By Margaret Kamba
The story of Cde Leonard Boniface Mandeya is just one of those being experienced by many others who have been exhumed or are yet to be exhumed if we don't take a deliberate move to fund the reburials of the gallant sons and daughters who fought for Zimbabwe's freedom from colonial rule.
Narrating the story of how much must be paid by the family and the cumbersome paper trail that must be acquired before a comrade must be reburied, can not only make you angry but also question why the sacrifice was made then.
The letters the relative must have in hand, include one from the family to confirm if their child indeed went to war, a letter from the Chief, the Province, the Councilor, Member of Parliament, and hospital, amongst others. These are all aimed at ensuring that indeed someone went to war. Indeed, they are deceased. Indeed, they did not come back. Perhaps this is to ward off any kind of corruption associated with making financial claims when no work was done.
Apart from this paper trail, the family must bring cows to the message bearer who in Shona is termed "aboterwa". The family must also provide fuel for the transportation of people doing the exhumations and the Army officials who must perform the 21 gun salute during the reburial of the gallant son or daughter. All these people must be fed also, a cost which is shouldered by the family.
What makes me mad with all this process is that none of these letters that we ask for today were asked for when the boys and girls were drawn by the Spirit of Ambuya Nehanda to go and fight for Zimbabwe.
None of these letters were asked for when Zimbabwe's gallant sons and daughters were maimed and killed during the liberation struggle.
While they managed to fill in the 3 checkups, which fortunately today are being used to confirm their participation in the war, why were we not as cumbersome then as we are being now?
Why are we burdening the families of the boys and girls who fought for the freedom that we enjoy today? Why are we continuously putting tears on the cheeks of the families of the men and women who were tormented when their children took to this war?
What happens to the families of those who do not even have one child who came back and can not afford the cost that comes with the reburial?
Who did these boys and girls fight for exactly? Was it the freedom of their own families or that of the entire nation? Will this scenario not give those who never went to war a reason to justify their lack of participation in that war of freedom?
ZANU PF First Secretary and President, His Excellency, Cde E.D Mnangagwa during the First National Assembly of the War Veterans League at the Party headquarters recently urged the Ministry of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs to "intensify the ongoing programme for the identification, exhumation and decent reburials of our veterans of the liberation struggle within and outside our borders. Affected families must find closure."
We are 44 years into our independence, and those who still lie unburied in ditches, galleys, mass graves, shallow graves, and many other places seek to come back home just to be with their families.
Many exhumations are going on and what is interesting is that in a case where two or three comrades lie in the same place, one comrade whose relatives have not come to fetch him, literally uses those whose relatives have come to communicate with his own family so he too can be brought home. This is the case of Cde Leonard Boniface Mandeya who communicated through the family in Mashonaland Central to tell his relatives in Chimanimani that he wants to come home.
Girls in some families are failing to stay within marriages until their relatives who fought for the struggle are reburied. I know of one called Livombo who recently came to get her father's Declaration Letter.
She says her late father has literally guided every step of the way, seeking his reburial. He will simply get into offices ahead of her and allow his paperwork to be signed.
This has been the case of the men and women who have been reburied. They know which offices to lead their children or relatives to. They call these office bearers by name, such as Cde Dhliwayo and Cde Tracy, among others.
The relatives among them children, wives, and siblings who have followed all the steps have been successful in this quest to rebury their loved ones who are also Zimbabwe's gallant sons and daughters.
We will soon be celebrating this year’s Heroes and Defence Forces Days. Let us be mindful of the men and women who died for Zimbabwe. If you are an office bearer required to type a letter, sign a letter or other, think deeply about the role you are playing in bringing that particular comrade home. Do not think that because you are sitting in that office, you are indispensable. Another will come who will make that job easier until all the comrades are brought back home. Do not be a stumbling block to one family's closure because a name has been misspelled or typed because the same comrades whom you are denying that right to come back home will take you out of that office and in a not so kind a gesture. Zimbabwe came through the blood and sacrifice of many comrades and we must accord them that respect.
Those who have ears have heard.