Long gone are the days of Mthwakazi boys clashing in mini battle arenas engaged in fierce fencing battles. Since before Mzilikazi's birth, these brave gladiators faced fear in the face, danced a dance of warriors armed with sticks in both hands and all dared fate to crown them champion from thousands of contenders that entered this unforgiving game.
As the physical champions of the past gave way to the articulate champions of today, Mashobane's seed transited from stick fighting on the valleys of Matopo to debating on the online battlefield better known to most people as uMthwakazi review.com.
It comes as no surprise then that the invite to participate in this year’s battle attracted multitudes of enthusiastic writers and revolutionary thinkers in a matter of hours. In a world that encourages those with little to say and nothing to share to shout the loudest, we were humbled by informative theme that pervaded over all the received articles.
This made the process of picking the winning article that much harder. Days of contentious reading, weary eyes and much coffee fueled night sessions help us shrink the contenders list to three of the best.
First up in the Arena was Khumbulani Malinga who was armed with the spear of economical freedom. Opposite him carrying Iwisa was Joshua Mhambi. It was Malinga that rushed in leading with his right in an effort to stab out Mhambi's article on the case of ZAPU that set the final battle in motion.
Mhambi ducked low and leaped to the left in an attempt to keep his article in the running. With both men showing great intellectual agility and athleticism, it did appear as this battle was destined to end as a stale mate. With the last drops of hope in finding a clear winner slowly draining away, Shaka KaSenzangakhona decided to make his presence felt when he jumped in with an axe in hand and struck hard at both men's weapons.
The result was a colossal dust storm that rose as high as the heavens eclipsing the arena for a few seconds. As the dust slowly descended back to the ground it had once settled upon, the sounds of our breathing warriors resembled the roar of the lion. It was at this time that the people decided to crown on of these as our champion.
Coming in a worthy third was Shaka with his views on the unity accord. Like the tears of a mother who just lost her only son, his article appears easy and simple from a glance yet it touches the soft spots in ones heart.
Coming in a close second was Khumbulani Malinga with his proposal to model the small business model to emancipate Matebeleland from perpetual poverty. His inclusion of Southern Stars foundation gives all those who are interested in the program an ABC route to success.
That leaves Joshua Mhambi as the undisputed champion of uMthwakazi review.com article competition. His article on ZAPU's role in the liberation of Zimbabwe is nothing short of a masterpiece. The language is beautiful, the points are insightful and his argument is presented in a logical manner that would turn a U student into an A+ shining star within the classroom. If I was to spend eternity reading this article, I would call that time paradise, it is that good.
Below are the links to the top 3 best articles
1. The best article for this competition was that from Mr Joshua Mhambi entitled: Zapu’s Case, History and Matebeleland Question,http://www.umthwakazireview.com/index.php/latest-news/item/1015-firebrand-mhambi-on-zapus-case-history-and-matebeleland-question.
2. The second best article came from came from Khumbulani Malinga entitled: Entrepreneurship: The solution to Matebeleleand Question,http://www.umthwakazireview.com/index.php/latest-news/item/1016-entrepreneurship-the-solution-to-the-matebeleland-question,
3. The third best article was from uShaka KaSenzangakhona on Zapu's dismantling by Zanu PF, http://www.umthwakazireview.com/index.php/latest-news/item/1029-zapu-was-politically-raped-via-the-unity-accord-of-1987,
uMthwakazireview.com takes the opportunity to congratulate the winners and those who participated in the competition.
UMR hopes to hold more competitions on various issues that concern Matebeleland especially this year as the paper ups its game to engage its readers and followers.