ALTHOUGH the main independence celebrations will be held in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central Province, the merry mood expected there should cascade across the whole country.
It is the country’s 43rd birthday as an independent State, and surely this should be an occasion which should make us all feel proud.
This, especially if we remember the hard road we travelled to get there. We still have vivid memories of the excitement that engulfed Rufaro Stadium as the Union Jack was lowered for the last time to be replaced by our own Zimbabwe flag.
Zimbabwe was finally born.
And how the late Bob Marley and the Wailers, all the way from Jamaica, mesmerised his overjoyed audience! This set the tone of future independence celebrations.
Like what will be happening in Mt Darwin next week, music and funfare have always been a part of our Independence Day Celebrations.
We can’t all be in Mt Darwin, but there is nothing that can stop us from converging at selected points and celebrating in our own way.
We understand that throughout the whole country people are already joining hands in contributing towards a big do.
That’s the spirit.
Yes, it is time to eat, drink, dance and be merry.
The more ambitious communities may even slaughter a beast, with the younger generation organising a musical band. Such gatherings will give the older generation a chance to give accounts of what they experienced during the liberation struggle.
Remember, we have been tirelessly urging our liberation heroes to chronicle their experiences in writing while they are still alive.
We don’t want our proud history to be distorted.
It is a pity that there are some among the younger generation who don’t understand what we went through to get our independence.
True, we are sad we lost so many of our loved ones in the struggle.
However, what gives us satisfaction and reason to celebrate is that the deaths were not in vain.
To defeat the seemingly invincible white settlers led by their rebel leader Ian Smith is an achievement of note.
The joy should reverberate to this day.
And those at the celebrations at the main venue in Mt Darwin are expected to enjoy the Independence concert to the full.
Celebrations of our independence should not leave out our children.
That is why we appreciate the President’s gesture in hosting a party for the children.
Children have always loved this occasion as they get a chance to rub shoulders with the Head of State.
Of great significance is the fact that this is a President who actually took an active part in the struggle for our independence .
It is appropriate for children to know about the story of the struggle for our independence at an early age and to hear it direct from the horse’s mouth is great.
For those who did not witness the liberation struggle, it might be difficult to understand the brutality of the colonial regime.
Chibondo in Mt Darwin is a site that carries evidence of the brutality of the rogue colonial regime.
Here, thousands of indigenes were tortured, killed and thrown into mine shafts.
It is, therefore, befitting to have an exhibition demonstrating the atrocities at this site on the eve of our Independence Day.
Despite all this, we still won our independence and the vanquished Smith who had predicted that there would be no majority rule, not even in a thousand years, was forced to eat humble pie.
We are together Mashonaland Central as we celebrate 43 years of independence.