HUMAN rights activists and academics have described the late Colonel (Rtd) Patron Khutshwekhaya Nketa Ndlovu as a fearless cadre who stood his ground in defending the memorialisation of history.
Ndlovu, a Zipra war veteran, died at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo on May 1, aged 75, after a short illness. He was buried at Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo.
Ibhetshu LikaZulu conducted a memorial for Ndlovu, who was its board member, on Monday to remember his good works.
The memorial, which coincided with the Africa Day celebrations, was dubbed Africa Day Memorial Lecture — The Price of Unity.
Human rights defender and researcher Samulele Hadebe, who delivered a lecture on Nketa, said the late war veteran belonged to a rare breed of the few who dared to openly work for justice, truth-telling and human dignity.
“Ibhetshu LikaZulu has distinguished itself with memorialisation work. Part of memorialisation may involve setting physical structures as heritage sites,” Hadebe said.
"Ibhetshu LikaZulu has done exceedingly well, but all its memorial plaques have been short-lived, vandalised, desecrated and even bombed to smithereens.’’
He described Ndlovu as someone who was instrumental in memorialisation work.
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“I am humbled to speak on this important occasion celebrating the life of a foremost freedom fighter, a distinguished commander and a very brave and forthright leader, celebrating a proud legacy of Nketha,’’ he said.
Hadebe said many would agree that history was the property of the winners, revealing that those who are powerless have to fight hard for the right to remember.
“The powerful decide what must be remembered and what must be erased. Those pushing counter memory like Ibhetshu LikaZulu must be prepared to wage a total struggle and even a deadly one. Ibhetshu LikaZulu has distinguished itself with memorialisation work,” Hadebe said.
“Yes, we are still mourning his untimely departure, but we celebrate the legacy he bequeathed Zimbabwe. It is not an exaggeration that while we still have tens of thousands of former guerrillas among us, Nketa belonged to a rare breed of the very few who dared to associate with Ibhetshu LikaZulu and openly work for justice, truth-telling, human dignity and memorialising victims of both the anti-colonial struggle and the post-independence genocide,” he said.
“Only Ibhetshu LikaZulu holds memorial lectures for Mgagao massacre victims.”
