit as President. At the Mubatanidzwa weRusununguko rweRwizikuru party congress in February 1964, he announced his intention to suspend the constitution and declare himself monarch of the country, where it was unanimously approved by all present.

Thus, on 2 July, 1964, in Port Fitzhubert, he was crowned Mambo by Priest James Mawere. Later that year, the Basic Law of Rwizikuru was established, replacing the constitution, and formally declaring Rwizikuru to be an absolute monarchy. As he was now the sole authority of the country, Izibongo started to exhibit more authoritarian tendencies.

In 1966, he began to crack down on "bourgeois elites," and to redistribute their lands and assets to the people. Thus, he expelled the substantial community of Marathis residing in the country to Mathrabumi, and wealthy Irfanic peoples to Nasana. At the same time, tensions between Rwizikuru and Nasana were rising as Izibongo refused to relocate the Sotirian population in the district of Yekumavirira to other regions of the country, which led Izibongo Ngonidzashe to try and crack down on the Irfanic population.

Tensions exploded when after rejecting an ultimatum by the Nasani government, the Nasani government attacked Yekumavirira on 6 October, 1968. Despite Rwizikuru having a larger army, the tactics of the Nasani armed forces and the support of Nasana's invasion by many Irfanics residing in Yekumavirira helped give an advantage to the Nasanis.

After the disastrous Battle of Saint-Germain in January 1969, which all but destroyed the Royal Rwizikuran Army, the Nasani forces took over most of Yekumavirira, and by March, the Rwizikurans were forced to sue for peace in Catherby, Estmere, where the Treaty of Catherby was signed ending the war, allocating the land on the principle of uti possidetis, meaning that only a small portion of Yekumavirira remained under Rwizikuran control, with the rest being handed over to Nasana, as well as a population exchange where all Sotirians in Nasana would be deported to Rwizikuru, and all Irfanics in Rwizikuru would be deported to Nasana.

With the war over, Izibongo Ngonidzashe became even more authoritarian, and Rwizikuru became even more closed off to the outside world in the following decade, as he feared that any outside influence would "undermine our independence." Over the next few years, the capital was moved from Port Fitzhubert to Guta raMambo, which was meant to be a "chief village in a nation of villages."

Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe, 2014

Following Izibongo's death on 21 September, 1979 in a car accident, his son, Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe came to the throne, and a coronation was held in Port Fitzhubert, as the church in Guta raMambo was not completed, on 5 February, 1980. He began to undo his father's policies, with foreign investment permitted at the end of 1980, and television broadcasts beginning in 1981.

However, on 22 December, 1981, his uncle, Fred Ngonidzashe launched an abortive coup d'etat that was foiled by his eldest son, Chenjerai Ngonidzashe. While the coup failed, Kupakwashe responded by holding a show trial and executing Fred, while stripping him and his descendants of their place in the line of succession, and began to purge the Royal Rwizikuran Army of officers supportive of Fred Ngonidzashe.

This attempted coup d'etat only hastened Kupakwashe to embark on his reforms: in early 1982, he invited Marathi expelled under his father's rule to return to Rwizikuru, and began to improve infrastructure in Port Fitzhubert and Guta raMambo. However, at around this time, knowledge of the country's corruption became widespread, which decreased the amount of foreign aid received by Rwizikuru. Thus, in 1988, he signed the first agreement with the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs to obtain a loan of ten million reichsmarks in exchange for the country undergoing structural adjustment, and prosecuting all corrupt officials.

While these policies were initially effective, with three thousand government employees found guilty of corruption and stripped of their offices between 1988 and 1995, by the mid-1990s, these policies have petered out, and by 1999, corruption levels returned to their pre-1988 levels.

In the 2000s, Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe signed agreements with many countries to allow their corporations to extract resources from Rwizikuru in exchange for constructing the nation's infrastructure. While the wealth may have been used to benefit the nation, most of it was taken by the royal family. By the 2010s, the knowledge of Rwizikuru's corruption had again increased, leading to Rwizikuru receiving less and less aid.

Thus, in 2019, he signed a second agreement with the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs, which provided him a loan of one hundred million euclos, in exchange for the monarch ceding his government's financial powers to "an elected body." Thus, on 2 August, 2019, he announced plans for a constitutional convention and to abdicate to his son, Munashe Ngonidzashe, on 21 September, 2019.

