Vudzijena Nhema
His Excellency Vudzijena Nhema | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vudzijena Nhema in 1961 | |
| 2nd President of Rwizikuru | |
| In office 2 December, 1954 – 3 November, 1963 | |
| Vice President | Pierre-Ardachir Niyonzima |
| Preceded by | Zophar Bohannon |
| Succeeded by | Pierre-Ardachir Niyonzima |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Vudzijena Nhema 19 June 1909 Port Fitzhubert, Riziland |
| Died | 1 July 1991 (aged 82) Bagabiada, Dezevau |
| Resting place | Civic Cemetery |
| Nationality | Estmerish (1909-1946) Rwizikuran (1946-1991) Dezevauni (1978-1991) |
| Political party | Independent politician |
| Other political affiliations | Rwizikuran National Movement (1937-1957) |
| Spouse | Irma Nhema |
| Children | 7 |
Vudzijena Nhema (19 June, 1909 - 1 July, 1991) was a Rwizikuran politician and political theorist, who served as the second President of Rwizikuru from 1954, when he succeeded Zophar Bohannon, until his ouster in a 1963 military coup that saw the installation of his vice-president, Pierre-Ardachir Niyonzima, as President for over two months, before a second coup in January 1964 saw the installation of the National Salvation Council, led by Izibongo Ngonidzashe.
Born to Shungudzemwoyo Nhema, Vudzijena from a young age was influenced by Nhema's activism, which was exacerbated by the fact that their family worked for the Fulker's. After his father lost his job in 1922, Nhema was forced to abandon his studies, and would do "odd jobs" until the 1930s, when he became involved in the Rwizikuran National Movement as the first leader of the youth league. His incendiary rhetoric led Vudzijena Nhema to be imprisoned between 1938 and 1945 on the charges of sedition. Following his release, he continued to be involved in the Rwizikuran National Movement, assisting his father in his duties as Premier and later as Vice-President. After his father retired from politics in 1950, he was appointed Vice-President by President Samhuri Ngonidzashe, to maintain the agreement that an Nhema would serve as vice-President, and would serve in that role until 1954, when he succeeded Ngonidzashe as President.
As President of Rwizikuru, Vudzijena Nhema continued on Samhuri Ngonidzashe's economic policies, and while he was initially focused on improving lives in the country, a growing insurgency in Yekumavirira (present-day Inkiko, Mabifia) forced Nhema to engage in efforts to crack down on them. This led to him becoming more authoritarian, with his re-election in 1958 being not seen as free and fair, and his effort at securing a third term being widely considered to be fraudulent. This, combined with his economic policies which sought to reduce foreign investment in the country, led to Nhema being deposed in 1963 while attending an AESE conference.
After his ouster, Vudzijena Nhema lived in exile in Bagabiada, where he wrote books related to Bahian politics, as well as tutored students wishing to learn Rwizi. Despite efforts to return to Rwizikuru following the death of Izibongo Ngonidzashe and the accession of Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe, his first request was refused, while his second request was granted, only for him to receive it the day after his death.
Early life
Vudzijena Nhema was the oldest of seven children by Shungudzemwoyo Nhema, who was an anti-colonial activist and servant, and Ruvimbo Nhema, a maid, and was born on 19 June, 1909. He was baptised as a member of the Embrian Communion, taking the name of George.
In 1914, Nhema entered the prestigious Charles Fitzhubert School, where Vudzijena was an excellent student, particularly in the humanities. After finishing his compulsory studies in 1923, he was unable to go to a grammar school due to his family's financial predicament, as his father was fired by the Fulker's for speaking up to their increasing mistreatment of their fellow servants.
Thus, Vudzijena Nhema in this period did work at "odd jobs" to help the family earn money. This radicalised Vudzijena Nhema, with Nhema recounting in his memoirs that:
"It was then when I knew that this system was fundamentally and blatantly unjust. The murungu relied on us, but we were replaceable to them, and yet we were subservient."
During the Great War, Vudzijena Nhema did not enlist, seeing the Gaullicans and Estmerish forces as being "the same in substance," and spent much of the time working at odd jobs in Port Fitzhubert, although his connections to his father did make Vudzijena a target of harassment.
Early political career
Following the end of the Great War, Vudzijena Nhema agreed to follow the path of his father when he and Samhuri Ngonidzashe established the Rwizikuran National Movement in 1937.
Due to his age, Vudzijena Nhema was the first leader of the youth league of the Rwizikuran National Movement, with Vudzijena's task to encourage young people across Riziland to join the Rwizikuran National Movement. Thus, he accompanied his father and Samhuri Ngonidzashe in travelling across Riziland, with Vudzijena Nhema making "incendiary speeches" that electrified crowds in "the coastal cities and in Munzwa."
