Gvt to honour 1893 war hero Gen Mtshane Khumalo David Mwanza In a rare show of statesmanship in post independent Zimbabwe, the New Dispensation under the astute leadership of ZANU PF First Secretary, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, is set to honour General Mtshane Khumalo who defeated the Allan Wilson Patrol at the Battle of Pupu in 1893, as the first echoes of colonial resistance were shot. Gen Khumalo was the commander of King Lobengula’s Imbizo Regiment that put up a strong fight against the better equipped white settlers. President Mnangagwa said Gen Khumalo would be honoured in a similar way as that of the legendary Mbuya Nehanda whose statue is being erected in Harare. President Mnangagwa’s move could be read in the spirit of the New Dispensation to reincarnate the spirit and value of unity and harmony in the country in the quest for national development. In his national Heroes Day national address this morning from State House in Harare, President Mnangagwa said, “the statue of Mbuya Nehanda in Harare, our Capital City, will immortalise the supreme sacrifice that that was paid “Other heroes and heroines from the early wars of resilience will also be honoured in a similar manner. Among them, General Mtshane Khumalo, who commanded the Imbizo Regiment, under King Lobengula, that defeated the Allan Wilson Patrol at the Battle of Pupu on 10 December, 1893.” Several other luminaries from both the First and Second Chimurenga are also set to be honoured in a similar fashion. “Other distinguished heroes and heroines of the First Chimurenga/Umvukela such as Sekuru Kaguvi, Chaminuka, Queen Lozikheyi Khumalo, Chinengundu, Mashayamombe, Mgandani Dlodlo, Chiwashira, Chingaira Makoni and Mapondera among others, will be accorded appropriate recognition. “From the Second Chimurenga/Umvukela, the late General Josiah Magama Tongogara, Gen Alfred Nikitha Mangena, Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Cde Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and Cde Simon Vengai Muzenda among others, will also be honoured,” President Mnangagwa said. President Mnangagwa further said that the New Dispensation would expedite the documentation of the story of the Liberation Struggle. “We must as a people appropriate our liberation war heritage and shape narratives “The programme of renaming roads, and buildings and prominent public infrastructure with names reflective of the country’s history is ongoing and a key feature of our Liberation War Heritage,” President Mnangagwa said. President Mnangagwa further revealed that the list of the country’s monuments would be reviewed. “The list of our monuments is being reviewed to include the liberation war shrines such as the 1893 Pupu Shrine, the 1966 Chinhoyi battle site and the Kamugoma massacre of site of 1978, in Masvingo. “Other sites such as the National and Provincial Heroes Acres, Assembly Points as well as former detention and restrictions centres have also been made national monuments. Meanwhile, liberation war shrines in neighbouring Mozambique and Zambia will continue to be rehabilitated,” said the President. President Mnangagwa also said Zimbabwe was honoured to host the Museum of the African Liberation History. “At the continental level, Zimbabwe is honoured to be the host of the Museum of the African Liberation History, which catalogues African history and resistance to colonial oppression from the 1890s until the attainment of political independence,” said President Mnangagwa.