User:Luziyca/Sandbox3
His Excellency Samhuri Ngonidzashe | |
|---|---|
 Samhuri Ngonidzashe in 1952 | |
| President of Rwizikuru | |
| In office 2 July, 1946 – 2 July, 1954 | |
| Vice President | Shungudzemwoyo Nhema (1946-1950) Vudzijena Nhema (1950-1954) |
| Preceded by | Shungudzemwoyo Nhema as Premier of Riziland |
| Succeeded by | Izibongo Ngonidzashe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daniel Samhuri Ngonidzashe c. 1899 Vongai, Riziland |
| Died | 2 July, 1961 (age 61-62) Port Fitzhubert, Rwizikuru |
| Nationality | Estmerish (1899-1946) Rwizikuran (1946-1961) |
| Political party | Rwizikuran National Movement (1927-1946) Mubatanidzwa weRusununguko rweRwizikuru (1946-1959) |
| Spouse | Kugarakunzwana Ngonidzashe |
| Children | 9, including Izibongo Ngonidzashe |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | File:Rwizicolonialflaga.png Riziland |
| Branch/service | Colonial Militia |
| Years of service | 1926-1936 |
| Rank | Warrant officer |
Samhuri Ngonidzashe (c. 1899 - 2 July, 1961) was an anti-colonial activist who organized the Rwizikuran National Movement, which helped end Estmerish rule over Rwizikuru. Following its independence in 1946, he was sworn as the first President of Rwizikuru, as per the constitution of Rwizikuru.
(TBC)
Early life
Samhuri Ngonidzashe was born sometime in 1899 in Vongai to Mutupo Ngonidzashe, and Chivaraidzo Ngonidzashe, as the seventh child, and the second son.
In 1904, he entered the mission school in Vongai, where he was baptized as a High Estmerian, and took the name of Daniel. At the mission school, he was described as having "excellent potential" to be a High Estmerian minister, due to his "quick absorption and application" of the concepts he learned in school. He was seen as being incredibly learned by his teachers.
While Samhuri Ngonidzashe wanted to continue his studies after he finished compulsory education in 1912, his family's poverty prevented him from continuing his studies. Thus, he was forced to work at his family's farm.
His fortunes started to change when in 1916, he made his first trip to Port Fitzhubert to find work. There, he found a job as a servant with a white family, and met Shungudzemwoyo Ngonidzashe there. At his job, he admitted that:
"While the Fulkers [the family Samhuri and Shungudzemwoyo worked for] paid well, and the work itself was not stressful, the attitudes of the family towards us were counter to the values I had held so dearly: they saw us as lower than them because of our skin, while I believed that we are brothers in Sotiras."
In 1918, after receiving news that he was to marry Kugarakunzwana Mbangwa, he quit his job and returned to Vongai, where he married her. With his savings, he was able to find a "better life" in Vongai than that of his parents, with him getting a job as a lay preacher at his old mission school.
However, in 1923, realizing that Gamuchirai would be entering school the following year, he realized that if he stayed in Vongai, his children would not receive an opportunity to better themselves. Thus, he and his wife moved back to Port Fitzhubert, and their home was sold to some white settlers.
With the proceeds of the sale of their home in Vongai, they were able to buy a "well-off" home close to the Euclean core of town, and had enough left over to get Gamuchirai and Izibongo to attend the Charles Fitzhubert School, as well as find a new job as a lay preacher at a nearby church. He soon made contact again with Shungudzemwoyo Nhema, where he discovered that the Fulker's fired him in 1922 after having spoken up against the Fulker's increasing mistreatment of their Bahian servants.
He noted that the conversation with Nhema:
"...caused my blood to boil in pure and unbridled anger. As we recounted our experiences of racism in our adulthood in Port Fitzhubert, compared to the values that we were taught [in school], I realized that there is something wrong, something unnatural with Estmerish rule over this land. I couldn't quite place what, but I knew it had to be there."
Over the next few years, many at his church talked to him about the racism that they have faced by colonial officials and by Eucleans who have come to Riziland, and combined with his experiences in dealing with racism directed at him, he began to feel that Estmerish rule was inherently unjust.
Military service
By the time the Great War begun in earnest in June 1926, despite his beliefs that Estmerish rule over Riziland was unjust, he enlisted in the colonial militia, saying that "it is better for us natives to deal with the devil we know as opposed to gamble with the devil we don't know."
After training, he was deployed in October to Port Graham, where he would live for the next five years. In Port Graham, he was assigned to defend the city from Gaullican attack by both sea and land, as Port Graham was the end of the rail line to Port Fitzhubert. While Port Graham was subject to several bombardments by the Gaullicans during his time in Port Graham, from both sea and air, he never faced a serious attempt by the Gaullicans or their colonial troops in Quigomba to attack Port Graham. By 1928, he had risen to the rank of Sergeant, and by 1930, to that of warrant officer.
By 1931, he had been redeployed from Port Graham to Rusere, where he noted that the conditions there were significantly harsher than in Port Graham. In 1933, he fell seriously ill with malaria, and nearly died from it. However, "divine providence," combined with treatment in Port Fitzhubert helped him recover from the illness, and he returned to service in 1934, although he was reassigned to Port Fitzhubert as a sentry to guard an armoury.
After the end of the Great War in February 1935, he maintained his position as sentry, while the military downsized, with the threat from Gaullica having passed. In March 1936, he was given a honourable discharge, allowing him to leave the colonial militia.
Early political career
With the end of the war, he and Shungudzemwoyo Nhema decided to establish the Rwizikuran National Movement in 1937. (TBC)
Personal life
Samhuri Ngonidzashe married the 18-year old Kugarakunzwana Ngonidzashe in 1918 in a marriage arranged by their parents. According to Samhuri, their marriage was "fruitful and happy," with the marriage lasting until his death in 1961. Kugarakunzwana Ngonidzashe died in 2014 at the age of 113: at the time of her death, she was the oldest person living in Rwizikuru.
Together, they had four sons: Izibongo Ngonidzashe, who was born in 1921 and died in 1979, Ingwe Ngonidzashe, who was born in 1925 and is still living, Fred Ngonidzashe, who was born in 1928, and was executed in 1981 for an attempted coup against the monarchy, and Shungudzemwoyo Ngonidzashe, who was born in 1932.
They also had five daughters: Gamuchirai Mumbengegwi, who was born in 1919, and died in 2015 at the age of 91, Tariro Ngonidzashe, who was born in 1923, and died in 1927 from smallpox, Vimbainashe Ngonidzashe, who was born in 1926, and died in 2016 at the age of 89, and twin sisters Tinotendaisheanesu Chimusasa and Yemurai Kyagumbo, who were born in 1931.
Samhuri Ngonidzashe was a devout High Estmerian, with his noted propensity for plain dress, fasting on Sundays, and was a teetotaler, refusing to drink any alcohol, and his strict adherence to the High Estmerian concept of outward holiness. He was also noted to be a lay preacher, often preaching at churches, even during his tenure as President.