THE reverence given to some colonial plaques, statues and other Rhodesian memoralabia still erected and decorated in some buildings in former British colonies are just symbolic of the long lasting effects of colonialism and the fact that some of our children continue to be taught to revere this legacy years after independence.
As Zimbabwe marks the Heroes Holiday, it is time we celebrate our Zimbabwean legacy, yet little is known about this holiday among our children in most schools in Zimbabwe.
Last week a group of college students from Matabeleland South visited Cecil John Rhodes’ grave and were made to observe a minute of silence, after which some lecture was made about how Rhodes played a part in colonising Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Ironically, Rhodes ‘prohibited’ burial of people at the World View area atop the Matopo Hills ‘within a radius of two kilometres of the grave.’
Some students hastily scribbled notes.
Every week, hundreds of scholars, churches, individuals and tourists visit this grave at the expense of other shrines in the same area.
Sadly, the tour guide made no mention of King Mzilikazi’s grave some 26 kilometres from Bulawayo along the Old Gwanda Road which lies derelict.
King Mzilikazi died on September 28 1868, his remains were buried on a hill called ‘Entumbane’ – a northern fringe of the Matopo Hills on November the same year after a series of ceremonies befitting his royal status.
Despite the fact that the grave has been fenced off, it has not received as much attention as Rhodes’s grave in the opposite direction in the Matopo Hills.
The tour guide professed ignorance about the grave and said he only knew it as a national monument and he was not taught about how important it was when he did his course at a white-run safari company.
He said he was taught that the only important landmark in the Matopos was Rhodes’ and his lieutenants’ graves.
Rhodes’ grave lies atop a sacred African traditional shrine on the Hills.
The grave on a granite outcrop is covered with a metal lid.
It is well kept with in stark contrast King Mzilikazi’s grave.
Near Rhodes’ grave are that of his ‘friend’ Leander Starr Jameson, that of Charles Coghlan, a former prime minister of Rhodesia, and a memorial site in honour of the Allan Wilson patrol who perished at the hands of King Lobengula’s forces during the historic battle of Shangani in 1893.
This is another tragedy of keeping these white memoralabia at the expense of our own.
There are many shrines in the Matapos which include the Njelele Shrine and other shrines and caves where some of the great spirit mediums of this country are entered.
However, the whiteman chose to put Rhodes’ grave on the Mwari shrine to sit on that part of our history so that our scholars and children see it as a white man’s legacy.
The whiteman also deliberately erected Rhodesian memoralabia and decorated some buildings in symbolic long lasting effects of colonialism leaving the painful aspects of our history.
Some plaques in public places such as the Centenary Park in Bulawayo and ‘whites only clubs’ still pay tribute to the Rhodesian Native Rect, which was a police reaction team responsible for suppressing insurgency within the black communities in Matabeleland, while others pay tribute to the entire former British South African Police, the Royal Air Force and many other Rhodesian heroes.
An inscription on a tombstone of the Unknown Soldier, which is strategically placed at the centre of the Bulawayo Main Post Office garden, is dedicated to all ‘Dead Rhodesian Friends’.
The garden is a favourite meeting for many people including schoolchildren and teachers in the city because its central and barely a few metres from the place is where the statue of the late Vice-President, Joshua Nkomo is erected.
The glorification of Rhodesian war history at public sites is a tragedy to Zimbabwean primary, secondary and tertiary scholars, some who have no idea about our own shrines, graves and groves where the spirit mediums of our country lie.
The white man is further colonising young minds under the guise of training these young people as tour guides in predominantly white safari schools, where the curricula is biased towards revering the whiteman and his ancestors.
University, college and school children have had countless trips to Rhodes’ grave, while thousands of dollars have been spent glorifying a sad part of our history.
King Lobengula’s grave still lies derelict, despite his prominence and contribution to modern day independence.
Sadly no schools or tertiary institutions visit the grave of King Lobengula who was buried in a cave in the Lubimbi Valley in Matabeleland North.
According to the National Museums and Monuments, the burial place was discovered in 1943 and declared a national monument.
The position effectively dashes the century old tale that the Matabele King vanished.
The tale according to records was meant to keep the location of the grave a secret because followers feared it would be raided by looters who believed that the King was buried with a lot of treasure.
From Government circles, the cave has always been recognised as the King’s final resting place and was listed as number 48 on the list of close to 200 national monuments, making it one of the earliest discoveries.
However, unlike the grave of King Mzilikazi which is considered reasonably safe as it is located in a National Park (Matopos), King Lobengula’s grave is in a communal area and is therefore more vulnerable to desecration.
As the country celebrates the Heroes Holiday, is it not pertinent for schools and colleges to visit the National Heroes Acre even provincial Heroes Acres so as to familiarise our children with part of our struggle for independence as well as learn about the sacrifices these fearless sons and daughters of Zimbabwe made to unshackle us from the shackles of colonialism.

(To be continued)