Geography

File:RwiziTopoMap.png

Topographic map of Rwizikuru

Rwizikuru is a medium-sized country located in the Bahia subcontinent, which is in turn part of a larger continent, Coius, and abuts the Banfura Sea, which is part of the Vehemens Ocean.

Rwizikuru is geographically divided into three regions. Most of the population resides in the Plains region (weRwizi: mapani), which is situated on the coast of Rwizikuru, and is one of the most fertile regions of the country, although it is home to much of Rwizikuru's timber industry. It is one of the hottest and most humid regions in the country, with a equatorial climate as a consequence of its elevation and location.

North of the Plains region lies the Plateau region (weRwizi: mapango), which is primarily situated west of the Rwizikuru River, and situated between the Plains and the Nyikaitsva Mountains to its north. While it is not as fertile as the Plains, the Plateau still is substantially productive, allowing it to host commercial farms exporting cash crops. In addition, much of Rwizikuru's coltan can be found there. It has a tropical monsoon climate, as while the elevation is higher than that of the plains, it is still located close to the equator.

Beyond the Plateau are the Nyikaitsva Mountains, situated west of the Rwizikuru River and north of the Plateau, and the Makomo EkuMabvazuva Mountains, situated east of the Rwizikuru River, and north of the Plains. The mountains are not suited for large-scale agriculture, although some subsistence agriculture occurs there. However, they are home to most of Rwizikuru's copper, and is also home to the highest point, at 2,997 meters above sea level, Mount Rekusununguka. The climate of the two mountain chains are subtropical highland climate, due to their elevation and location.

Economy

A market in Port Fitzhubert, 2010

Rwizikuru's economy is heavily based off of the mining of coltan, and copper, which comprises 75% of Rwizikuru's exports, as well as timber, which makes up another 15% of Rwizikuru's exports. However, these three sectors combined employ less than 30% of Rwizikurans, with around 55% of Rwizikurans working in agriculture, with almost all of them being subsistence farmers, although there are some commercial farmers who produce cash crops such as coffee.

However, there are substantial economic problems: corruption is rife, while embezzlement has meant that most of the nation's foreign aid does not reach the ordinary citizenry, but rather is squandered by government officials, including the royal family, which has led Rwizikuru to be called a kleptocracy. In addition, poverty is high, with 57.5% of the population living below the official poverty line of 23,750ſ, or $1.90 per day. In addition, the economy is dominated by Marathi merchants, with 65% of the nation's tax revenues in 2017 being produced by Marathis, despite only making up around 1% of the total population as of the 2011 census.

Politics

Rwizikuru is a unitary absolute monarchy, according to the Rwizikuran Basic Law passed in 1964 to supersede the republican constitution of Rwizikuru, ruled by Mambo Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe since Izibongo Ngonidzashe's death on 21 September, 1979.

(TBC)

Legal system

According to the Rwizikuran Basic Law, Rwizikuru operates under the principles of common law as was introduced by Estmerish colonizers. However, since the institution of the Basic Law, which allows the reigning Mambo to interfere in the judiciary as he so pleases, such as altering sentences, the judiciary has lost its independence.

(TBC)

Administrative divisions

Rwizikuru is officially divided into thirteen matunhu (sing. dunhu), or districts, including Yekumavirira, where most of it has been under Nasani control since the Treaty of Catherby in 1969, with the remaining areas attached to Ndarira. The districts are run by a mukuru (chief), who is appointed by the reigning monarch and serves at His Majesty's pleasure. The newest district is Gutaguru, established in 1978.

Map	District	District seat	Population (2011)
File:Rwizimap.png Midlands Manathea South Balisaland North Balisaland Randaland Northern Territory G. Mabifia Yemet Garambura Maccan Sea	Parunoguma	Port Fitzhubert	5,719,374
	Chekumabvazuva	Chekumabvazuva	3,609,687
	Dzakakwirira	Munzwa	2,804,843
	Zvakawanda	Rutendo	2,301,697
	Ndarira	Port Graham	1,982,456
	Sangoguru kumaodzanyemba	Nhiriri	1,025,967
	Hunidzakafa	Majabvi	815,024
	Tsungirirai	Zambuko	311,221
	Mumbengegwi	Tawedzegwa	135,215
	Sangoguru kuchamhembe	Mutupo	91,227
	Nyikaitsva	Rusere	62,014
	Gutaguru	Guta raMambo	44,667
	Yekumavirira	none	0