However, in 1938, Vudzijena Nhema was arrested and charged with sedition in Munzwa, shortly after delivering a speech condemning "continued Estmerish rule." He was convicted the following year, and was sentenced to life in prison, with parole after 25 years.
During his imprisonment, Vudzijena Nhema was treated poorly by the prison wardens, but that "despite the abuses and challenges that they throw at me, I acquired an education that I could not get elsewhere." During this time, Vudzijena Nhema was exposed to the works of Yuri Nemtsov by overhearing a fellow inmate discuss Nemtsov's works.
In 1945, shortly after the election of his father to be Premier of Riziland, the Governor pardoned Vudzijena Nhema, thereby releasing him from prison. Although he was no longer eligible to lead the youth league of the Rwizikuran National Movement, Vudzijena Nhema became an assistant to his father, with Vudzijena assisting his father with various duties, leading to some calling Vudzijena the "man behind the man."
After Rwizikuru obtained its independence from Estmere in 1946, his father became Vice-President. Despite this reduction in his father's responsibilities, Vudzijena Nhema continued to assist his father in his duties, particularly as Shungudzemwoyo Nhema's health started to deteriorate. By 1949, with his father announcing his intention to retire from politics due to health reasons, Samhuri Ngonidzashe sought to appoint Vudzijena, to maintain the agreement that was made between Shungudzemwoyo and Samhuri that "a Ngonidzashe must appoint an Nhema, and vice-versa."
Vudzijena Nhema and Shungudzemwoyo Nhema agreed to Samhuri's suggestion, and thus, Vudzijena Nhema was Samhuri's running mate in the 1950 elections, which saw the joint ticket win with 55% of the vote.
Thus, on 2 December, 1950, Vudzijena Nhema was sworn in as the second Vice-President of Rwizikuru. As Vice-President, he was in charge of the country whenever Samhuri Ngonidzashe was travelling outside of the country, while his father's close connections to Samhuri allowed for Vudzijena to exert influence over Rwizikuran government. Unlike his time as youth leader, Vudzijena Nhema was far more conciliatory, particularly when it came to economic policy, although he was still a supporter of Pan-Bahianism and of socialist policies "in general."
His tenure as Vice-President was largely uneventful, although the death of his father from lung cancer in October 1952 greatly affected Vudzijena, with Vudzijena saying that "without my father, I would never have joined the struggle [to free Rwizikuru]."
By 1954, with Zophar Bohannon reaching his maximum term limits under the Rwizikuran constitution, Vudzijena Nhema and Samhuri's nephew, Izibongo Ngonidzashe both vied to be the candidate endorsed by Samhuri Ngonidzashe and his supporters. Ultimately, Vudzijena Nhema was endorsed by Samhuri Ngonidzashe, and Izibongo withdrew his candidacy.
Thus, on 24 September, 1954, Vudzijena Nhema defeated Isaac Mnkandla, with 75% of the vote to Mnkandla's 25% of the vote, while his supporters won 135 seats to Mnkandla's 15.
Presidency
On 2 December, 1954, Vudzijena Nhema succeeded Zophar Bohannon, thereby becoming the second President of Rwizikuru, while his running mate, Pierre-Ardachir Niyonzima, became the third vice-president. On that day, he unveiled his cabinet.
In his first term, he faced growing unrest in Yekumavirira (present-day Inkiko), which was exacerbated by Nhema's efforts to further centralise the country and assert state authority. While he maintained the compromise agreed between his predecessors and local leaders with regards to education, Nhema emphasised a Rwizi identity as opposed to a "Rwizikuran identity," saying in 1956 that "Rwizikuru is, first and foremost, a Rwizi state, under a Bahian umbrella."
At the same time, in his role as co-leader of the United Bahian Republic, Nhema was an advocate of centralization, believing that "Pan-Bahianism is only workable if there was a single Bahian government," and advocated for the United Bahian Republic to send only one representative representing the United Bahian Republic, as opposed to two (representing Rwizikuru and Maucha). He also was a staunch supporter of using Bahian languages, with Nhema saying at a conference in 1957 that "us Bahians cannot, nor should we, be forced to use northern languages to communicate with each other: we need to communicate with our own tongues, so that we may be able to develop connections to our kith and kin [in neighbouring countries]."
His successes in his first term led to his re-election in 1958, winning with 79.7% of the vote, although these elections were not deemed to be free and fair. During his second term, Nhema faced a growing insurgency in Yekumavirira, while tensions with the Mabifian Democratic Republic began to emerge over fishing rights. This led Nhema to become more authoritarian, particularly as he feared that Rwizikuru would fall into civil war as a consequence of potential inter-ethnic strife.
