Smiles as Magamba Heroes’ Acre gets facelift
” These few lines were plucked off the late national hero, Dr Oliver Mtukudzi’s timeless classic song — Zimbabwe —a stark reminder of the sad and painful chapter of the protracted liberation struggle which dislodged the settler regime of the late Ian Douglas Smith, leading to the independence of Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980.
The song reminds the nation on the need to remember the sacrifice made by the gallant sons and daughters of the soil who died during the war and their remains were interred in shallow graves scattered in the country and neighbouring sister republics of Mozambique and Zambia.
There are still some gallant fighters who perished fighting the revered independence of our country whose remains are still lying in unmarked graves. Some are lying in mass graves after being callously murdered by the brutal Rhodesian regime.
The late Ian Douglas Smith regime employed heinous and cowardice methods of butchering freedom fighters in desperate and futile bid to suppress the majority rule.
The mass murder of combatants and civilians, including defenceless women and children, did not deter the liberation fighters from waging the war to liberate the country.
The Rhodesian regime established numerous torture and execution chambers across the country, especially in border lying areas such as the Castle Kopje which now hosts Magamba Heroes’ Acre in Rusape and Matumba Six Shrine in Mutasa.
The Castle Kopje was infamously christened ‘The Butcher’ — and it was here where innocent people were murdered like animals for the simple reason of demanding the independence of their motherland.
The Butcher site is a representation of the numerous mass grave sites used by the Rhodesian Forces that were discovered after the liberation war in 1980.
It memorialises more than one hundred people that were killed by the regime in battle with liberation fighters, indiscriminate shootings of civilians and war collaborators and summary executions of prisoners of war between 1976 and 1979.
A martial court was set up there, not to try, but to convict any black person who would have been brought there.
And the only sentence was death! And for some women, it was rape and then murder!
There was a 300m rifle range used for shooting practice by the Rhodesian forces. It was a typical outdoor gallery range consisting of a backstop, a target markers gallery and an active range area. The backstop or stop butt consisted of a raised mound of earth behind the targets gallery. The range did not have a safety area behind the backstop, but was built with the direction of fire aligned to the imposing Castle Kopje.
This topographic feature was capable of capturing overshoots and ricochets generated on the range during the course of the normal
use. The kopje is full of bullet war heads and also has significant ricochet marks.
It is alleged that once sentenced to death, people would be taken to the target markers gallery and suspended on the target raisers before being shot.
It is believed that instead of raising dummy targets, it became a practice by the Rhodesian forces to raise human targets for shooting practices at the rifle range. Others would also be given false pardon and then asked to run for freedom on the side berms, only to be shot at as mobile targets.
The victims’ remains were dumped in shallow mass graves.
The white executor of such atrocities had the audacity of inscribing their names on plaques that were rubbed off during the ceasefire of 1979.
Since the attainment of independence, several initiatives were, and are still being made to honour the sacrifices made by the victims whose remains were interred at The Butcher site in the Magamba area of Rusape.
The area was turned into Makoni District Heroes’ Acre in 1996.
The initiative was spearheaded by war veterans.
In 2013, a process to exhume the remains from the mass graves was initiated by the Fallen Heroes Trust of Zimbabwe (FHTZ) in conjunction with the Department of Museums and National Monuments.
The mass graves at The Butcher site back dates to the 1970s based on oral testimonies
and coins found on some of the bodies.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga last Friday lit the Independence Day flame at Magamba District Heroes’ Acre (The Butcher) in Rusape.
The flame left Rusape for Nyanga, Mutasa (Matumba Six Shrine), Mutare Provincial Heroes’ Acre, Chimanimani, Chipinge and will be in the host district of Buhera today (Thursday).
Four people who gave testimonies narrated being arrested and detained in Rusape by the
Rhodesian forces for varying periods ranging from 1977 to 1979. The coins recovered in some of the mass graves dated back from 1964 to 1976 and 1976 as the terminus post quem for the burials.
The reburial of the remains was held on October 23, 2013.
About 109 bodies were exhumed and
accorded decent burials. A new cemetery was created opposite the then existing Makoni District Heroes’ Acre graves.
During the exhumation exercise, the team of archaeologists came across a number of material of culture that included black power bangles, medicine bottles, Rhodesian coins, cigarette stubs, supper pro tennis shoes, munitions, military uniforms, and undergarments.
The material remains collected from the exhumations enabled the reconstruction of the events and identification of the victims.
Before the exhumations, the site resembled a thicket with mass graves.
Its rich history risked being forgotten. The Government’s intervention to rehabilitate the sit and build proper individual graves gave the shrine a befitting facelift.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza last week toured the shrine to witness the massive work being undertaken to spruce it up.
Works completed include erecting a 1,7km perimeter fence, drilling a solarised borehole, installation of concrete slabs on all graves and the setting up of a story body, among others.
Minister Mugadza said it is Government’s commitment and desire to accord its fallen heroes decent burials in honour of the sacrifices they made while fighting for the independence we enjoy today.
“I am impressed by the work being undertaken here. The area has been spruced up and transformed into a proper shrine for our heroes and heroines. We appreciate the work being done by the Department of Museums and National Monuments and all supporting stakeholders.
“It is Government’s endeavour to make sure that all those who lost their lives during the liberation war are never forgotten and must be decently buried. The Butcher site is, not only important to Manicaland, but the whole country because it is one of the sites where cruelty and brutality were perpetrated out by colonialists,” he said.
Acting National Museums and Monuments deputy executive director, Dr Paul Mupira was supervising the rehabilitation work at the shrine.
Dr Mupira said work was progressed on well and the area has now been spruced up to give comrades lying there a decent place to rest.
“Rehabilitation work is progressing very well. We undertook some capital projects like the installation of concrete slabs on the graves of the fallen comrades.
“We are also setting up an ablution block at the site for the people to use when visiting the shrine. Zimbabwe Nation Water Authority (ZINWA) has drilled a borehole, while the tomb of the Unknown Solider at the main entrance of the shrine will be engraved in granite stone.
“We have set up a story body, which have all the information about this place. It has interpretive panels so that people will have an appreciation on this site.
“A 1,7km security fence has been erected around Makoni District Heroes’ Acre, and the platform where the independence flame was lit. It resembles the Great Zimbabwe Conical Tower in shape,” said Dr Mupira.
War veteran and ZANU PF Central Committee member, Cde Shadreck Tongesai Chipanga said war veterans are relieved following the massive sprucing of the shrine.
He has been vocal about the poor state of the graves and general lack of maintenance of the shrine.
“We have been calling for the rehabilitation of this shrine, and finally Government has heeded our call and come on board. It was not proper to see graves of fellow comrades who fought for the liberation of this country lying in such a bad state. Graves were covered by grass.
“As surviving war veterans, we appreciate Government’s intervention. Our fallen colleagues have been remembered. The heroes and heroines lying here should never been forgotten,” said Cde Chipanga.