Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]
GOVERNMENT has stepped up efforts to identify all those who participated in the liberation war with close to one hundred people taking part in a verification exercise in Nyamandlovu, Umguza District, yesterday as part of a comprehensive nationwide verification and mop-up vetting programme targeting war collaborators and non-combatant cadres.
The move seeks to ensure that all those who participated in the liberation struggle receive rightful recognition, welfare support and national benefits.
Under the leadership of President Mnangagwa, the Second Republic fully appreciates that the liberation struggle was won through collective sacrifice by many people around the country who contributed in different, but equally significant ways and other forms in support of the liberation movements.
The Ministry of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs is rolling out comprehensive nationwide verification and mop-up vetting exercises specifically targeting war collaborators and non-combatant cadres.
Deputy Minister Headman Moyo said he was impressed by the large turnout of non-combatant cadres and war collaborators who turned up for the exercise in Nyamandlovu.
The exercise will be done in Tsholotsho today (Wednesday) before moving to Lupane, Hwange and Binga among other places.
“The Ministry of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs is here to today (yesterday) for a vetting exercise that specifically targets war victims who suffered injuries during the armed struggle as directed by President Mnangagwa to ensure that non-combatant cadres and war collaborators are not left behind.
“The exercise will ensure that all deserving contributors of the liberation struggle are registered under the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act (Chapter 17:12), clearing the path for them to receive their rightful recognition, welfare support, and national benefits,” said Deputy Minister Moyo.
He said non-combatant cadres and war collaborators also include villagers that were victims of the brutality of the white regime for aiding liberation war heroes and heroines.
“The people that are here for the vetting exercise are not just war veterans but also villagers that were injured or subjected to the brutality of the Rhodesian regime. They will be registered before a team starts vetting to determine that the information that each person has given the ministry of the right information.
“After vetting they will then be called to Bulawayo to be checked on the degree of injuries that they suffered, which will determine how much each non-combatant cadre and war collaborator will be compensated,” he said.
Earlier this month Government showed its commitment to recognise liberation war contributors during the Heroes and Defence Forces Day celebrations when 50 000 veterans were awarded Independence medals.
Deputy Minister Moyo said Government believes that every genuine contribution to the liberation of Zimbabwe deserved recognition.
“The liberation struggle was a people’s war, and every Zimbabwean who made a contribution, including non-combatant cadres and war collaborators, deserve recognition.
“Government will continue to pursue initiatives that ensure our liberation history remains complete, inclusive, and faithfully preserved for generations to come,” he said.
Mr Samson Ncube said he was a victim of a near-death experience at the hands of Rhodesian soldiers when his family was raided in Lupane on suspicion of aiding guerillas fighting in the area.
“I was aged about 17 when I was beaten up by the Ian Smith soldiers for allegedly passing on information to liberation struggle veterans who used to pass through our area in Lupane,” he said.
“From that day I made a decision that I will play my part as a war collaborator joining other young boys and girls who also assisted them with intelligence, clothes and food.
“I would like to encourage other non-combatant cadres and war collaborators to come for the vetting exercise to receive compensation that Government has promised,” said Mr Ncube.
Known as mujibhas and chimbwidos, war collaborators played an important in Zimbabwe’s fight for independence.
While guerrilla fighters carried out military operations, war collaborators worked behind the scenes to ensure those operations could continued.
They served as intelligence gatherers, couriers, scouts, guides, messengers, organisers, cooks and nurses. They mobilised villagers for night vigils, tracked enemy movements, transported supplies, sourced food and clothing for fighters, concealed guerrillas from enemy patrols and cared for the wounded.
For Mrs Velaphi Ndiweni who grew up in Tsholotsho and relocated to Nyamandlovu at the height of the historic Land Reform programme in the early 2000s, said being a war collaborator was risky but worth the danger.
“I came to register my details and provide information about where I operated from as a war collaborator in Tsholotsho when I was just 16 years old,” said Mrs Ndiweni.
She said she was grateful that the contribution of people who assisted liberation fighters from within their communities was finally receiving formal recognition.
Her involvement was heavily influenced by her family’s commitment to the liberation cause.
“I was just 16 years old when I became a war collaborator in Tsholotsho after my two older brothers had joined the liberation struggle.
“Helping the guerrillas was something I did with so much pride because I understood why they were fighting the Rhodesian army,” she said.
“I would like to applaud Government for addressing this historical imbalance by recognising war collaborators as veterans of the liberation struggle and integrating us into the broader War Veterans League alongside the comrades who participated directly in the armed struggle,” she added.
