War vets urged to write books

Farirai Machivenyika, Senior Reporter

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has urged veterans of the country’s liberation war to write about their experiences during the struggle for independence to ensure future generations appreciate the country’s history.

VP Chiwenga said this when he was officiating at the launch of a book by former Director-General in the President’s Department, Major-General Happyton Bonyongwe (Retired) titled, “One Among Many: My Contribution to the Zimbabwean Story.”

“We have lost Cde Tshinga Dube, a war veteran and top commander, both before and after our independence. I am happy he found time to put together his wartime experiences into a book on our struggle for independence. We are the richer for it.

“But we have lost a lot by way of our unwritten liberation histories. Many of our brave fighters have gone to the grave with their narratives, leaving our society much poorer. Those of us who live must now discharge this huge debt we owe posterity. We must start writing, start immortalising our wartime experiences,” VP Chiwenga said.

He thanked Maj-Gen Bonyongwe for finding time to write his book saying it was a challenge to those that played a role in the making of Zimbabwe.

VP Chiwenga said the book was more than a personal narrative and insider’s commentary on key developments which unfolded during Maj-Gen Bonyongwe’s time of service, but a lucid manual on leadership.

“Particularly after the liberation struggle, the whole narrative is punctuated by key philosophical observations of leadership at all levels, including at top echelons of our society.

“Happyton’s narrative shows he is much more than a functionary; he reflected a lot at what he did, all the time drawing rules of life inspired by hard experiences,” he said.