The Zipra veterans Trust has expressed outrage over what it described as an “illegal” visit to the former liberation army’s Nampundu and Freedom camps in Zambia by over 500 ex- Zanla combatants.
The former fighters took soil from the former camps, which they used in controversial rituals at Matopos Hills last Thursday.
Last week, the ex-Zanla combatants, who were told not to visit the Matopos rain making shrines unless with the consent of local traditional leaders, went to the former Zipra camps in Zambia — where the Rhodesian army bombed and killed Zipra members during the liberation struggle — to collect soil to use in the rituals.
The ex-combatants, led by Noworeka Tensi and accompanied by chiefs from Mashonaland, namely chiefs Marange, Chivero, Zimunya, Mugabe, Makoni, Makumbe, Nematombo, Chundu and Goronga, descended on Matopos Hills in 14 kombis, three smaller vehicles and three buses.
They conducted rituals under the protection of the police who prevented local chiefs and cultural leaders from accessing the site until the ceremony was over.
In an interview yesterday, Zipra Veterans Trust Chairman Buster Magwizi said the act by the ex Zanla combatants was “structural violence supported by the powers-that-be to disorganise Matabeleland”.
He said the group of former freedom fighters who “invaded” the Matopos last week did not belong to his organisation and had no right to go and extract soil from the graves of Zipra members without approval from the trust.
“They clearly violated Zipra’s property and intellectual rights. We are very angry over that behaviour,” fumed Magwizi. “What problem do they have that makes them cross borders?
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“They recently went to Mozambique and now to Zambia. Why do they enter into our important historical areas without our approval?”
He said what made the situation worse was that the defiant war veterans did not seek the consent of the families of the late freedom fighters to extract soil from their graves.
Magwizi said it was illegal and taboo for the war veterans to hold ceremonies for the late comrades without consulting their families and the liberation movement they were fighting under.
“These people are not alone. They are funded by top politicians who are against anything in Matabeleland,” he said.
“They are committing cultural disorder here. We wonder if this action is part of the grand plan, which was intended for the region since independence.” Magwizi castigated the war veterans for showing disrespect to local chiefs.
“This action is tantamount to war and it is sad that leaders allow the undermining of this region by other regions which may automatically brew a civil war,” he said.
“These people must be investigated and arrested because they are violating our cultural rights and chiefs here must make noise about this in Parliament.”
The Deputy President of the Chiefs’ Council — who hails from Matabeleland North — Chief Mtshane Khumalo last week said the Chiefs’ Council was not informed about the rituals prior to the activities.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association leader Jabulani Sibanda recently distanced his association from the rituals describing the group as renegades.
