By Wallace Mawire
A South African delegation led by Cde Fikile Mbalula, the African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General on Tuesday,5 September,2023 made a familiarisation visit to the Museum of African Liberation now known as the Liberation City as the ZANU (PF) led Zimbabwean government cements its longstanding ties with the South African government dating back to the two countries’ protracted liberation struggles.
According to Joseph Nkani,Museum of African Liberation, Marketing and Public Relations Manager who briefed the SA delagation on all the locations of the museum, the visiting delegation from the neighbouring Southern African country comprised of Cde Fikile Mbalula,the ANC Secretary General,Cde Nomvula Mokonyane,ANC Deputy Secretary General including Cdes Nandipha Zonela and Andisiwe Boya.The ANC delegation also represented the South African government led by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the inauguration ceremony of Zimbabwe’s President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare on Monday 4 September,2023.
Nkani told the delegation that the project highlights the representation of the risk faced if liberation movements do not digitise their content which is mostly in paper form and also most of it can now be hardly read.
“We are putting the content in digital form to give it an extension of life through digitisation.We are always scanning and reproducing our content which is in paper form and representing it in digital form,” Nkani said.
The delegation was also briefed on some of the collections preserved at the museum.Some of artefacts belong to the the late liberation hero Herbert Chitepo.These include a trunk he used in prison to keep his personal belongings,a radio he used to listen to current affairs whilst in prison and a camera he used to take pictures and document the story of the liberation.
Nkani also said that the museum received some artefacts from the family of the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo for example his popular shirt known during that time as the freedom shirts which were similar to the ones worn by former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Other artefacts were received from the family of the late Vice President Simon Muzenda,also preserved at the liberation museum.
During the tour briefing, Nkani told the delegation that the initiative at the museum seeks to extract certain themes from the liberation war based on what they have gathered from the recordings.
Examples include the desire to unpack the role of spiritualism during the war, the recruitment and training processes and the demobilisation methodologies including the role of the women in the armed struggle.He also added that tey aim to harvest stories and experiences during the liberation struggle.
Ambassador Kwame Muzavazi,CEO of the Museum of African Liberation told the delegation that they are constructing a mega building almost proportional to the National Sports Stadium in terms of magnitude on a hill of at least 30 metres height.
He added that a group of three architects each one from South Africa,Zambia and Zimbabwe are engaged in the project providing testimony of regional collaboration.
Fikile Mbalula reprenting the South African delegation said at the tour that they have seen the collection of data and information at the museum under invitation of other African countries’ liberarion movements.
Mbalula also said that the delegation was invited Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa to participate in the project.
“This is a very innovative and important project which does not only preserve, but educates generations to come and is also important for our cause.We hope to participate as the ANC and assess the contributions we are to make,”Mbalula said.
According to Ambassador Muzavazi, the Museum of African Liberation represents one of the greatest opportunities for the African continent to exoand the boundaries and benefits of educational and cultural diplomacy.
He said that the museum is aprt of Liberation City,a large scale development in Harare,Zimbabwe by the Institute of African Knowledge (INSTAK).He said that Liberation City encompasses the Museum of African Liberation,Heritage Village,Liberation Mall,a five-star hotel,a theme park,presidentail villas and scenic walkaways,among other amenities.
Ambassador Muzavazi said that though the museum is physically located in Zimbabwe,it houses material from all African countries that waged armed struggles to liberate themselves without forgetting the nations that lent material,technical,diplomatic and moral support to the continental liberation agenda.
INSTAK also says that at the Liberation City,55 flags of every country on the African continent are flown, in addition to the national colours of China,Cuba,Russia and Switzerland.
