Freedom at last: We will never go back to ‘Keeps’

Ranga Mataire
Group Political Editor

FOR folks in Mt Darwin, independence means a lot more than just one man, one vote. It means the ultimate freedom from bondage and from “Keeps” that resembled concentration camps where people were herded in their thousands.

Mr Lucky Mupukuta of Mudzengerere Village recounted with teary eyes how he lost close relatives sold out by black informers who used to have “walkie-talkies” given by Rhodesian forces to report on and about fellow villagers supporting freedom fighters.

“I always feel saddened when I hear some people saying that the country must be returned to whites. I think these people have no idea how we used to live here in Mt Darwin.

“We were literally prisoners on our own land and death was always imminent. I remember Bhaureni, who had ‘chiover over’. This guy was known as a sell-out but there was little we could do as he was very protected by his white superiors.

“Things, however, changed when comrades came into this area. Bhaureni had to flee to the farms and was never seen again until well after independence,” Mr Mupukuta said with bloodshot weary eyes.

He lost two relatives who were chimbwidos sold out by Bhaureni. Although the new Government of 1980 pronounced national reconciliation meant to let bygones be bygones, Mr Mupukuta still bears bitterness against Bhaureni who returned to Mudzengerere village after the war.

“We know these people and we still live here with them. It’s painful.”

Recounting life in “protected villages”, Mr Mupukuta said villagers were uprooted from their ancestral land to stay as captives in “Keeps”. The “Keeps” were overcrowded and lacked proper ablution facilities, which resulted in many diseases. Besides being overcrowded, villagers’ movements were strictly regulated by security details manning the “Keeps” gates.

“Here, in this area, there were about four ‘Keeps’ that were known by their numbers. We were supposed to be inside the ‘Keeps’ by 6pm, failure of which brutal punishment was administered. That period was horrendous and I am proud I am in a free Zimbabwe,” said Mr Mupukuta.

Acting Chief Dotito, Mr Takaedza Nyawanza expressed his appreciation of the Government’s move to hold national celebrations in Mt Darwin.

“We want to thank the Government for what they have done. This is a province, which had many of its children joining the war. Some never returned home but we are gratified with the fact that their efforts were not in vain,” Mr Nyawanza said.

He urged the Government to continue assisting in the exhumation of mass graves and giving all those who died at the hands of the colonial regime a decent burial.

The acting chief is concerned about the diminishing interest among young people in valorising the history of the struggle. He is of the view that those that actively participated in the liberation struggle must document their stories for the future’s benefit.

Mt Darwin is located in the north-eastern part of Zimbabwe.

It once served as administrative headquarters for the Tribal Trust Lands areas set aside for African occupation and is arguably the earliest site for missionary work in the country.

The district is named after Charles Darwin, a British naturalist known for his theory of evolution or natural selection. The locals, however, call the place Pfura, meaning a place of rhinoceros.

Mt Darwin is one of the eight districts in Mashonaland Central province. It borders Shamva district to the south, Mozambique to the north, Muzarabani to the west and Rushing to the east. It has six chieftainships namely Chief Chiswiti of the Nhari Nendoro totem, Chief Kandeya of the Tembo Mazvimbakupa, Chief Matope of the Makombe clan, Chief Nembire of Soko Bvudzijena, Chief Dotito of Nzou Samanyanga and Chief Rusambo of Mugaranhewe. It is dominantly inhabited by the Korekore.