Online Reporter
Richard Muponde in Hurungwe
The Government has warned Zimbabweans against collecting bones and other remains of fallen liberation war heroes buried in shallow and unmarked graves across the country for use as charms, urging communities to instead report such discoveries to authorities so that the remains can be preserved and accorded dignified burials.
The call was made at Chebere Shrine at Grand Parade Farm in Hurungwe in Mashonaland West, on Saturday during the burial of 37 ZIPRA cadres who were declared liberation war heroes and accorded full military honours.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland West, Mariam Chombo, who was chief mourner, said communities had a critical responsibility to protect the remains of fallen fighters scattered across the country.
“We have gathered that in the villages where you walk or plough, you are seeing remains of fallen heroes. Some are ploughing them off and throwing them away. It is also painful that some are now collecting parts of these remains to use as charms. Please, let us respect the fallen heroes,” said Minister Chombo.
She urged communities to report the remains to the police, traditional leaders or organisations involved in the exhumation and preservation of liberation war graves.
“Now you know where to go. You can go either to the police, traditional leaders and associations that are exhuming these comrades,” she said.
Minister of Veterans of Liberation Struggle Affairs Monica Mavhunga, also expressed concern over the practice.
“There are some villagers around the country where fallen heroes are lying in shallow graves, who are salvaging bones and other items they find on fallen heroes to use as charms. We urge our people to respect the fallen heroes and not tamper with these remains but report to the leadership so that they are preserved and accorded decent burial,” said Minister Mavhunga
She said Government had established mechanisms to ensure that liberation fighters buried in shallow, unmarked and mass graves were recovered and given proper burials.
“Government is committed to exhuming and reburying these gallant sons of the soil lying in shallow graves in and outside the country. A Ministerial Committee was established to work on this issue and a Heritage Fund was also set up to make sure that we exhume and rebury comrades with dignity,” she said.
Secretary for War Veterans Affairs in the ZANU PF Politburo Cde Douglas Mahiya said freedom fighters, both living and dead, should be accorded the respect they deserved.
The 37 cadres buried at Chebere Shrine were exhumed from mass graves in Sanyati and Hurungwe by the Fallen Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe (FHTZ) led by Dr Arthur Makanda, with the reburial forming part of Government’s broader programme to identify, exhume and rebury liberation fighters whose remains remain scattered across Zimbabwe and beyond.
Among those accorded liberation war hero status was a Tanzanian national, underscoring the regional character of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.
Minister Chombo said the presence of the Tanzanian among the fallen heroes demonstrated that the struggle was a collective Southern African undertaking, with Mozambicans, Zambians and other nationals also supporting the liberation struggle.
She said the fallen comrades had sacrificed their opportunity to return home and enjoy independence with their families.
“These comrades sacrificed their lives for this country so that we get our sovereignty and develop our country in line with President Mnangagwa’s philosophy of Nyika Inovakwa NeVene Vayo, Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo, as we work towards achieving Vision 2030 of an Upper Middle Income economy,” she said.
President Mnangagwa has repeatedly stressed that Zimbabwe must never forget the sacrifices that produced independence. In his 46th Heroes Day address at the National Heroes Acre on August 10, he said the theme “Lest We Forget” represented a national commitment to honour those who paid the ultimate price and preserve the liberation history for future generations.
The Chebere reburial therefore gives practical expression to that call, as Government and communities continue recovering liberation fighters from forgotten graves and restoring the dignity of those who made the supreme sacrifice.