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1931	5,982,493	—
1941	7,125,664	+19.1%
1951	9,666,529	+35.7%
1961	12,305,777	+27.3%
1971	11,753,115	−4.5%
1981	13,796,304	+17.4%
1991	15,586,775	+13.0%
2001	16,491,733	+5.8%
2011	18,903,392	+14.6%
Source: Estmerish colonial census (1931-1941) Rwizikuru census (1951-2011)

Ethnicity

Two veRwizi musicians, 2015

As of the 2011 census, Rwizikuru has 18.9 million inhabitants living within its borders. The overwhelming majority of the population, at 95% of the population (17,958,222 people), are veRwizi. After the veRwizi, three percent of the population, or 567,102 are other ethnic groups from Bahia, mostly Wopoto people, followed by one percent of the population, or 189,034 people being Marathis with origins in Mathrabumi. Of the remaining 189,034 people, most of them are either Dietsmen from Nasana, expatriates from countries such as Estmere, or Senria, or white settlers who have never left.

Religion

As of the 2011 census, around 98% of the population, or 18,525,324 people are Sotirians. The largest sects are the Low Estmerish Church, comprising around 45% of the total population, or 8,336,396 people, the Catholics, which comprise roughly 30% of the total population, or 5,631,331 people, and the High Estmerish Church, which comprise approximately 22% of the total population, or around 4,261,775 people, and is followed by the Rwizikuran royal family.

The remainder of the Sotirian population, at around 295,822 people, or around two percent of the total population adhere to different sects, with the most prominent of these being the (TBC).

The second largest religion after Sotirianity is Hyndism, practiced by around one percent of the population, or around 189,047 people, mostly by the Marathi people, but also by some converts to Hyndism. After Hyndism, the remainder of the population, or 189,021 people follow other religions, mostly traditional religions, or are irreligious.

However, syncretism is widespread, with anthropologists claiming that at least half of the total population practices some form of indigenous beliefs in addition to their adopted religion.

Languages

The sole official language is the weRwizi language (Mutauro weRwizi): initially a co-official language with Estmerish in the 1946 Constitution of Rwizikuru, over the next two decades, the status of Estmerish declined until with the institution of the monarchy in 1964, Estmerish was removed as an official language in the Rwizikuran Basic Law. To this day, government services are only regularly provided in weRwizi, though in recent decades, services directed at tourists are using Gaullican.

As of the 2011 census, 99% of the population "have some level of understanding" of the weRwizi language, with 97% of the population being "natively fluent" in weRwizi. 45% of the population have some level of understanding of the Estmerish language, although only fifteen percent are "natively fluent" in Estmerish.

Besides weRwizi and Estmerish, other major languages being spoken include the Gaullican language, with 60% of people having some level of understanding, and 35% being natively fluent in it, and the Marathi language, with around a fifth of the total population having some level of understanding of Marathi, although only two percent are natively fluent in the language.

Largest cities

As of the 2011 census, the largest metropolitan area of Rwizikuru is the Port Fitzhubert metropolitan area, with 5,353,606 people, or 28.3% of the nation's population, spread over the districts of Parunoguma and Chekumabvazuva. The next largest metropolitan area is the Port Graham metropolitan area, inhabited by 612,252 people, or 3.2% of the nation's population, in the district of Ndarira.

The total number of people living in urban areas in Rwizikuru is around 8,941,155 people, or 47.3% of the nation's population, with the remainder residing in urban areas.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The Mugwagwa near Port Graham

Rwizikuru's road network was largely developed in the 1950s and early 1960s, with the only motorway, known as the Mugwagwa, connecting the coastal cities of Port Fitzhubert and Port Graham, and continuing to the border with Nasana. Rwizikuru has driven on the left since 1951 when it was switched on the orders of Samhuri Ngonidzashe as a means to distance the country from Estmerish rule. However, since then, the development of road infrastructure has stagnated. As of 2015, only 30% of the country's roads are paved.

A major form of transportation in Rwizikuru is water transportation, with a lot of boats traversing the Rwizikuru River, as many cities, such as Rusere, Zambuko, Mutupo, Guta raMambo, Munzwa, Chekumabvazuva, and Port Fitzhubert lie along the river. It is believed that 60% of freight transport, and 40% passenger transport between any of those cities involve the Rwizikuru River.

