Manicaland Steps Up Efforts to Preserve Liberation War Heritage Sites

Local organizations in Manicaland province have launched a program to restore and document key liberation war shrines, starting with the Matumba 6 site. The initiative aims to honor fallen fighters and ensure the history of the struggle for independence is preserved for future generations.

The Manicaland chapter of the Children of Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association (CZLWVA), working with the Fallen Heroes Trust, has begun restoring and documenting liberation war sites as part of broader national efforts to safeguard the country’s liberation heritage. The initiative aligns with a Government-led program to rehabilitate and memorialize liberation war shrines within Zimbabwe and across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Chairperson of CZLWVA Manicaland Province, Cde Willis Nyamande, said the program also involves cleaning, restoring, and upgrading the shrines to preserve their historical significance. "We have joined hands today with war veterans in cleaning and sprucing up this site. We are grateful to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for rolling out this program, which has seen the national leadership visiting Zimbabwe’s liberation war shrines across the SADC region," Cde Nyamande stated .

Chairperson of the Fallen Heroes Trust Manicaland Province, Cde Gift Kagweda, said the program was also playing a key role in promoting unity and intergenerational transfer of history. "Through President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s guidance, we are seeing the youths coming together as one, implementing such a noble cause," Cde Kagweda added .

The Matumba 6 shrine, located near Old Mutare, is among Manicaland’s most prominent liberation war sites and is the final resting place of hundreds of fighters who died during the struggle for independence. In recent years, the site has hosted major reburial ceremonies following the exhumation of remains from surrounding areas .