Yithi Laba has been a brief but exciting journey for us as editors and for our audiences. Following in the tradition of other archives, Yithi Laba has used official documents, photographs, oral narratives and interviews, books, and other sources to reconstruct and archive the history of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA).
However, the newsletter also sought to present this material in easy, accessible reads that do not require sophisticated techniques or interpretations to understand. To achieve that, it gathered as many witness accounts as possible from former guerrillas.
We believe Yithi Laba has managed to become part of the living archive of ZPRA. This archive gives life to ZPRA not only for its former cadres but, more importantly, for younger generations who must know how Zimbabwe’s story unfolded. The newsletter has been at the forefront in highlighting and celebrating the sacrifices of ZPRA cadres and collaborators. In doing so, it has ensured that stories routinely suppressed in mainstream Zimbabwean history continue to find their rightful place in national memory.
This month’s edition reflects that enduring mission. The lead article, The Archive Within, explores how the ZPRA Liberation Archives have become a remarkable space where former combatants, researchers and younger generations recover, debate and preserve the liberation struggle through shared memories. This is an important reminder that despite the wanton destruction of official records in the 1980s, this important history survived in the people who lived it. Their determination to remember it has become an important archival source.
On this topic
The Battle of Ndungwane captures another vital dimension of ZPRA’s legacy and also underlines Yithi Laba’s philosophy. It recounts not only the courage and tactical brilliance of Commander Knox and his comrades but also the indispensable role of villagers, collaborators, and support networks whose bravery sustained the liberation struggle under extraordinary danger. The article also, importantly, underlines the critical role of witness accounts and oral tradition in reconstructing the history of ZPRA.
This underlines an important point behind the idea of Yithi Laba: that liberation history belongs to the people who made it.
The newsletter has used a combination of ex-combatant testimonies, forgotten battles, historical analysis, personal reflections and community memories to help preserve an important chapter of Southern Africa’s liberation heritage. Each edition has reaffirmed that remembering is not merely an act of looking back, but more about safeguarding truth for the benefit of future generations.
This issue also marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
With this final edition of Yithi Laba, we bid farewell to a publication that has proudly carried ZPRA’s stories. Our next issue will be the official launch of The Frontline. Unlike its predecessor, this publication will expand its scope to encompass the experiences and histories of the liberation movement armies of Southern Africa that stood shoulder to shoulder with ZPRA in its struggle against colonialism and apartheid.
The Frontline will broaden its lens to explore the shared experiences, alliances, and solidarity of movements such as Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), FRELIMO, MPLA, and ZANLA, among others, whose collaboration helped shape the liberation of the region. ZPRA will also be at the heart of this work.
As we turn this page, we extend our deepest gratitude to our contributors, veterans, researchers, readers and everyone who has entrusted us with their memories. None of these people was paid for this work, a spirit that also underlines the commitment witnessed in the liberation armies.
The struggle for historical preservation continues, and so too does our commitment to telling these stories with the dignity, depth and respect they deserve.
The name may change, but the mission does not change. The goal remains to ensure that the history of Southern Africa’s liberation movements continues to live, inspire and educate generations to come.
Aluta continua!
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