As the 28th of April approaches, our hearts turn solemn, and our spirits rise in remembrance. On this date in 1898, Zimbabwe bore witness to a brutal act of colonial in- justice — the execution of two pillars of resistance, Mbuya Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana and Sekuru Kaguvi Gum- boreshumba. They were not merely individuals. They were symbols. Of defiance. Of dignity. Of the undying Zimbabwean spirit.
Their hanging by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) marked not just a tragic loss of life, but an attempt to silence a nation rising to reclaim its soul. Yet over a century later, their voices still echo through our valleys, rivers, and ancestral lands. We have not forgotten. We will never forget.
Mbuya Nehanda, the spirit medium of the revered Nehanda Mhondoro, stood unshaken before her execution- ers. Her final words, “Mapfupaanguachamuka(My bones will rise again)”, were not empty prophecy , they were a call to generations yet unborn.
A prophecy fulfilled in the fires of Chimurenga and the birth of an inde- pendent Zimbabwe.
Sekuru Kaguvi, a spiritual leader and healer, stood shoulder to shoulder with Nehanda, inspiring and guiding our people during the First Chimurenga.
Like Nehanda, he was not armed with guns or spears, he was armed with belief. Belief in freedom, belief in our right to govern ourselves, belief in a future shaped by our own hands.
Their execution was intended to break us, but it became the very seed of resistance. Today, we must ask our- selves, are we living up to the courage they showed? Are we protecting the legacy they died for? Their struggle was not only against colonial conquest but for a people’s dignity, land and self-determination.
In their memory, we must look inward as well as forward. We must honour their names not just in speech- es and monuments, but in how we treat our heritage, how we defend our sovereignty and how we uplift the next generation. When we allow corruption, inequality, and apathy to take root, we betray the courage of Nehanda and Kaguvi. When we stand up, speak out, and build with integrity we honour them.
Let us mark April 28 with recom- mitment. Let our youth know their names, not as mere figures in history books, but as eternal symbols of Zim- babwean strength. Let us teach their story in every school, sing their praises in every village, and build our future with the same fire that once burned in their hearts.
To Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi: your bones have indeed ris- en. In every freedom fighter, in every farmer reclaiming the land, in every child who dreams proudly in Shona, Ndebele, and all our tongues — you live on.
We will always remember.
Tatenda Sorejena,Harare