By Wallace Mawire
The Institute of African Knowledge (INSTAK) is commemorating Black History Month 2026 with a landmark exhibition and the official launch of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Museum in Harare.
According to INSTAK, the 100th anniversary of Black History Month is being celebrated globally under the theme, “A Century of Black History Commemorations.” The Zimbabwe-based Pan-African think tank has organized a series of high-profile events designed to foreground Africans and people of African descent as primary authors and shapers of world civilization.
The highlight of the commemorations will be the official opening of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Museum on Saturday, 21 February 2026, at RGM House in Highfields — the former private residence of Zimbabwe’s late founding President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
INSTAK emphasized that beyond memorialization, RGM House is envisioned as a strategic cultural asset aimed at promoting township and domestic tourism in Highfields, one of Harare’s most historically significant suburbs. The museum is expected to become a major heritage site, preserving Mugabe’s legacy while contributing to cultural education and economic activity.
The Black History Month activities align with INSTAK’s broader mandate to document, preserve, and promote African history, heritage, and indigenous knowledge systems. The Institute’s flagship intellectual and archival initiatives include the Book of African Records, the Africa Factbook, and the Chimurenga/Umvukela Encyclopedia — projects designed to reclaim African narratives from distortion, erasure, and marginalization.
Earlier this month, INSTAK launched a major historical exhibition titled “10,000 Years of Civilization, Technology and Ubuntu” on 2 February 2026 at the Heritage Village, Liberation City in Harare. The exhibition presented a curated visual journey celebrating the contributions of Africans and Afro-descended peoples to science, architecture, technology, mathematics, governance, and other pillars of global civilization.
The exhibition attracted senior government officials, diplomats, academics, cultural leaders, and other eminent guests, underscoring its national and international significance, according to INSTAK.
With the opening of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Museum, Zimbabwe adds a significant heritage institution to its cultural landscape, reinforcing ongoing efforts to preserve liberation history and reposition African knowledge systems at the center of global discourse.
