Story by Jackie Gwemende

THE Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Senator Monica Mutsvangwa says the independence, democracy, freedom, peace, and tranquillity that Zimbabwe enjoys today should not be taken for granted as it came through blood and sacrifice.

Narrating the heart-wrenching ordeal of the Nyadzonya Massacre of the 9th of August 1976, Senator Mutsvangwa, a veteran of the liberation struggle, castigated Western imperialists for pretending to be masters of democracy and human rights, yet they were at the centre of these heinous atrocities.

Senator Mustvangwa went on to implore the nation, especially the youths, to jealously safeguard the country’s sovereignty and gains of the liberation struggle.

She expressed her distress that veterans of the liberation struggle are being buried with the rich history of the country’s liberation struggle without sharing their experiences.

Senator Mutsvangwa, who lost a friend Veronica Chigumira shot at point-blank range and watched as one of her schoolmates Joe Gwabuya was swept away by the raging Pungwe river as they tried to run away from the Rhodesian Forces added that the bond between Zimbabwe and Mozambique should never be broken as it was built on blood and sacrifice.

Her clarion call is for Heroes’ Day commemorations to serve as a constant reminder of the hard-earned democracy which came after a protracted war of liberation.