The ManicaPost
Cletus Mushanawani
News Editor
MANICALAND will host this year’s national Independence Day celebrations as the Second Republic continues decentralising national events to all parts of the country.
ln the past, national events were held in Harare, but the coming in of the Second Republic, led by President Mnangagwa, has seen the decentralisation of most events in line with leaving no one and no place behind.
Last year’s national Independence Day celebrations were held in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central.
Hosting this year’s Uhuru celebrations in Manicaland is a befitting honour to the gallant sons and daughters of the province and the country at large who took up arms against the oppressive regime as some of the worst atrocities by the brutal Rhodesian Forces were experienced at the Butcher in Rusape, Matumba Six near Old Mutare Mission and Ruda in Honde Valley.
In an interview with The Manica Post last week, an elated Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza said the province is honoured to play host to this year’s Independence Day celebrations.
“We are indeed honoured to host this year’s Independence Day celebrations. This is an opportunity for the province to showcase its organisational prowess. We want to thank President Mnangagwa and the national leadership for according us this opportunity to honour our gallant sons, both living and fallen, who took up arms to fight the colonial regime. Manicaland contributed a lot to the liberation struggle and suffered the most brunt,” he said.
The Manica Post understands that the province has identified Mutare Polytechnic Pavilion Ground as the venue for the celebrations.
“A number of venues had been shortlisted for the event, but we unanimously agreed to have the Pavilion Ground as the venue. The place is central and easily accessible from all corners of the city. The venue is also spacious and can accommodate thousands of people.
“We want to develop a state-of-the-art venue there, with one of the best turfs. This will be used to host many national future events. The venue will also help in beautifying our city. We want to have a lasting impression by hosting the mother of all celebrations at the heart of Mutare’s city centre,” said Minister Mugadza.
He said various organising committees are already in place to make the event a great success.
“We have already put in place various committees working towards the successful hosting of the Independence Day celebrations. The committees will be working closely with the national organising committee. We want to ensure unity of purpose in executing this important national assignment. As a province, we are more than ready to welcome all Zimbabweans to the grand celebrations,” said Minister Mugadza.
Besides the Pavilion Ground, the province is also sprucing up Matumba Six Shrine near Old Mutare Mission where more than 400 exhumed fallen heroes were reburied.
The remains were exhumed from a mineshaft at Ardwell Mine in Chiware, Rusape. Reburials of fallen heroes at Matumba Six have been going on since 2014, and calls are getting louder for the shrine to be accorded national status.
The Rhodesians horrendously disposed the remains of those they killed or executed during the war in the mineshafts. Some of the remains were immersed in sulphuric acid before being dumped in the mineshafts.
The bodies were dumped with wrecks of vehicles and remains of horses that would have been destroyed or killed during combat with the freedom fighters.
Said Minister Mugadza: “We are also working on refurbishing Matumba Six Shrine. This is an important part of our history, which we should not ignore. Plans are afoot to have President Mnangagwa visit the shrines as part of the Independence Day celebrations. We have many fallen heroes reburied there and we are working tirelessly to ensure that the place is accorded national status,” he said.
Due to its proximity to Mozambique where Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU)’s military wing, Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), had its rear bases, Manicaland suffered most of the brunt of the liberation struggle.
Manicaland was the proverbial ‘‘water’’ which sheltered the ‘‘fish’’ (liberation war fighters) as they wedged the protracted liberation struggle which culminated in the country’s independence on April 18, 1980.
