Online Reporter
Richard Muponde-Zimpapers Politics Hub
FIVE remains of slain ZIPRA cadres have been exhumed from shallow graves at Sanyati Rest Camp, following rituals that led a local family to confess they had interfered with the freedom fighters’ graves decades ago.
This brings the total number of exhumed ZIPRA fighters at the site to eight. On August 11 and 12, Zimbabwe will celebrate Heroes’ Day and Defence Forces Day, respectively.
The exhumations highlight the importance of honouring the nation’s departed heroes and heroines of the liberation struggle, many of whom still await dignified burials, having been laid to rest in unmarked graves.
Fallen Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe (FHTZ) chairperson, Dr Arthur Makanda, confirmed the latest exhumations on Tuesday, saying they followed traditional ceremonies conducted at the Madoda family home near the camp.
The family admitted its late father, who once worked at the Rest Camp as a general worker, helped bury the freedom fighters in 1979.
“Today (Tuesday) we have exhumed five after that ritual of getting the comrades from that tree,” Dr Makanda said.
He explained that the spirits of the cadres had reportedly shifted to a tree at the Madoda homestead, manifesting as an avenging spirit that haunted the family through mysterious flocks of birds nesting there in large numbers.
Among the exhumed were the remains of Cde Lungike Ndlovu, who was killed in Kasirisiri in 1979 and later brought to Sanyati Rest Camp.
Cde Ndlovu and his colleague, Cde Garikai, were reportedly paraded dead, their bodies defiled with wire brushes before being hastily buried outside the camp.
Also exhumed were the remains of Cde Themba Ncube, killed in the Nyimo area that same year, whose skeleton was recovered still wearing tattered undergarments, a bangle and a ring.
The actual exhumations began on Sunday, starting with the remains of Cde Ncube and Cdes Mandebvu and Zaire, whose ashes were interred near Munyati River.
Traditional leaders and war veterans who attended the exhumations called it a moment of long-awaited justice.
“Our fallen sons can finally rest with dignity,” said Kraal head Kafusi.
“These were young men who sacrificed everything, and for decades their souls were tormented.”
The Madoda family paid a goat to appease the spirits after the confession, as directed by the freedom fighters through their medium, paving the way for proper recovery and reburial of the remains.
During the 1970s liberation war, Sanyati Rest Camp was a notorious site where captured liberation fighters were tortured and executed. Historians say many were buried in unmarked graves and their families were never informed.
FHTZ says efforts will continue to identify more such sites to ensure all freedom fighters receive proper burials.
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