The Sunday Mail
Leroy Dzenga
Senior Reporter
THIS week’s edition of Chronicles of the Second Chimurenga takes a different turn as we examine the significance of immortalising heroes of the liberation war.
Read on...
LAST week, the family of former Zimbabwe National Army Lieutenant General Commander Edzai Chimonyo held a memorial service for the late career soldier and diplomat.
The decorated liberation war hero and eminent post-independence military figure died on July 8 2021 after a grueling fight with cancer.
Speaker after speaker at his Greystone Park home took turns to speak highly of how patriotic the man was.
The Head of State had multiple stories to tell.
President Mnangagwa narrated how during the battle of Gonarezhou, a wounded Lt Gen Chimonyo in the heat of the war had to suspend concerns of his wellbeing.
“During the Gonarezhou Battle, the late national hero was injured and hospitalised. Due to his strong willpower and sheer determination to play his part in the liberation of the country, the late Cde Edzai Mabhunu discharged himself from hospital before full recovery to return to the warfront,” said President Mnangagwa.
Such stories, had they been in the United States of America, would have been turned into high-octane war films in Hollywood.
In other countries, script writers have to scratch their heads to come up with such narratives, yet Zimbabwe has abundant exploits of bravery with evidential backing.
It was encouraging to see during the event that the Chimonyo family had part of their house turned into a mini-museum in honour of the late hero.
The small sanctuary had images taken at different levels of Lt Gen Chimonyo’s military career.
There also was a display of his military fatigues, showing how decorated he was.
Lt Gen Chimonyo’s mini-museum was a philosophical hint to all present that revolutionary stories should not be allowed to die.
Zimbabwe should adopt a deliberate project to make sure those who defended the land during the Chimurenga and those who stood tall to imperial forces in the post-independence epoch.
Covid-19 may have made the significance of death wane, as a serious number of people died within a short period of time.
The manner in which those who died of Covid-19 were buried, did not
Not even national heroes were spared, their funerals too had to be adjusted to match the changing times.
While this saved lives, it came at the expense of public eulogies which characterised luminaries of the revolution.
Figures like the late Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services Commissioner (Rtd) Major General Paradzai Zimondi have tales that deserve to be preserved for posterity.
His war name was Tonderai Nyika, a man who was tasked with laying paths of war into virgin territory.
His exploits Commanding Manica Province, with current Vice President (Rtd) General Constantino Chiwenga as his political commissar, should be chronicled for future generations to know.
These days it is common to find young people discrediting the armed struggle with contempt.
It may be a sign of limited understanding of the struggles met in the bush.
Even after the war, he continued working hard for Zimbabwe. In rural Uzumba, under Chief Chipfuyamiti where he hails from, he built a clinic with his own resources and it is operational.
Such stories are what makes great men and it is imperative that they are told with the requisite skill and clarity.
There are methods through which stories and names that play a critical part in a country’s history can be honoured.
It was encouraging to see that the Museum of African Liberation dedicated some space to the Chimurenga, creating a liberation struggle museum within their premises.
Explaining the concept to The Sunday Mail, INSTAK CEO Kwame Muzavazi who is the brains behind the idea said they wanted to make sure the liberation struggle is not limited to books and narrations.
“We realised that there is a need for an immersive experience of the Chimurenga liberation war. We want people to have a feel of how life was during the days of the liberation struggle. We are going to recreate bases, so that when we explain what happened during the liberation struggle, people can visualise it,” said Muzavazi.
The museum which was set up last August, continues to be incrementally improved as artifacts are found.
Such ideas need to be adopted, especially in areas where the war was prominent.
In Chinhoyi, where the famous battle of 1966 broke out, there should be a museum or facility of similar utility.
The same applies to the house in which ZANU PF was formed in Highfield, it cannot be left to remain an ordinary house.
Even houses that used to house revolutionaries in foreign lands should be bought, fortified and preserved.
If it wasn’t for stories, countries would be the same.
The revolution is Zimbabwe’s reality, when it is told all birthed by the land should stand tall and proud.
For the existing generations, they have the stories in abundance as most have had a chance to engage with those who went to war and those who were active in the formative years of the nation called Zimbabwe.
That privilege will eventually wane and when it does, the stories recorded should carry the day.
We may bury individuals, but whatever the case may be, stories of the revolution must not die.
