Blessing Nduku
The National Heroes Acre and other provincial Heroes Acres across the country are some of the most symbolic monuments to protect the country’s memorial, intangible heritage, and monument values.
Speaking to this reporter Regional Director of the Zimbabwe Military Museum (ZMM) Taj Chuma said the Heroes Acre, national museums share the same mandate of protecting liberation heritage places, memorial and intangible heritage.
“Our mandate as National Museum Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) is to protect and preserve values that fall under the liberation heritage category.”
The Midlands Provincial Heroes Acre has 258 graves with 32 heroines and 223 heroes.
Chuma explained what a Heroes Acre is and what their duty is as ZMM.
“ A heroes’ Acre is a sacred place which carries certain values where important people are buried and they should remain holy and sacred. These places carry an intangible heritage value hence we must ensure that those values are preserved and protected.”
“Here in Central Region we have our Provincial Heroes Acre, Zimbabwe Military Museum, The Aviation Museum, Mining Museum which is in Kwekwe, Naletale monument, Danangombe ruins formerly Dlodlo ruins, Ntaba Zikhamambo monuments and many others that are still underway.”
Heroes’ Acre carries the richness of people who struggled against a brutal oppressive regime and those who sacrificed their lives to change our country’s developmental pattern.
The first Hero to be buried in the Midlands Heroes Acre was former Midlands Governor Benson Ndemera who died in 1986 and the last to be buried was a heroine Colletah Mutambisa who was buried on the 9Th of July 2024.
Meanwhile, thousands of people from all walks of life are expected to throng the Provincial Heroes Acre in Gweru and various other shrines throughout the country
to celebrate the lives and sacrifices made by heroes and heroines of the liberation struggle.
President Mnangagwa, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, will preside over the main event in Harare, while Provincial
Affairs Ministers led proceedings in their respective provinces.
