adminFarirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe has declared Altena Farm near Centenary and Gonakudzingwa Detention Camp in Chiredzi as national monuments for their symbolic role in the Second Chimurenga.
The declaration of Gonakudzingwa is contained in Statutory Instrument 124 of 2024 while that of Altena Farm is in Statutory Instrument 128 of 2024.
The shots that signified the start of the Second Chimurenga were fired at Altena Farm on December 23, 1972, by Zanla combatants that included the late national heroes General Solomon Mujuru (Cde Rex Nhongo) and Cde Samuel Mamutse (Cde Mayor Urimbo).
Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith established Gonakudzingwa Detention Camp and it is where detained political prisoners were kept.
Several leaders of the struggle for independence were detained there. These include the late President, Cde Robert Mugabe and the late Vice President, Cde Joshua Nkomo. Other national heroes detained there include Cdes Josiah and Ruth Chinamano, Edgar Tekere, Leopold Takawira, Maurice Nyagumbo, Naison Ndlovu and Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, among others.
The declaration of the monuments comes as the country is preparing celebrations for the Heroes and Defence Forces Day next month.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu