Online Reporter
Richard Muponde-Zimpapers Politics Hub
The Fallen Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe (FHTZ) has designated 2026 as a pivotal year for the large-scale exhumation and reburial of liberation war combatants, targeting newly identified mass graves within the country and across its borders.
FHTZ national chairperson Dr Arthur Makanda said the organisation has received fresh intelligence leading to previously undocumented sites, marking a significant expansion of its mission to locate and honour the deceased comrades.
In an interview, Dr Makanda said the process has already uncovered a lead on a major site in Chirundu, Zambia.
“A comrade informed us that there are 53 combatants in that mass grave. He also indicated that there are two comrades, who are from Zambia and are lying on the Zambian side in Shilo.”
This discovery necessitates sensitive cross-border coordination. While local contacts have requested verification visits, the Trust has delayed action due to cultural obligations.
“We agreed that after this sacred period we will be able to go,” Dr Makanda explained. “Whenever we visit such places, we perform traditional rites, and at the moment there are constraints that make it impossible to do so properly.”
The 2026 plan builds on recent operations, including exhumations in Sanyati where remains were recovered from mass graves. Those remains await formal reburial at a Hurungwe shrine as consultations with families and authorities continue.
Dr Makanda emphasised that cultural protocols, historical verification, and community coordination will guide all future work. The Trust’s mandate, he stated, is to restore dignity, ensure accuracy and provide closure.
“2026 will be a year of action. Our fallen heroes deserve to be identified, exhumed where necessary, and buried with the honour they earned through sacrifice.”
The FHTZ continues to collaborate with veterans, communities and regional partners to map sites and secure resources for the complex undertaking ahead, said Dr Makanda.
