Online Reporter
Thousands will gather today at the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare as well as the 10 provincial shrines nationwide to honour those who fought to liberate their country and others who excelled in various non-military, non-political fields for its post-independence development.
President Mnangagwa will headline the national event in Harare while provincial ministers will represent him at heroes’ acres in their provinces.
This is indeed an important moment for our country, one which takes us back to the protracted struggle against colonialism in the 1890s, to the 1940s right to the start of the Second Chimurenga/Umvukela in 1965, the 14 years of an intense armed struggle that led to Independence on April 18, 1980.
Some of the people who were in the trenches from the 1960s are still with us and will be at the various venues nationwide today to participate in the Heroes’ Day proceedings.
We, too, note that a good number of that elite group are healthy and going strong but we have others who are living with bullets in their bodies, who walk with limps after incidents during the struggle.
Unfortunately, thousands more departed along the way. They died due to gunfire, landmine blasts, bombings, illness, accidents, old age and so on.
There is also a group, which did not carry the gun and were not politicians, as mentioned earlier, but excelled in various disciplines, contributing to the social, economic and political development of the motherland.
For their courage, commitment, sweat and blood we honour them most humbly.
As part of the national event, 223 families of fallen heroes and heroines are expected to be in attendance, reflecting the Government’s unwavering commitment to honouring the legacy and memory of the country’s liberators.
The President will present national flags to the families of four National Heroes who were declared as such posthumously — Cde Benjamin Burombo, Brigadier-General (Rtd) Lameck Francisco Mutanda, Cde John Mbedzi, and Cde Jairos Jiri.
Every Heroes Day is special but this year’s edition is more special because it comes as the Government is making headway in returning the remains of some of our heroes who fought against colonialism in the 1890s.
As our sister paper, The Sunday Mail reported yesterday, Britain, which has despicably held remains of the people as trophies in their museums, has agreed to have our government repatriate them.
Some of them are for the likes of Mbuya Nehanda, Sekuru Kaguvi, Chief Chinengundu Mashayamombe and Chief Makoni Chingaira.
We find it exceedingly repulsive that the British had the nerve to take the bodies of some of our liberators and display them in their museums for their amusement.
We are happy that the icons would be back home soon and laud the Second Republic for the work it is doing in that respect, but must state that this should have happened much earlier for these are the veritable originals who inspired everyone else.
Bongani Ndlovu