The Sunday Mail
Chimoio Shrine, approximately 25km outside Chimoio, is the place where thousands of innocent women, children and men were massacred by the Rhodesian forces in a three-day air and ground raid that started around 8am on November 23 1977.
Today it stands sanctified by the blood of those whose remains are interred there. Whereas it is common knowledge that thousands lie there in mass graves, not much has been said about the sacred nature of the shrine, or even the strange happenings that are commonplace.
On a recent visit to the shrine, Augusto Maritimo, who takes general care of the shrine, said there are many strange happenings that have become synonymous with the shrine, and some of the occurrences have become routine to them – and those who closely follow happenings at the shrine.
Rising and Falling Grave
Though it is difficult to say which occurrence at Chimoio is more chilling, Maritimo’s explanation of the mass grave that oozes blood as well as “rises and falls” could be the most chilling one.
Maritimo says the mass grave where military graduates are buried just outside the perimeter fence of the shrine, is the “barometer” of Zimbabwe.
“If things are not okay in Zimbabwe, we can tell by this grave,” he narrates, “because it can rise and fall. When things are bad its level falls and when they normalise, it gets back to its level.
“But when things are really bad, like they were in 2008, blood oozes from the grave. We didn’t know that there were elections in Zimbabwe in 2008 and when we saw blood oozing out, we went to report the matter to the local chief and he advised us to inform Zimbabwe’s Consulate in Beira. That’s when we got to know that there were elections in Zimbabwe.”
Dr Gibson Mahachi, the director of the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, though acknowledging that they have received reports of the rising and falling levels of the graves, among the many other strange occurrences said to happen at the shrine, said there could be an engineering explanation for this.
Flags
Maritimo says when the shrine was completed, the norm was to take the three flags at the shrine down at the end of the day and raise them again on the morrow.
“But once you took the flags home, you were assured of a restless night, you wouldn’t even sleep. There would be movements in and around your room, and even outside, though you wouldn’t be seeing any person.
“We then advised the consulate that we were not going to be taking the flags down. And that’s why today you see there are no flags, the lifespan of the flags has been shortened because they are not removed overnight. We have been advised that a new set of flags will be coming soon.”
Bees
The same grave that once oozed blood, the same grave whose level rises and falls, has at one of its corners, a set of bees that stays there.
Maritimo says during a scheduled tour some time back, one visitor muttered unpleasantaries about the shrine, to the effect that these could be bones of cattle buried there, and not people.
The visitor is said to have been stung by bees and “he did not finish the tour as he sat in the bus as others toured the shrine. We later learnt that he never made it back to Harare” – that from Maritimo.
Singing in the Night
On indeterminable nights, it is said “people” – usually dressed in white – sing and play drums at the shrine.
Bella Jose collaborates Maritimo’s narration that there are times when they hear people singing at night, typical of the “pungwe” sessions that were common during the liberation struggle.
Jose is wife of Fransico Fernando, the caretaker of the shrine.
Maritimo and Jose live on opposite ends of the shrine, and both say when they approach it after hearing the singing, the “people” disappear and the music stops. As soon as they retreat, the spectacle starts all over.
Car on Fire
“A couple was driving past the shrine the other day,” narrates Maritimo, “and when they inquired as to why the area is fenced and has these structures, it was explained to them that it was a shrine built in commemoration of those who died during a Rhodesian raid in the ‘70s.
“The husband made a remark to the effect that it was a waste of time and energy to build such a shrine. They proceeded with their journey but on their way back, their car broke down at the shrine’s gate and from nowhere started burning.”
Gunfire
The commander’s office at Chimoio, which was razed to the ground during the 1977 attack, has been rebuilt as a museum wherein relics from the camp are kept.
Drums that were used for cooking food, old rifles and other items picked up in and around the camp are housed in the museum. It is said sometimes the sound of gunfire comes from within the museum, usually at night. Come the morning, there is not a sign of the “fierce battle” that would have raged the previous night.
