THE life and deeds of our liberation war hero, Dr Vimbai Gukwe ‘Mafirakureva’ Chivaura illustrates the theme of Zimbabwe’s Chimurenga struggles.
This theme has been immortalised through one of the most famous Second Chimurenga war songs, one of Comrade Josiah Tongogara’s favourite songs, we are told.
The lyrics go as follows;
“Nyika yedu yeZimbabwe ndimo matakazvarirwa
Vanamai nababa ndimo mavari
Tinoda Zimbabwe noupfumi hwayo hwose
Simuka Zimbabwe!”
Dr Chivaura loved his country and its people.
He was a patriot.
He mixed and dialogued with all classes of citizens, rich, poor, educated, illiterate, a very simple unassuming man.
And yet below that humility and simplicity lay a great intellectual mind, an academic giant, a ferocious fighter for the blackman’s cause and dignity.
He had a doctorate in English, yet he preferred to speak in Shona or Ndebele, two of our local languages.
Where others sought to impress the illiterate masses with flowery English, our hero spoke in the mother tongue!
He was keen to maintain communication with all and sundry!
I remember in almost every television programme, whether it was ‘Zvavanhu’,‘African Pride’or ‘Nhaka Yedu’ our hero, Dr Chivaura would find a place to stress that we want “Zimbabwe neupfumi hwayo hwose,” that is to say we want Zimbabwe and all its wealth!
Zimbabwe neupfumi hwayo hwese was the rallying cry of our liberation war.
It was the cry that went out to school and college students, to the unemployed youths in Mbare and Makokoba, to the masses in the colonial African reserves!
Zimbabwe neupfumi hwayo hwese was the basis for labelling the white British invaders ‘vapambepfumi’, ‘abahuquluzi benotho’.
That rallying cry remained Gukwe’s call throughout his fighting life.
At the memorial service held for him at the University of Zimbabwe Chapel, Dr Rino Zhuwarara, who worked closely with our hero, defined very clearly the war that Dr Chivaura fought.
Some would question why Dr Chivaura was declared a Liberation War Hero.
Dr Chivaura was involved in the bitter struggle to free the minds of Zimbabweans from the shackles of colonialism.
He fought to free Africans from mental bondage, to make Africans believe in themselves so they could stand up and be counted as equals among the nations of this world.
They say, if you think you can’t, then you won’t.
But, if you believe you can, then you will.
Liberation hero Dr Chivaura wanted the people to believe that they could take on and defeat the forces of colonialism and neo-colonialism.
He wanted us to know and be proud of our illustrious history as black people.
He wanted us to know that we have built great civilisations before and that we have capacity to do greater things!
According to Dr Chivaura, Africans must know and be proud that their great civilisations came well before the whiteman emerged from the cold caves of Europe.
The ancient civilisations which flourished in the Nile River valley in Egypt were those of black Africans.
The Egyptians were our black forefathers who built some of the most sophisticated monuments on earth: the great pyramids.
They developed highly advanced science and technology. They were masters of mathematics!
Africans must know that the Pharaohs of Egypt were black!
The most famous universities in Egypt and Timbuktu were African institutions.
Dr Chivaura’s message was simple: Africans must reclaim and take control of their land Zimbabwe and all its wealth.
Dr Chivaura’s message was uncompromising: Africans must be themselves, not approximations of white people!
So Dr Chivaura’ war was a continuation of our wars of liberation.
Instead of firing bullets that killed the enemy, Dr Chivaura fired bullets that exorcised the ghost of mental colonisation.
Our hero fought to drive out the ghosts of subjugation, submissiveness, timidity, fear of white people, lack of confidence, cowardice from the minds of Africans!
Dr Chivaura’s war was to mentally prepare Zimbabweans for the continuing economic war!
He worked hard to build the confidence of the Africans by invoking our great history which shows we are great people who have achieved wonders in science and development.
The Great Zimbabwe monument is a demonstration of our inventive genius!
Hero Dr Chivaura’s writings and television programmes, his lectures and seminars, his street discussions with the poor and unemployed at Mbare Musika, anywhere, everywhere, were all part of ZANU PF’s war to indigenise and economically empower the masses!
The ruling party and Government agreed to bestow hero status because Dr Chivaura deserved it!
His message strongly supported President Mugabe’s sterling efforts to rebuild the economy with Africans in charge!
Dr Chivaura was a disciple of the human factor school of thought which says for development to occur, we need human beings who are patriotic, dedicated, committed, competent and who believe in their cause and who stay with it always.
He spent his life helping to build that patriotic cadre among his students, his colleagues and the ordinary Zimbabweans whose lives he touched.
He sought to inspire Zimbabweans to rise up and shine!
He used to say: “Ah! tiri vana Mafirakureva.”
Put simply the Shona dimikira means: “We are blamed for telling the truth.”
‘Mafirakureva’ best epitomises Dr Vimbai Gukwe Chivaura and the battles he fought in the media, the lecture rooms and various fora.
He raised pertinent issues that others felt uncomfortable with.
And I believe many of his ideological opponents would have preferred he remain silent!
Why scare our easy prey (the unsuspecting Africans)?
Such were the forces that were arraigned against our hero and all those who identify with his message of mental freedom for black people.
The anti-colonial and anti-neo-colonial crusade that Dr Chivaura waged through the pen, the lecture room as well as the radio and television media earned him many enemies.
One can rightly say Dr Gukwe ‘Mafirakureva’ Chivaura died in battle fighting the forces ranged against the freedom of the African people.
He believed that if people were mentally fortified with the correct ideology and world view they would defend their heritage (nhaka yedu), their culture and religion (zvavanhu) and maintain their ‘African Pride’.
This great gun may have been temporarily silenced, but like Mbuya Nehanda prophesied, his bones will yet rise again!
There will rise a thousand and one Gukwe Chivauras to continue the struggle!
The struggle will continue!
Go thee well my friend.
May your soul rest in peace and your works continue to inspire others to fight for the blackman’s wealth and dignity (unhu/ubuntu).