In the quiet, bush-clad reaches of the Bubi District, the grave of one of Africa’s most formidable anti-colonial leaders lies largely neglected.
While the names of Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi are etched into the bedrock of Zimbabwe’s national consciousness, the woman who steered the Ndebele Kingdom through its darkest hour—Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo—has long awaited similar institutional reverence.
Last week, that silence was broken in the National Assembly. Liyani Sibanda, a Member of Parliament for the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), rose on a matter of national interest to demand that Queen Lozikeyi’s burial site be declared a national heritage site.
Her motion has reignited a vital conversation about gender, historical bias, and the preservation of Matabeleland’s royal legacy.
Queen Lozikeyi was the senior wife of King Lobengula Khumalo, the last monarch of the Ndebele people before the British colonial onslaught in the late 19th century.
When Lobengula disappeared in 1894 amidst the encroachment of Cecil John Rhodes’ British South Africa Company (BSAC), the kingdom faced an existential crisis.
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It was during this turbulent transition that Lozikeyi emerged not merely as a royal widow, but as a “strong and courageous leader.”
As MP Sibanda noted, Lozikeyi was a “political strategist” and a “resistance leader” in her own right.
She is most vividly remembered for her pivotal role during the Second Matabele War, where she is credited with inspiring Ndebele fighters to resist colonial rule.
While some historians have debated the nuances of her strategy—viewing her actions either as outright defiance or as a calculated attempt to preserve Ndebele supremacy in a weakened state—her influence was undeniable.
The struggle to accord Lozikeyi her rightful place in history is, in part, a struggle against the written record.
Sibanda highlighted that much of what is documented about the queen from the colonial era is “limited and often shaped by biased foreign and anti-women perspectives”.
Colonial writers frequently minimised or overlooked the significant political and military roles women played in pre-colonial African societies.
In contrast, oral traditions within Ndebele communities paint a much richer picture.
These stories describe a woman who held “considerable influence” within the royal household and played a key role in succession debates following Lobengula’s disappearance.
Despite being eventually captured, imprisoned, and exiled by the BSAC to reduce her direct political reach, her status as a symbol of resistance endured.
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Lozikeyi’s legacy is her commitment to the future.
After her period of direct conflict with the British, she settled in the Bubi District, in an area that became known as Inkosikazi (the queen’s place).
It was here that she proved resistance was not solely the domain of the spear and the shield. Lozikeyi became a staunch advocate for formal education, contributing to the establishment of a school near her home. “Her support for education suggests that she understood that resistance... also involved safeguarding the future,” Sibanda told Parliament.
By promoting literacy during a time of colonial upheaval, she sought to arm the next generation with the tools of the modern world.
Queen Lozikeyi died in 1919, a victim of the global influenza pandemic. Today, her grave sits in a small, bush-surrounded cemetery in the Inkosikazi area.
Despite its “deep cultural and spiritual significance,” the site has been described as neglected and lacks a formal monument.
The spiritual weight of the site, however, remains intact.
Oral histories recount how liberation fighters during Zimbabwe’s armed struggle would visit the grave to seek guidance, linking the Queen’s 19th-century resistance directly to the 20th-century fight for independence.
Sibanda’s plea to the National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe is clear: Queen Lozikeyi should not be remembered simply as the wife of a king.
Her grave, the nearby school, and the very name of the Inkosikazi district stand as a “physical landmark” of her enduring impact.
By granting the site national heritage status—elevating it to the same rank as Great Zimbabwe or the monuments dedicated to Nehanda—the government would do more than just fix a fence or erect a plaque.
It would be an act of historical justice, ensuring that future generations understand the “vital role” women played in shaping the Zimbabwean state.
As the motion moves forward, the hope in Matabeleland is that the “Queen of Inkosikazi” will finally receive the national tribute her defiance and vision earned over a century ago.