Thus, throughout his second term, Nhema grew more authoritarian, cracking down on the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement, and sought to reduce foreign investment in the country, arguing in 1960 that "foreign 'aid' and investment is a tool for colonial powers to continue to extract our God-given wealth." This led to the passage of the fifth amendment, which instituted heavy taxes on foreign enterprises, and banned further foreign aid from "capitalist Euclean countries."
By 1961, Nhema's two terms were about to expire: arguing that the situation in Yekumavirira required someone experienced, Nhema managed to persuade the National Assembly to pass an amendment that allowed for Nhema to run for a third term. This allowed Nhema's supporters to endorse Vudzijena Nhema's candidacy.
In the 1962 elections, Nhema's supporters took all 150 seats, while Nhema himself won with 99.8% of the vote, with the remaining 0.2% of the vote spoiled, in what was deemed to be fraudulent elections. Despite substantial opposition to Nhema's third term, he was sworn in for a third term on 2 December, 1962.
His third term was marked with increasing opposition to the government, particularly in Yekumavirira and East Riziland, where in the latter, many residents were critical of his policies that greatly restricted the amount of trade coming into Rwizikuru. At the same time, the military began criticising Vudzijena Nhema, arguing that his policies had "hindered the country's development," in addition to complaining about increasing corruption in the country. This led to the military beginning to plan a coup d'etat against Nhema and his government.
Thus, in November 1963, while attending the AESE conference in TBD, the Rwizikuran Armed Forces staged a coup which removed Vudzijena Nhema from power, and briefly installing his vice-president as President for two months, before Niyonzima was ousted and executed in 1964 after refusing to pull Rwizikuru out of the United Bahian Republic.
Exile, final years, and death
After his overthrow, Vudzijena Nhema and his wife were granted political asylum in Dezevau. Thus, Vudzijena and Irma moved to an apartment in the city of Bagabiada, while a bodyguard was provided by the Dezevauni government to ensure his protection from Rwizikuran efforts to kill him. Although the National Salvation Council threatened Nhema with imprisonment upon his return, and potentially his execution, they never pursued any efforts to force his return, as they were concerned that it would damage Rwizikuru's image.
During the 1960s, Vudzijena Nhema spent much of his time teaching Rwizi to those wishing to learn the language, with Nhema saying that "this experience not only helped me learn their language [i.e. Ziba], but helped me use my old language." At the time, he was still interested in Bahian politics, and was distraught to hear the outbreak of the Mabifian-Rwizikuran War and the Garamburan War of Independence, in addition to the Ibabochian War between Yemet and Maucha in 1968 and 1969.
In the 1970s, he spent much of the time writing about Rwizikuran politics and Pan-Bahianism, publishing The Downfall of the Rwizikuran Nation-State in 1971, which discussed how the National Salvation Council and the Rwizikuran monarchy led Rwizikuru to lose its standing among its fellow Bahians, followed by Borders and Effects on Nationbuilding in 1977, which discussed how Toubacterie-imposed borders continued to affect newly-independent states, and why they played a key factor in the United Bahian Republic's collapse. However, he continued to teach Rwizi on the side.
After the death of Izibongo Ngonidzashe in late 1979, Nhema attempted to seek permission from the new monarch, Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe, to return to Rwizikuru, only for this request to be denied. Despite this setback, Nhema shifted his focus to working on a full critique of Pan-Bahianism, arguing that due to the decentralized nature of Bahia's traditional political systems, in conjunction with the diversity present on the continent, it was "impossible for Pan-Bahianism to take root as a stable system." This was published in 1984, which was the last of his political works.
In the 1980s, as Nhema's health began to decline, Vudzijena Nhema shifted more towards gardening, reading, and listening to the radio. In 1989, he published his memoirs, From Beyond The Sea, which detailed his life in Rwizikuru from childhood to his deposition in the 1963 coup d'etat, and outlined his opinions about contemporary Rwizikuru.
However, by 1990, Vudzijena Nhema was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Despite efforts to treat it, upon learning that his condition was terminal, Nhema sent another request to be allowed to return to Rwizikuru, so he may die in "the land where I grew up." However, Vudzijena Nhema died on 1 July, 1991, just one day prior to receiving the approval from Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe.
His body was returned to the country, where a small funeral was held. While the Rwizikuran flag was draped over his coffin, the only government representative was Izibongo's younger brother, Shungudzemwoyo Ngonidzashe. Following the ceremony, per Vudzijena's wishes, he was buried at the Central Cemetery near the grave of Samhuri Ngonidzashe and Zophar Bohannon.
Foreign media were not allowed to cover the funeral and burial, while the Rwizikuran government only gave brief mentions to Vudzijena's death, funeral, and burial, with little indication as to his previous political career nor his works.
