Zim concedes Parirenyatwa's plea for veterans decent burials

The government (through Parliament) is progressively conceding to pressure from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), after its membership successfully petitioned authorities to prioritise exhumation and decent reburials of liberation struggle heroes and heroines.

In a petition signed and submitted to Parliament by Comrade Sam Parirenyatwa who is the Mashonaland Central provincial chairman for ZNLWVA, surviving liberation war stalwarts bemoaned government negligence of fallen heroes and heroines' remains.

"Section 23 of our constitution on the veterans of the liberation struggle and section 84 of our constitution on the rights of veterans of liberation struggle are silent on the fate of those who perished fighting for the independence and freedoms which Zimbabwe enjoys today and their families," Parirenyatwa said.

"We are aggrieved that men and women who perished during the war of liberation are still buried in shallow graves and squalid shrines within and outside Zimbabwe, which is a characteristic of massive neglect by the people enjoying the independence and freedom they perished for," Parirenyatwa added.

"We are concerned that the remains of our national heroes of the First Chimurenga/Umvukela are still stashed in British museums 44 years after independence and there be no notable progress on their repatriation," Parirenyatwa said.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Kazembe Kazembe has announced during the inauguration of National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe's board of trustees that the Ministry expects urgent attention on the maintenance of shrines.

"My Ministry also expects urgent attention on the maintenance of our shrines both within and outside our borders in tandem with our client's expectations. It is therefore the board's responsibility to ensure that both the shrines and narratives are preserved for posterity," Kazembe said.

"I also want to add that the issue of the human remains of the heroes of the first Chimurenga being kept in the Natural History Museum in Britain is brought to its logical conclusion to give closure to the families and the nation at large. I am happy that this issue is also part of your strategic management plan," Kazembe Kazembe added.

"We need to expedite the National Heroes Acre extension because we are fast running out of slots at the National Shrine. I also expect the Board to work on Altena Farm Monument which is one of the significant liberation sites of the early stages of the Second Chimurenga," Kazembe Kazembe disclosed.

Minister Kazembe also claimed he is reliably informed that they recently concluded the formulation of the draft Policy on the Management of Post Conflict Mass Graves and Human Remains.

He also added that over and above the policy, he expects the Board to present the principles of the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe Act Review early in 2025.

"The amended Act will be instrumental in the transformation of heritage management to fully accommodate the entity's evolving and expanded mandate, which, over the years, has excessively outgrown its legal space. I also want to emphasize the critical role of community engagement in our work," Kazembe Kazembe said.