The government has defended its decision to host Zimbabwe’s 46th Independence Day celebrations in Maphisa, Matobo District, Matabeleland South, dismissing claims that the venue is insensitive given its proximity to Bhalagwe, a site associated with the 1980s Gukurahundi atrocities.
The celebrations, scheduled for 18 April 2026 and expected to be officiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, have drawn criticism from activists, survivors and opposition figures, who argue that holding national festivities near a former detention and mass killing site is premature in the absence of truth, justice and accountability.
Government officials say the choice of Maphisa reflects a policy of decentralising national events and making sure that development reaches all parts of the country, including historically marginalised regions.
Preparations are reportedly progressing steadily, with government officials citing infrastructure development and legacy projects ahead of the national event, marking a rare moment for Matabeleland South to host a national event of this scale.
However, activities maintain that the festivities are deeply insensitive in the absence of truth, justice and accountability since Bhalagwe is synonymous with mass killings in the 1980s and one of the areas which bore the brunt of Fifth Brigade operations during Gukurahundi.
The Fifth Brigade ran a detention and torture camp in Bhalagwe, where thousands of civilians were detained, tortured, killed and others dumped in disused mine shafts.
As part of preparations for the Independence celebrations, the government is reportedly constructing 40 science laboratories at secondary schools across Matabeleland South Province.
Authorities have described the laboratories as legacy projects intended to strengthen science education long after the celebrations have ended.
Government officials say hosting Independence Day in Maphisa is meant to embed development within the area’s historical and cultural context, while affirming the inclusion of marginalised regions in national life.
However, activists argue that while decentralisation is not inherently problematic, doing so in a community still scarred by unresolved atrocities raises moral, spiritual and political concerns.
“Instead of acknowledging and seeking justice for the victims, the State wants to preside over celebrations in an area that still houses marginalised survivors robbed of their dignity,” said Freedom Alliance youth leader Calvin Wiseman Dube during a recent memorandum of understanding signing ceremony involving five political groups in Matabeleland.
Dube said Gukurahundi remains a restricted and sensitive subject, despite official claims that communities are now free to discuss it.
“We always go to Bhalagwe to put plaques, but we are not allowed to go to the actual site where people were thrown into mine shafts,” he said.
“We do these events by the roadside, which shows that this issue is still not free to be openly discussed, and the plaques we put up are also destroyed.”
“If Gukurahundi is not free for people to talk about, then the President should also not go there to celebrate Independence,” Dube added.
Dube also questioned the spiritual implications of holding national celebrations near a site of mass death.
“Those people are spiritual. What exactly does he want to say or do there? What does he want to say to the spirits of our ancestors who died there in different ways?” Dube asked.
However, responding to the criticism in an interview with CITE, presidential spokesperson and Deputy Chief Secretary for Presidential Communications, George Charamba, dismissed claims that the President’s presence in Maphisa was inappropriate.
“Clearly, those people don’t know what it means to be the President of Zimbabwe, not of Mashonaland or Midlands or parts of Matabeleland,” Charamba said.
“If you are the President of Zimbabwe, there is no part of the country which is a no-go area for you, because by doing so you would have brought into question your identity as leader of this country.”
Charamba said no location in Zimbabwe was “sacred” or off-limits to the President.
“There is no area which is sacred for the foot of the President, who is the Head of State,” he said.
He added that the decision to host Independence Day celebrations in Maphisa was “not subject to approval by activists but a straight decision on the basis of parity.”
The presidential spokesperson said the government’s development philosophy was guided by the principle of inclusivity.
“Our sense of parity comes through a mantra that is ‘leaving no one and no place behind.’ We didn’t say leaving places of certain historical significance behind,” he said.
Charamba also accused critics of undermining ongoing efforts to address the legacy of Gukurahundi.
“These so-called activists, are they aware that there is a process underway now which is seeking to resolve the conflicts of early independence?” he asked.
“If they are aware, do they respect those processes? Do they have faith in those processes?”
He said the purpose of the ongoing dialogue processes was to bring closure and heal wounds, not reopen them.
“The outcome of that process is meant to bring closure, to suture wounds of the past. They cannot, in the same context, widen what we intend to suture,” Charamba said.
“In other words, they are bringing the salt when they should be bringing the plaster to a weeping wound.”
Charamba rejected what he described as attempts to frame Gukurahundi along tribal lines.
“Unless they are sliding into a tribal argument where they are indicting a tribe, not a person, saying if one is Shona they must be held accountable for what happened in the 1980s. Is that an argument we want to entertain in this country?” he asked.
He argued that hosting a national event in Matabeleland was itself an act of inclusion.
“What other form of inclusive politics do you want than to make an injured community a host to the national day of the country where they belong?” Charamba said.
“Here is the whole of Zimbabwe, it is you hosting, in spite of the wounds of history. What louder statement do you want beyond that inclusivity?”
Charamba further said Zimbabwe’s violent past should be understood in a broader historical context.
“People must not forget history does not start in 1980. Our history, unfortunately, has gone through state formation and destruction. It is coloured by blood, whether in the late 1850s, 1896 or 1980, you will see one continual line of blood,” he said.
He said societies that wish to move forward must acknowledge the past without being consumed by it.
“A society that wants to move forward will say, yes, that’s the price we paid for disunity and forming our state. Now how do we move on?” Charamba said.
Meanwhile, critics remain unconvinced as ZAPU member and former Nkulumane parliamentary by-election candidate Vivian Viyo Siziba described the planned celebrations as a “painful contradiction.”
“The joy of attaining self-determination was short-lived, as evidenced by the Bhalagwe mass graves,” Siziba said.
“Celebrating Independence against the backdrop of a disused mineshaft turned mass grave is an arrogant and heartless slap in the face of the people of Maphisa and the entire Matabeleland region.”
Siziba also questioned government priorities, noting that basic services in the area remain under-resourced.
“The main hospital in Maphisa is struggling to get drugs, yet millions of dollars will be poured into a single-day event. This is happening at the expense of suffering people,” he said.
Another commentator, Patrick Ndlovu, said holding Independence Day celebrations near Bhalagwe amounted to disrespecting victims of what he described as an unacknowledged state genocide.
“Bhalagwe is a constant reminder of victims who were killed during Gukurahundi. Bhalagwe Hills are traditionally sacred because they carry the spirits of those who were butchered during the 1980s atrocities,” he said.
“It is a sign of disrespect for the victims, and to add salt to the injury, the chief executioner will be presiding over the event.”
Dube said meaningful commemoration of Independence in Matabeleland must be accompanied by truth-telling, justice and reparations for Gukurahundi victims.
“Without this, celebrations risk reopening old wounds and deepening the sense of exclusion felt by communities still waiting for closure more than four decades after Independence,” he said.
In 2020, President Mnangagwa was expected to launch a documentation programme for Gukurahundi victims in Maphisa as part of an implementation matrix adopted in 2019 to address the massacres and broader developmental concerns in Matabeleland. The programme was later stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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