Personal life
In 1930, he met the 18-year old Irma Kufara Mtawarira, and fell in love with her. Thus, they married the following year, and remained married until Vudzijena's death in 1991, with Irma saying in a 1994 interview that "we had arguments from time to time, but all in all, I would not want to be with another man." Irma would die in 1999 after returning to Port Fitzhubert, having never remarried.
Together, they would have three sons, Tinavo Nhema, who was born in 1931 and died in 1934 from malaria; Tawedzegwa Nhema, who was born in 1936, and died in 2009 from a stroke, and Taremekedzwa Nhema, who was born in 1943, as well as four daughters: Tinotendaisheanesu Kumbula, who was born in 1933 and died in 1955 in childbirth; Rudaviro Nengomasha, who was born in 1936 alongside her twin brother, Tawedzegwa, and died in 2019 of natural causes; Rangariraishe Chimusasa, who was born in 1938 and died in 2004, and Auyanerudo Chimutengwende, who was born in 1941.
At the time of Vudzijena's death in 1991, he was survived by his wife, five of his children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Languages
Vudzijena Nhema's native language was Rwizi, which he used frequently. In his childhood, he also spoke Estuary Creole, as it was the dominant lingua franca in Port Fitzhubert at the time, although after independence, he stopped using Estuary Creole, and he admitted in his memoirs that his knowledge of Estuary Creole was "rusty."
At school, he learnt Estmerish: although he was fluent in it, after being deposed in 1963, Nhema stopped using Estmerish altogether, saying that "now that I was no longer leader, there is no need for me to speak the language of my colonizers." During the Great War, when Gaullica occupied Riziland, Nhema also learnt some basic Gaullican, although he was never fluent in the language.
After going into exile, Nhema learnt Ziba, and became fluent in the language, as he felt "an obligation to be able to communicate with my neighbours."
Political views
Vudzijena Nhema's political views were based on Bahian socialism, with Nhema saying in his memoirs that his father had "taught me the importance of fighting for our freedom from northern rule, to govern ourselves in accordance with traditions, and to ensure that all people are able to rise up without fearing that they will not survive."
He was also influenced by communist ideologies, particularly as a result of Nhema's time in prison, where he learnt about Yuri Nemtsov's works. While he felt that much of Nemtsov's works were not "applicable to the situation in Bahia, the ideas of class consciousness and the relation of labourers to capital was a key fact that cannot be altered." This greatly affected his economic policies as president, which focused on ensuring that "the national wealth" went to the "people of Rwizikuru," as opposed to "the elites in Morwall," such as allowing the expropriation of land from non-resident landlords and greatly restricting the ability of foreign enterprises to operate in Rwizikuru.
In addition, Nhema was for the longest time a supporter of Pan-Bahianism, arguing in 1951 that "it is natural that the only viable solution to the problems created by the Euclean-imposed borders is to unite all the countries in Bahia into one." Thus, he was a supporter of the United Bahian Republic, and during his leadership of Rwizikuru, supported centralisation. However, after his overthrow in 1963, and the subsequent collapse of the United Bahian Republic, he came to see Pan-Bahianism as being fundamentally unworkable.
Religion
Vudzijena Nhema was baptised into the Embrian Communion, and grew up practising the religion.
However, from the 1930s onward, as Vudzijena and Shungudzemwoyo Nhema became more involved in politics, he started to see the Embrian Communion, among other forms of Sotirianity, as being a "relic of Toubacterie." This led to Vudzijena Nhema expressing an interest in Badi, particularly as Nhema found "a lot of similarities between fetishism and Badi," but was "substantially more superior" than Bahian fetishism.
Thus, by the mid-1940s, both Vudzijena Nhema and Shungudzemwoyo Nhema converted to Pure Water Badi, with Vudzijena Nhema raising his children in the Badist tradition. Vudzijena Nhema would remain a practicing Badist until his death in 1991, although he became influenced by the Cult of the Sea following his exile from Rwizikuru, as he saw himself as an outsider in Dezevau.
Honours
Domestic honours
- File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG - Commander of the Order of the Elephant, 1954
- File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG - Order of Merit, 1954
Foreign honours
Publications
- Nhema, Vudzijena (1971): The Downfall of the Rwizikuran Nation-State. Bagabiada: Bahian Solidarity Publishing House.
- Nhema, Vudzijena (1977): Borders and Effects On Nationbuilding. Bagabiada: Bahian Solidarity Publishing House.
- Nhema, Vudzijena (1984): A Hard Look On Pan-Bahianism. Bagabiada: Bahian Solidarity Publishing House.
- Nhema, Vudzijena (1989): From Beyond The Sea. Bagabiada: Binhame Coast State Publishing House.