By Mwalimu Ngwindingwindi
August is here once again, and we are bound as a nation to take time to pay tribute to our heroes of the chimurenga liberation struggle. We must commemorate our fallen heroes with the dignity they deserve.
This we do regardless of our respective political allegiance and inclinations, race, tribe and creed; we are one Zimbabwe.
As we celebrate and commemorate the lives of those who perished in the war and those who sacrificed for the liberation of this country, I am here going to share some piece of advice with my fellow countrymen.
I am going to start by sharing a story which relates to my own family experience.
They forgot his fuko
My grandfather, Thompson Kamhiripiri Ngwindi died in 1978, and was supposed to be buried according to our clan’s cultural practices, but the elders forgot to give him his ‘fuko’.
It was during the course of war of liberation, the second Chimurenga; so, the funeral was hurriedly done to avoid confrontation with the authorities as it was prohibited for Africans to gather for whatever reason.
Another issue was that my grandfather was a victim of political betrayal, so he succumbed to beatings of a political nature.
She was advised that he would not be welcomed by his fore-bearers if he did not get his ‘fuko’
So, due to this reason, proper cultural practice had to be bypassed.
Three years down the line, now in independent Zimbabwe, Sekuru Kamhiripiri appeared in a dream to one of his nieces, Rebecca, in which she was advised that he would not be welcomed by his fore-bearers if he did not get his ‘fuko’, and that the family would not know peace.
Rebecca did not keep the dream to herself; she had to notify my father who hence consulted other family elders. A ceremony to exhume the remains of Sekuru Kamhiripiri was arranged. Surprisingly during the exhumation, they found the body in exactly the same state as it was at the time of burial three years earlier.
We may gather in different places commemorating our liberation war heroes, but if what we do on daily basis is not consistent with the spirit of the liberation struggle for which many of the genuine heroes perished, we are doomed as a nation.
Spirits of the dead heroes are watching from their real the way we are faring in a nation whose foundation is their blood. I am convinced that they are obviously not happy with what is happening today in Zimbabwe.
They fought not for a few individuals to enjoy the wealth which Zimbabwe is endowed with; they fought not to replace an oppressive colonial system with a native oppressive and corrupt regime.
Commemorations: This is where we are getting it wrong
While on the commemorations alone, we are doing it all wrong. We need to appease the heroes by way of traditional ceremonies as opposed to the flamboyant lavish parties which we conduct annually.
Zimbabwe has so much wealth some of which is yet to be discovered, but whatever there today needs to be shared with all citizens, not to benefit a few who are privileged. Zimbabwe needs leaders who respect the founding ethos of the revolution which brought about our independence.
Area C of Mudzi district if like a forgotten place
Those whom we are commemorating today did not sacrifice and die in vain; they will surely be happy if all Zimbabweans are happy. My grandfather Kamhiripiri died in an area which a passage of freedom fighters who operated from Mozambique, but sadly, Area C of Mudzi district if like a forgotten place; it has not been given due attention since 1980 when we got “independent”.
The citizens of that area have not been honoured for their sacrifices; the brutality which they endured at the hands of the colonial authorities for the role they played providing food, clothing, shelter and information to the freedom fighters.
The spirits of fallen heroes who passed through the hands of these marginalised societies will never rest in peace
There are several other areas which carry a similar sad story, and they can express themselves in their own way or this piece will stand representative of all. The spirits of fallen heroes who passed through the hands of these marginalised societies will never rest in peace until they are satisfied that their wartime hosts are recognised.
This brings in a very pertinent issue of devolution whose implementational sincerity I have always questioned. There is need to look into issues of devolution seriously and ensure that distribution of natural resources and administrative powers is done in prudence.
Equitable distribution of national resources is paramount to appeasement of the heroes
Equitable distribution of national resources is paramount to appeasement of the heroes whom we are here purporting to honour, because that is what they fought for.
They did not fight for one person to amass wealth unto himself; all citizens have entitlement to the national resources which they must benefit effectively.
I would like to believe that today we have comrades who operated in Mudzi Area C, which was Mutoko back then, they concur with my sentiments and may not be happy with the state of undeserved underdevelopment which characterise the area.
So, for a nation to be stagnant on economic development affairs as it is, it means that the leaders are doing things out of line. We need leaders who display high degree of transparency in carrying out duty on behalf of the generality of the Zimbabwean citizenry as was the gospel which was preached by fighters of the Chimurenga struggle.
Lest we forget; Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Samora Machel, Kenneth Kaunda and many others who risked their economies and lives of their citizens to liberate Zimbabwe. We must honour them by committing to what they stood for.
Mwalimu Ngwindingwindi is an independent current affairs news analyst. He writes to the Sunday Express and DSE News Network in his own personal capacity. The views expressed are his, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of the Sunday Express.
