THE biggest takeaway from ongoing processes to document and preserve Zimbabwe’s agonising history of colonialism and the liberation struggle is clear testimony of the country’s efforts to fend off endlss attempts by its former colonisers to perpetuate a lie.
For any country to navigate the storms of the future, it has to be fully armed by the horrors of the past and we have always been clear in our message that we can never put the past behind us — and we will not.
Zimbabwe’s former colonisers have always been driven by the desire to erase our excruciating past for what they believe is a more ‘modern’ one which they call ‘the struggle for democracy’.
To this end, their provocative support and endorsement of the opposition means that those who are inclined towards the general well-being and development of the country must ensure that they preserve that painful past for posterity.
They have been doing that with aplomb.
This is why the country’s leadership was in Gutu recently for the unveiling of the Kamungoma Liberation War Shrine where hundreds of innocent Zimbabweans were massacred in cold blood by the cruel colonial regime.
These are the stories that shape our future, stories which should never be abandoned and forgotten.
But the stories have never been about us, we who are alive, and telling them.
They belong to future generations whose past is under serious threat from perpetrators of that heinous past.
The stories are about those who have followed our history; those who have lived it and are still able to tell it without fear or favour — the inescapable reality of the colonialists’ brutality.
His continued attempts to subdue us.
His continued interference with our internal affairs.
His callous attempts to restore the old order.
Ours is an agonising history that should, and can, never be ignored by the antics of an openly hostile enemy who has done little to mask his desire to regain control of the country, using the opposition as a conduit.
A history of sacrifice, blood and tears.
That needs to be recorded.
If we do not get the job done now, we will never get another opportunity.
Zimbabweans deserve that honour and respect.
As such, and while the Kamungoma Massacre had, until April 4, largely remained an untouched and unexplored story of our struggle for freedom, it remains a vital cog of the country’s quest for total freedom from the shackles of oppression.
On the evening of May 14 1978, just two years shy of the country’s independence, liberation fighters embarked on a routine crusade to drum up support for the liberation struggle at a pungwe, but they fell victim to the criminality of the marauding oppressor
At least 104 civilians, mainly teenagers and women, some of them breastfeeding mothers, and one guerilla were brutally slain in that indiscriminate attack.
At a personal level, these attacks claimed the life of a relative, Chanaka Chimwana Chin’ombe (Chimombe), who was the first son of the late Chief Chin’ombe Chimwana Gumindoga whose three other sons are liberation war heroes.
These are the painful stories that we were told growing up; stories that have shaped our ideological thinking as citizens who can never allow recolonisation of their beloved country as advocated by the naïve opposition in Zimbabwe.
The victims of the Kamungoma Massacre would be buried in shallow graves as the colonial regime went on with its killing spree.
They will never walk alone!
As will those who were killed at Nyadzonia, Chimoio, Hurudzavasikana (also in Gutu), Nyikadzino homestead in Hurungwe, Karima Village in Mt Darwin (whose name must be changed), as well as the bombing of St Philip’s Secondary School in Guruve.
We believe that all colonial relics and all their evil spirits must be removed from our midst as the country forges ahead.
The same message goes for the opposition which has been foolishly doing the bidding for and on behalf of the West, Zimbabwe’s tormentors.
They, too, must go and the coming few months will signal the end of their nonsense.
The country, said the President, must therefore embrace its history and no-one must attack our past.
“No one must ever denigrate, belittle and defile our history, experiences and our beloved motherland, Zimbabwe. Our liberation war heritage is a lesson for our warrior nature and character as descendants of the Great Emperor Munhumutapa,” said President Mnangagwa.
“We are a resilient people, ever prepared to defend and protect our country. This spirit must never die. Yesteryear we took up arms; today we are building our country in unity, brick by brick and stone upon stone, strengthened by the knowledge that ‘nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, igonamatirwa nevene vayo/ilizwe lakhiwa, libusiwe, likhulelwe ngabanikazi balo’.”
Significantly, the unveiling of the shrine came in the historic month of April when the country celebrates its independence and crucially the month in which the end of opposition politics in Zimbabwe will commence in earnest.
Only those with ears will take heed of this message.
“These heinous attacks, including those at Nyadzonia and Chimoio, did not deter us but rather strengthened our resolve to fight on until we secured our independence and freedom. It is now our weighty responsibility to make present and future generations aware of the arduous 16 years we endured for our freedom and democracy,” said President Mnangagwa.
As we march towards our 44th Independence Anniversary celebrations and continue documenting our history, we should remain wary of the enemy’s machinations.
He remains on the prowl, scouring for an opening.
Let those with ears listen.
