The Sunday Mail
Professor Simbi Mubako
THE Museum of African Liberation is one of the most ambitious projects by the emerging pan-African think tank — Institute of African Knowledge (Instak).
Other great projects by Instak are The Africa Factbook in association with the Africa Union Commission and the sister publication Book of African Records.
The principal objective of the institute is to research, gather, and disseminate knowledge about Africa and African peoples. In Africa’s contemporary history no subject has had a greater impact on the lives and well-being of Africans than European colonialism of the 19th Century and the process of African self-emancipation in the 20th Century. Hence it is most befitting that we seek to understand the process that brought about the status of freedom we now enjoy as a people and as self-determining nations. A Museum of African Liberation is a most appropriate project for a pan Africanist body like Instak to embark on. When the Government of Zimbabwe was informed of some of the above programmes, there was immediate encouragement and practical assistance culminating in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.
President Mnangagwa personally encouraged the work of Instak, especially the idea of establishing the Museum of African Liberation in Zimbabwe.
To that end, under the MOU the Government of Zimbabwe has constituted an inter-ministerial committee of eight ministries including the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, as well as Defence and War Veterans, to support the work of Instak.
The establishing of the Museum of African Liberation is a priority project. The Museum will be based in Zimbabwe but aspires to house material from all African countries which waged armed struggles in order to liberate themselves but of course without excluding those countries that may not have taken up arms but were all the same instrumental in the liberation period.
The Museum is conceived as a monument of the epic struggle to liberate the African people from European colonialism and apartheid. The second half of the 20th century was the era of emancipation and liberation for all African members of the African Union except for Ethiopia and Liberia. Egypt became independent in 1936. Starting with Sudan in 1956 and Ghana in 1957 the majority of African states attained their independence before 1970 largely by peaceful protest and negotiations. However, a hard core of colonies and apartheid South Africa would not concede African majority rule without a fight. These were Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe which were part of the Portuguese Empire, the British colony of Rhodesia, the South African mandated territory of Namibia and South Africa itself. Similarly, in Kenya (1953) and Algeria (1960-1963) fierce armed resistance had been waged before these countries won their independence in the 1960’s.
Imperialism had designated all these African territories as outposts of intensive settlement of surplus European populations. Meanwhile, some countries such as Tanzania did not necessarily wage an armed struggle for their own independence but were all the same critical and strategic in the wider continental struggle for independence through high-level diplomatic, material and political support. The Museum of African Liberation is a unique opportunity for educational and cultural diplomatic co-operation by all those countries which fought to win their freedom be it through military or diplomatic means or even a mixture of both. A vital portion of their history will be recorded and deposited in the Museum.
The Museum would enable Africans and the rest of the world to learn about the history and struggle for freedom and human dignity by each and all of these African countries under one roof. Each of the countries would provide the historical material, the organisations, the weapons, the battles, losses and victories which were experienced during the struggle. It is one of the most effective ways of teaching African history and African achievements told by Africans themselves. Africa must no longer wait for people from overseas to come and interpret our history for us.
Africans have demonstrated that they are capable of liberating themselves. Africans must be the ones to tell the world how they did it and how it feels to be victorious and free.
It is envisaged that for each country there would be a section of the Museum devoted to it. The museum will house the stories of other countries’ sacrifices and histories. Inevitably, the museum will feature the histories of Frelimo, Swapo, MPLA and other gallant liberation parties, their sacrifices and their victories. It will feature massacres at Wiriamu, Maseru, Cassinga as well as victories such as the epic battle of Cuito Cunavale and Gorongoza. The great victories of the Mau Mau uprisings of Kenya, just like the heroic defeat of the Italians at Adwa in Ethiopia must have space in the museum.
In all cases, some of imperialism’s superior weapons alongside the freedom fighters’ simple weapons carried by sheer determination to attain freedom, will be displayed. The Museum will enable researchers to appreciate the seamlessness of the African struggle for freedom and the indomitable spirit for liberty even against the most powerful oppressor. The story of African Liberation cannot be told without highlighting the importance of national unity and pan-African solidarity. The Museum of African Liberation is designed to immortalise a vital part of the African Heritage.
The need for a Liberation Museum is something which all Africans readily accept. At the same time, some may find the task of erecting and equipping the planned monument daunting. The fear that much effort and a lot of resources which are required may not be available is real. While such concerns are genuine, the Institute of African Knowledge is convinced that the challenges are not insurmountable. In fact the initial steps so far taken to sound and sensitise stakeholders, governments and institutions, have led us to believe that there is a great deal of interest in the project and that resources can be found. The expertise is also available.
The support of the Government of Zimbabwe, the host country, is the most crucial first step. Now that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of Zimbabwe and Instak has been signed, the next concrete step towards the realisation of the Museum project was the identification of a suitable site. This was done with the assistance of the inter-ministerial committee which is created in the MOU, in particular the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. The site, now identified, is a 100-hectare piece of land which His Excellency President Mnangagwa commissioned for this purpose on December 4 2020.
Naturally, the success of such a mammoth project will depend on the extent to which resources can be mobilised. Where there is a will, there is always a way. When the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was burnt down last year, the people of France expressed their will to rebuild it, and within one week over US$ 1 billion was raised for the job. African people had the will to liberate the continent from militarily superior European powers. They found a way to mobilise diplomatic and material support to wage and win the liberation war.
We are convinced that the will exists, and we are confident that the way will be found to display and preserve for posterity the history of the struggle in a befitting liberation monument.
Ambassador Professor Simbi V. Mubako is the chairperson of the Institute of African Knowledge. He participated at the Lancaster House Conference as chief legal advisor to ZANU and served as Zimbabwe’s first Minister of Justice (1980-1983) and Minister of Home Affairs (1983- 1986).