The national rail network, run by Rwizikuru Rail, has three lines: one connecting Mutupo to Chekumabvazuva, one connecting Port Fitzhubert to Rusere, and one connecting the town of Tchinamano along the Nasani-Rwizikuran border to the town of Maghedi on the TBC-Rwizikuran border.

The sole international airport of Rwizikuru is Samhuri Ngonidzashe International Airport near Port Fitzhubert, although regional airports exist to serve internal flights.

Education

Main article: Education in Rwizikuru

Education in Rwizikuru is structurally based off the education system in Estmere as it existed at independence. Education is compulsory for students ages 5 to 14, with children ages 5 to 8 attending zvikoro mucheche, and children ages 8 to 12 attending zvikoro chechidiki. At the age of 11, students take the eleven-plus exam, with the top 25% of students in academic ability going to zvikoro cheGirama, which provides education up to the age of 19, with fifth and sixth forms, while those who have passed go to zvikoro chepamusoro, which only offer first through fourth forms. Those that fail will have to repeat the year until they pass.

If one finishes sixth form, students have the option of studying at a polytechnic, or at the University of Rwizikuru. However, many Rwizikuran graduates study abroad, primarily in Mathribumi due to their low costs and higher quality than in Rwizikuru universities and polytechnics, which has led the Sirand Technical School to open the Sirand University of Chekumabvazuva in Chekumabvazuva in 2018, in order to provide a "Marathi-style university experience" in Rwizikuru, and to encourage more Rwizikurans to go to post-secondary education.

As of the 2011 census, the literacy rate of persons over the age of five is at 70.2%, making Rwizikuru a country with one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the world, while functional illiteracy is believed to be substantially higher than that of males.

The most significant problem with education in Rwizikuru include corruption on both national and district levels hampering educational development, which has greatly affected the quality of both infrastructure, and of education in general.

Culture

Cuisine

Sadza and goat meat

Rwizikuran cuisine is greatly influenced by traditional veRwizi cuisine, by Estmerish cuisine, and by Marathi cuisine.

Among the traditional veRwizi foods consumed widely in Rwizikuru include sadza, yakagochwa mombe, and rice, while popular Estmerish foods consumed in Rwizikuru include oatmeal, mbatata dzakashambwa, and fish and chips. Finally, foods originating from the Marathi population in Rwizikuru that are widely consumed in the country include kadi, anarsa, and dahi.

Sports

Rwizikuru's most popular and de-facto national sport is gillidanda (weRwizi: gilidanda), with the national gillidanda team being the Rwizikuran Mhembwe. The main gillidanda league is the Rwizikuran Gilidanda League (GCR). Despite its popularity in Rwizikuru, it was banned from Rwizikuru from 1966 to 1982 when Marathis were expelled from the country in a bid to remove "bourgeois influence," with the sport itself being associated with Marathis.

The second most popular sport in Rwizikuru is football (weRwizi: nhabvu), with the national football team being called the MaVarvi, and with the main league being the Rwizikuru Nhabvu League (RWB). The third most popular sport in Rwizikuru include rugby league (kurwisabhora), with the primary league being the Kurwisabhora Bhodhi, and the national rugby league team being the Vatengesi.

Other popular sports in the country include horse racing, netball, and field hockey.

Media

Media in Rwizikuru has been tightly restricted since the passage of the Rwizikuran Basic Law in 1964. Only a single state-run newspaper, the Kwazisa (formerly the Port Fitzhubert Herald until 1950) has been allowed to publish in the country since 1966. As well, there is a single state-owned television and radio network, NMR (Nhepfenyuro mubatanidzwa yeRwizikuru), which began radio transmissions in 1948, and television broadcasts in 1981, with foreign signals being prohibited from being received.

There is little censorship or restrictions on the internet, primarily due to the fact that as of 2015, less than 15% of the population have access to the internet, while 35% have a television set, and 87% of households have at least one radio. This has led opponents of the government to operate with impunity online.

Holidays

Name	Shona name	Date
New Year's Day	Goredzva	1 January
Good Friday	Chishanu Chakanaka	variable
Easter Saturday	Isita Mugovera	variable
Easter Sunday	Isita Svondo	variable
Easter Monday	Isita Muvhuro	variable
Labour Day	Zuva Revashandi	1 May
Independence Day	Zuva Resununguko	2 July
Accession Day	Zuva Rekubvuma	21 September
Christmas Eve	Manheru reKisimusi	24 December
Christmas Day	Zuva reKisimusi	25 December
New Year's Eve	Egore Idzva	31 December