Mozambique: South Korea provides €881,000 for humanitarian aid in Cabo Delgado
Trust seeks more funds for reburial of Zimbabwe freedom fighters; “thousands of remains in Tete, Mozambique”
7:17 CAT | 04 May 2021
File photo: The Herald Zimbabwe
A call for the provision of more funds for the reburial of thousands of freedom fighters that lie in unmarked or mass graves across the country has been made by The Fallen Heroes Trust.
Chief exhumer Cde Anyway Chinyani, made the call last week after the exhumation of four skeletal remains of freedom fighters that were buried in a shallow grave at Srubbs Farm, Chauraya Village in Bindura.
“We have several places in this country where freedom fighters are lying in unmarked or mass graves,” said Cde Chinyani. “We have more than 20 mass graves in the country, including in Shamva town, Madziwa Shopping Centre and Mukumbura.
“We are appealing for resources to carry out this task. We promised each other during the liberation struggle that we will come back for each other. Sometimes we use our own resources to carry out this task.”
The four skeletal remains of the freedom fighters, which were exhumed last week, will be kept at Bindura Provincial Hospital mortuary pending reburial.
Burial processes for four other remains exhumed approximately nine years ago in Madziwa are also being paced up.
The remains have been at Madziwa Police Station for almost a decade due to lack of funds for proper burial.
“We have identified fragments of shoes among the remains, an indication that these people were thrown in one grave while wearing their shoes,” said Cde Chinyani. “We are satisfied that they are freedom fighters.
“In 2011, we came in this village to exhume remains of a freedom fighter who hailed from Buhera. In January this year, we were advised that human bones were uncovered during land preparations at this farm.
“We visited this place with Chief Musana. We covered the exposed bones and marked the place for exhumation after the rainy season. The remains will be kept at Bindura Hospital as we speed up burial processes for another four remains which have been kept at Madziwa Police Station for the past nine years.”
Mr Chinyani said they exhumed eight remains in Madziwa from a 15-metre-deep shaft at the police camp and the other four were claimed by their relatives.
The four will be buried at Tsito Heroes’ Acre.
There are thousands of remains in Tete, Mozambique, which have to be repatriated and given proper burial, said Cde Chinyani.
Tembwa Nyarumwa, eldest son to Chief Musana, said they were advised of the remains in December last year and consulted a spirit medium, Dehwa Bvumavaranda, who revealed that they were freedom fighters.
“Mysteriously, no rainfall reached this area and when the remains were uncovered, it rained for the first time,” he said. “After exhumation, a traditional ceremony is held thanking the ancestral spirit for revealing the remains.
“The spirit medium indicated several mass graves in Musana, including the one in the Guva area and all those freedom fighters deserve proper burial. The remains will be identified through spirit mediums.”
Owner of the farm, Mr Wisdom Chauraya, said he partnered with Mr Shaun Bennett and embarked on land preparations for the winter wheat crop.
“The area was virgin land,” he said. “We wanted to expand our field to 220 hectares for winter wheat crop under Command Agriculture and set up two centre pivots. Mr Bennet brought a JCB to clear the land and after bringing down a tree, the bones were exposed.”
By Fungai Lupande
Source: The Herald Zimbabwe
Show comments
Also read
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.