The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka Sunday News Reporter
The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) has embarked on a project to upgrade the country’s national liberation war monuments that are situated in neighbouring countries, an official has revealed.Zimbabwe has more than eight liberation war monuments in Mozambique and Zambia, from where the country’s liberation war movements Zanla and Zipra organised the war to free the country from colonial rule.
National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe executive director, Dr Godfrey Mahachi, told Sunday News on Friday last week that work on sprucing up the outlook of the monuments had already started.
Dr Mahachi also revealed plans to reconstruct structures that were at Chimoio in Mozambique and Freedom Camp in Zambia, to turn them into museums which will tell how the country’s liberation war forces organised the war from those two centres.
Chimoio and Freedom Camp are Zimbabwe’s two flagship monuments that are outside the country.
Thousands of liberation war fighters and refugees are buried at various mass graves, including ones at Chimoio and Freedom Camp after they were cowardly massacred by Rhodesian forces during the struggle for liberation.
“What we have already done is putting rolls of honour at all the monuments in the two countries, in honour of people who are buried there. What we are now working on is reconstructing structures that were at Chimoio and Freedom Camp and turn those structures into museums.
“These museums will have artifacts and pictures that will help tell the liberation war history of Zanla and Zipra. Chimoio was the Zanla forces headquarters while Zipra forces were headquartered at Freedom Camp. As such the two sites are our flagship shrines outside the country,” he said.
Dr Mahachi, however, said lack of funds could hamper progress on the construction of the two museums.
“We need about $80 000 to finish reconstruction of the structures at the two sites. The money is not readily available and this might affect our plans to finish the work in the set time frame. We are, however, talking to the relevant authorities to avail funds for us to complete the projects.
“At Chimoio the structure is already there and what is simply needed is to rehabilitate it. We have done archaeological work at Freedom Camp and that has given us an idea of what the structures there were like. So the plans for the structures have already been drafted,” he said.
Dr Mahachi added that the two shrines would not only serve the purpose of honouring the country’s cadres who perished in Zambia and Mozambique, but would also help teach future generations on Zimbabwe’s liberation war.
The National Heroes Acre, situated seven kilometres from Harare’s central business district, along the main Harare-Bulawayo highway, is the country’s flagship shrine where 109 heroes have been buried so far.
It was constructed in 1981, shortly after the country attained independence from white colonial rule.
The sole purpose of the shrine is to honour and remember the country’s heroes whose dedication to the country’s liberation was extraordinary, as well as contemporary and future sons and daughters of Zimbabwe who exhibit dedication and commitment to the nation.
