Preserve what others died for during the war: Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane

Robin Muchetu

We want to die happily knowing we left the country in good hands.” These are the words of Brigadier General (Retired) Abel Mazinyane as he reflects on the journey he and many other liberation stalwarts travelled to realise a free Zimbabwe.

As the country celebrates Heroes Day tomorrow, Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane longs for a Zimbabwe left in the capable hands of disciplined youths who will carry the baton from the work done by surviving and fallen heroes and heroines.

Speaking to the Sunday News, he said the commemorations carry significant value for all to see, saying the day is no ordinary day, but a day of reflection on a painful past and a brighter future ahead due to the sacrifices of many men and women who participated in the armed struggle.

“The significance is clear for anyone who knows that this country came through a bloody armed struggle. The armed struggle actually cost many lives and hence we have heroes, meaning those who sacrificed for us to actually achieve our independence. It is really a big mark and punctuation in our history which shows the determination of the people of Zimbabwe to sacrifice for their emancipation and it is one of the most important days on our calendar.

“Here we look back at the cost of lives we paid to have this independence,” he said.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane said it is time to pass on the baton to the youthful generation to carry forward what they started.

“This is where we now pass on the baton to the next generations. For a country to survive, we need people who will sacrifice,” he added.

Asked why it is important for the country to recognise and memorialise liberation sites, exhume heroes for decent burials and confer hero status on those who were previously overlooked, Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane said it is a show of continuation of the struggle.

“It is a show of the continuation of our liberation struggle, and also the significance of passing down that history to the next generation so that the history remains written on stone, that it will never be erased. We need to continue marking the day every day to say we have not forgotten those that sacrificed their lives for what we enjoy today. The national war cry is there, the President has said no one and no place will be left behind,” he said.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane was tasked by the Government of Zimbabwe to visit areas in Angola after Vice-President Kembo Mohadi toured the same sites earlier in the year.

“I went there because I had been to Angola during the war and I had a history of our cooperation with the Angolans during the liberation struggle and also to memorialise mass graves and the history of our struggle. I visited two areas where some of our colleagues are buried at Luena, in the southern part of Angola where we had a training camp,” he said.

He added: “The mass grave there accommodates over 300 graves and the Government is planning to do something so that the place is marked. We met the local authorities where we are still looking for other graves of colleagues that were buried in local cemeteries of the city.

“We also went to Luanda. We asked the local authority there to also help us identify some of the graves because after so many years, records are difficult to trace. Then we went on to Malanje, which is in the north of Angola, where there are a few graves there,” he said.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane highlighted that the Government is making efforts to ensure that those graves are marked to keep the memory of the departed colleagues alive.

He said the conferment of National Hero status on departed cadres is a step in the right direction as the country continues to honour its heroes posthumously.

President Mnangagwa recently conferred National Hero status on Cde Gwakuba Ndlovu, together with four other liberation war stalwarts, Cde Petros Khumalo, Cde Shumirai Wekwete, Cde Joseph Zethi Dube and Cde Herbert Zaba Sambo, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and national development.

“The formation of a separate Ministry of War Veterans has shown us that the Government wants attention paid to this memorialisation of our liberation struggle, clarification and boosting of our liberation because certain things remained in people’s memories and they are now putting it in black and white. The markings of burial areas itself shows that there is an effort of the continuation of honouring departed liberation stalwarts moving forward.

“We will see the recognition of people who contributed and it is passed down in our history so that the next generations will learn about it. The recognition now being given to fallen heroes, the exhumations and reburial at the national shrine or even provincially, is critical, also for that history to be infused in our school syllabus will also reinforce that permanency in the memorialisation of our history,” he added.

Turning to patriotism, Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane said every Zimbabwean needs to learn that other people paid the ultimate sacrifice for Zimbabwe to be where it is today.

“Those who participated in the armed struggle learnt something about patriotism. We now need to culture the youth at every opportunity that we find them, they must be kept reminded of where we are coming from. We need a policy that will capture the youth and educate them about nation building and why we are a nation today. They need to understand that some people sacrificed their lives for us to be where we are today. That will build in the leaders that want to take the baton and run a mile further than those who put the foundation,” he added.

He said the rotation of national events such as Independence Day across provinces confirms that no one is being left behind and ensures that everyone understands how far the country has come to be where it is today. He also urged the youth to learn more each day about the history of the liberation struggle.

“This helps to reinforce that idea and continuity of patriotism and nation building. This younger generation must be taught about our history at every opportunity about our liberation history so that they can pass the baton to those that come after them. What we need to do is to continue improving on efforts already being done to educate them, what is happening is good and there is always room for improvement,” he added.

To remember the fallen heroes is to adhere to what they sacrificed their lives for, emphasised Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane, saying the people only have one Zimbabwe and the only option is to preserve it.

“The only option is to build it, improve it because what we are going to enjoy tomorrow we must build it today. As Zimbabweans, people respect us if we respect our own country, our own culture and what makes us to be Zimbabweans,” he said.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane commended all Government efforts to recognise fallen heroes through exhumations and reburials.

“They may not be done yesterday and tomorrow but there is already an effort as they have created structures where if one feels they have a contribution, they can come forward and share. The ultimate goal is to have people accounted for. We are also aware that the Government wants to find out other than areas that there was bombardment, where others who died of natural causes sleep, so that they capture everyone. They are making those efforts revisiting those things they want the history of Zimbabwe’s liberation preserved well,” he added.

The history of the struggle cannot be complete without mentioning the role of fearless women who also contributed to achieving an independent Zimbabwe.

“We met the late National Hero Cde Jane Ngwenya, there was also another lady we used to call Mbuya Nyamurowa, she was in the national executive and she came after the leaders were released in 1974, she came to Zambia.

“She refused to live at a house that was dedicated to her. There was an option that she would get accommodation for her where she would also work and have an office. She decided to go and live at a camp with the girls, she is buried somewhere in Mashonaland West Province now. The dedication was just amazing,” he said.

Brig Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane also spoke of other women who were captured by the Rhodesians and were never seen again.

“There is one who was captured and was a senior commander, they wanted her to call others back to the camp, and she refused until they shot her.

“The younger generation has an easier task of building Zimbabwe which has a foundation that has been laid already, they must take it further, build it perfectly, go to school, stay away from drugs and be exemplary citizens that is all we ask for. From there we can die happily knowing that we have responsible people to look after what we sacrificed for,” he said.

– @NyembeziMu.