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(NEWZIMBABWE) Zim history dying with its heroes: Mujuru
Hero’s send-off … Pall bearers with Harold Chirenda’s casket at the Heroes Acre Thursday
09/01/2014 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter I Agencies

ACTING President Joice Mujuru has said Zimbabwe's history is dying with its heroes as it remains largely untold from a local perspective.

Mujuru, who was addressing mourners at the burial ceremony of national hero Lt Col Harold Chirenda on Thursday, said it was important that the country's history was written for posterity.

"The majority of books on Zimbabwe's history have been written from a biased White perspective. We have not written our story, we are great but mute heroes," she said.

"While they tell us that history belongs to victors, our own situation cedes victory to those who lost the war. Our history has no tellers and we need to change history by rewriting it."
Chirenda died on New Year's Day after a short illness.

He was in the Zipra High Command together with the late General Lookout Masuku and Retired Brigadier General Ambrose Mutinhiri who attended the burial.

Mujuru described Chirenda, who trained her late husband and Zimbabwe's first post-independence army commander Solomon Mujuru, as "our great commander" and an "outstanding freedom fighter".
The event was however poorly attended with a number of Chirenda’s liberation colleagues conspicuous by their absence.

ZAPU leader Dumiso Dabengwa who worked with closely with Chirenda during the liberation struggle did not attend the burial along with Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo.

Dabengwa told NewsDay after the burial that he failed to turn up because he was attending another funeral in Bulawayo.
“I had to attend another funeral today (yesterday) of Ben Dlamini who was also an active member,” said Dabengwa.

“We worked together for a very long time (with Chirenda) and I attended the funeral parade this side in Bulawayo. It’s just that Dlamini’s body arrived on Wednesday and the funeral was today, so I could not leave the funeral also this side.”

Meanwhile, Mujuru urged the government to take another look at its ZimAsset economic blueprint to address areas of interest to the youth.

“Recently I met with a team of youngsters, they said: ‘Cde Vice President, you gave us ZimAsset and we are happy, it covers good ground. But have you noticed that it leaves out two key areas which speak to the youth directly?”’ she revealed.

“Defensively I retorted, ‘which two areas? ZimAsset has gone through various stages of the party and government, it was debated thoroughly, now you tell me it is inadequate?”

The youths however, told her that the programme was silent on information technology and the financial services sector.
“I stood back pensive” Mujuru said.

Chirenda is one of thousands of fighters who joined the liberation struggle at a tender age and rose through the ranks after receiving military training in Algeria between 1964 and 1965.

He rubbed shoulders with some of the country's revered fighters such as Albert Nxele, Nikita Mangena and Lookout Masuku.

Labels: JOICE MUJURU, LIBERATION

posted by MrK @ 4:06 PM