By Harare Princess Royal, Princess Gina Eugene Majuru | The 18th of April 1980 is a historic day for the southern African nation Zimbabwe. The day independence was attained from the British Colonialists who invaded every corner of Zimbabwe on a mission to massacre, murder, loot and cause mass destruction and then take over the land making black people their slaves.

Zimbabwe independance at 41, how much celebration can be done when the country is not fully independent? We are very grateful to our Ancestors who fought hard for the land and died in the process while defending the country. Special mention goes to the First Chimurenga war heroes who were murdered, beheaded and their heads taken all the way to England as war trophies. The remains were stolen from Zimbabwe denying descendants the right to bury their ancestors. A supposedly Independent Zimbabwe has not managed 41 years later to retrieve the stolen heads and numerous artifacts which are being kept in the natural history museum in London.

As surviving descendents its our duty to fight for our Ancestors remains to go back to Zimbabwe and be given dignified burial so they can rest in peace. Today April 17 we witnessed the burial of Prince Phillip at Windsor castle in London. The British fully understand the importance of burial their royals but don’t consider Zimbabwe’s royals as important and deserving dignified burial. Being a Journalist and also a Zimbabwean royal one of my friends asked me today why I didn’t travel to London to cover the burial of Prince Phillip. My simple answer was: ” How can I attend or cover that funeral yet my Ancestors remains are still in the hands of the British lying in some lying I some museum where they are not being treated with respect. These remains are stolen property and the British feel its okay to keep them for this long. Our Ancestors were killed as far back as 1896-7 but they want to continue holding onto them. If I had attended or covered Prince Phillips funeral that would be an insult to my Ancestors and everyone who died fighting in the Chimurenga wars. Of course due to covid -19 restrictions attendance was for a chosen few. Imagine what would have happened if some Zimbabwean soldiers had beheaded Prince Phillip , stolen the head and taken to a Zimbabwean museum, all British would have travelled to Zimbabwe to retrieve it. I hope this example is good enough to explain the seriousness of the theft of our Zimbabwean royals heads.

Zimbabwe’s Independence cannot be fully celebrated as long as the remains of our Ancestors are still in a museum in England. According to what we know their souls are not resting in peace, they are still fighting, the fight has gone on for too long.

At this point I would like to strongly urge the Zimbabwean government to step up efforts to repatriate the remains. Zimbabweans needs to fight harder with the same spirit our Ancestors had when fighting for what was theirs. Zimbabwe’s repatriation process is almost complete with just one visit from Zimbabwean delegation outstanding to complete the process. We look forward to seeing the delegation headed by Dr Godfrey Mahachi arrive in London and complete the last stage leading to DNA scientific and cultural identification of the remains. Zimbabweans across the World eagerly await the repatriation of the remains especially at a time when erection of the Mbuya Nehanda statue is expected to be unveiled in Harare CBD.

My great Ancestors of the Mbari clan led by King Mbari who ruled Harare, Mazoe and Mount Hampden were dynamited while hiding in the caves, the British dynamited entrances to the caves killing innocent women, children, the elderly and young men and women as they sought refuge in the caves. I speak with very heavy heart today because their remains are still in the caves till today, awaiting burial. My Ancestors have communicated that the British government who are responsible for the gruesome murders should pay for process of retrieving the remains from the caves and giving them a decent burial. King Mbari (Haarari) who Harare was named after was a vwry powerful King, physically and spiritually, his power is still very much being felt by those who follow and know the news in Harare. Outstanding traditional and cultural ceremonies continue to hinder progress in Zimbabwe. We see the Mazoe Dam drying up despite floods and lots of rainfall, Mazoe Dam area is part of Mbari’s territory which was wrongfully given to the Hwata by the Zimbabwean government. The Hwata were made custodians of Mazoe Dam area yet the Mbari descendants we are alive and very much around. My Ancestors are not happy about occurrences such as these, Zimbabweans should never be shocked or surprised to see Mazoe Dam run completely dry. The Hwata who were sell outs during the Chimurenga wars sold out and caused death of thousands of Mbari clan members but today the Hwata were given custody of the Mazoe Dam area, something that has never been heard of in our Zimbabwean culture. Harare Chieftaincy is still outstanding, my Ancestors have communicated several times that the land Harare must be given back to the owners so cultural and traditional ceremonies can be conducted as and when needed.

Its important to know and remember that it was in Harare where most blood was shed during the Colonisation of the country, it is also in Harare where the royals and spiritualists were murdered, hanged and beheaded, it is in Harare where everything that drives Zimbabwe is housed, the very same land that hasn’t been returned back to King Mbari’s descendants. Harare continues to attempt to function without the blessings of the owners of the land. In shona they call it ” kurima mumunda mevaridzi” in English its ” trespassing”. I would like to urge the Zimbabwean government to prioritize the rescucitation of Harare Mbari’s Chieftaincy so things can be fully functional again in Zimbabwe. We can never ignore the power of our Ancestors who are long gone but are very much involved in our lives and the land we dwell on.

Let me end by reminding the British to give back Zimbabwe what belongs to Zimbabwe, give back to Africa all thst was stolen from Africa, to the Zimbabwean government my message is: thank you for the progress made so far but can you please step up efforts to complete the repatriation process. To all Zimbabweans lets all support initiatives to bring our Ancestors remains and artifacts back home, it is our right and our duty to do so. No one can and will ever do it for us.
# Zimbabwe at 41, Independent but only partially independent.