Online Reporter
Colonel (Rtd) Ernest Mganda Dube
WITH the 2026 Independence Celebrations on the horizon, Matabeleland South, the host province, is experiencing a moment of profound excitement as it prepares to receive multitudes of people drawn from all corners of the country.
But what lies at the heart of this excitement?
In essence, the people of the province are expressing a shared sentiment captured in the phrase “Lonyaka yithi laba”—translated into Shona as “Gore rino ndezveduwo”—meaning, “This year, it is our turn as well.” This sense of ownership is rooted in two key historical and symbolic factors.
Firstly, Maphisa, as a growth point located in Kezi, Matabeleland South being the main venue for this year’s celebrations, is closely associated with the legacy of Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, the founding President of ZAPU and a towering figure in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.
Father Zimbabwe, also known during the start of nationalists’ politics in the 1960s as Chibgwe-chitedza, indeed stood as a towering nationalist figure such that he later became Vice-President following the Unity Accord of 22 December 1987. Dr Nkomo’s rural home at St Joseph’s is situated between 35 and 40 kilometres south west of the growing metropolis, which is Maphisa.
Secondly and more central to this discussion is the liberation war profile of Zezani, known during the ceasefire period by its military code name, Juliet Assembly Point.
Zezani’s liberation war profile
Zezani, located near the Shashe River and the secondary school there also known by the same name in Beitbridge District, approximately an hour’s drive from Gwanda Town, became a significant operational liberation war theatre around 1976. Initially, it was predominantly occupied by forces of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA), including cadres who had returned from Mozambique namely, Gadafi aka Msimanga, Brian Mashila, among others, following the collapse of ZIPA structures.
By mid-1979, however, Zezani evolved into something far more historically significant. It became a shared operational theatre hosting not only ZPRA forces but also fighters from the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), as well as elements of Umkhonto we Sizwe of South Africa.
This convergence was not incidental.
Strategic and tactical importance
of the Beitbridge landscape
The Beitbridge area had long held strategic importance, dating back to pre-colonial and pre-Chimurenga periods. Its proximity to the Matobo Hills — home to the sacred Njelele Shrine — and its accessibility to routes into Botswana and apartheid South Africa made it a critical military corridor. Historically, it also formed part of the defensive periphery of the Ndebele State centred around present-day Mhlahlandlela and then umuzi of kwaBulawayo.
Zezani as a Shared Assembly Point
During the ceasefire period leading to independence, Zezani was designated Juliet Assembly Point, one of three assembly centres established by the Rhodesian authorities in Matabeleland South, alongside Kilo (Brunapeg) and Lima (Madlambudzi).
What distinguishes Zezani from the others is not merely its scale, but its composition.
Following the closure of Kilo Assembly Point — after a small peace-threatening incident between guerrilla factions, the assembly point was ultimately closed — both ZPRA and ZANLA combatants were relocated to Zezani. This resulted in a rare and historically significant concentration of fighters from both liberation movements who had been operating in provinces like Matabeleland South and south-western Masvingo, respectively. Their co-existing within a single assembly point surprised all and sundry, given the experience of the Zimbabwe People’s Army (ZIPA) that resulted in ugly scenes leading to its break-up.
ZPRA forces, comprising approximately three battalions (2 500 combatants), battle-weary guerillas who had operated mainly in Kezi, Mangwe, Mberengwa, Beitbridge and Gwanda had the following comrades among the commanders:
n Cdes Berbaton Mzwambila (Irvine Sibhona — the Southern Front (SF) Commander,
n Cde Malaba the Liaison Officer from ZPRA High Command, Cde Reeves Nyandoro (Watkins Ndlovu) — the Regional Commander for SF2,
n Cde Thomas Magelani aka Dlodlo — the Regional Commander for SF3.
ZPRA troops were joined by a sizeable ZANLA contingent of approximately two battalions (1 200 combatants).
The ZANLA commanders at Zezani included:
n Cde Zongororo as the Liaison Officer ZANLA High Command,
n Cde Reeves Sigola(Nyamuridzo),
n Cde Flint Nyamuziwa,
n Cde Wotsvenya aka Major (Retd) Kanengembiza,
n Cde Tiger aka Dennis Mangwende, among others.
Despite earlier hostilities elsewhere where both ZPRA and ZANLA were assembled, Zezani became a space characterised by relative calm and coexistence.
This is the deeper significance of Zezani: it stands as one of the few places where the two principal liberation armies of Zimbabwe —often separated by their operational doctrines — were physically brought together at the critical moment of transition from war to independence.
From Assembly Point to Independence
The atmosphere at Zezani during this period has been widely remembered as unexpectedly tranquil. In contrast to tensions at other assembly points, the environment here allowed for a stabilising transition as fighters awaited the birth of a new nation.
It is within this calmness that one can trace the symbolic pathway to 18 April 1980, when the independence flame was lit at Rufaro Stadium, marking the birth of Zimbabwe.
Zezani, therefore, was not merely a holding camp — it was a crucible of transition, where former wartime divisions softened in the face of an emerging national identity.
Why Zezani matters today
The decision to begin the 2026 Independence Flame Relay from Zezani to Maphisa is deeply symbolic. It is not accidental, but a deliberate recognition of the site’s unique historical role.
Zezani represents:
n The convergence of liberation movements
n The lived reality of unity before it was formalised politically
n The transition from armed struggle to nationhood.
In this sense, it complements Maphisa’s association with national leadership by grounding the celebrations in the
lived experiences of ordinary fighters from both ZPRA and ZANLA.
As Zimbabwe marks its independence in 2026, Zezani’s legacy reminds us that unity was not only negotiated in political agreements such as the Unity Accord — it was also forged on the ground in places where former combatants shared space, uncertainty, and ultimately, a common future.
The story of Zezani “Juliet” Assembly Point is therefore not just a military history—it is a national story. A story of convergence, reconciliation, and the quiet beginnings of unity.
In addition to the military spectacle experienced at Zezani AP, it is worth noting that Beitbridge is also the home of Vice-President Colonel (Retd) KCD Mohadi himself an intelligence officer during the armed struggle from the ZPRA side. Aluta Independence, Aluta our freedom, Viva Independence day Zimbabwe
n Col (Rtd) Dube, pseudonym Cde Bookless, is a former ZPRA combatant who operated in Mashonaland West
Province and later on in Matobo, Matabeleland South during the armed struggle. He is now a political scientist with an interest in history discourses with emphasis on Zimbabwean anthropology in general and worldwide military-national security issues. He is also a resource person for the Chitepo School of Ideology.
