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and heritage.
Addressing more than 240 senior police officers and recruits last Thursday at Tembwe Shrine, Chifunde District permanent secretary Mr Langton Bhero said several gallant sons and daughters of Zimbabwe lost their lives for the country’s independence.

“It is your (officers) duty now to continue safeguarding the country’s independence and sovereignty which was won through the liberation struggle. You should also remain strong like what these freedom fighters died for,” he said.

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Mr Bhero urged the officers to safeguard the country against its enemies and to remain patriotic. The officers, led by the Depot Commandant Senior Assistant Commissioner Grace Ndebele were on an educational tour of Mozambique.

They visited shrines where Zimbabwean freedom fighters were buried after attacks by Rhodesian forces.
Mr Bhero applauded Government and the force for taking such an initiative to honour gallant sons and daughters who died during the war.

“Most of these shrines need to be looked after and it is my hope that you will continue doing so,” he said. Before visiting Tembwe Shrine where there are four mass graves in which about 1 500 freedom fighters were buried, the officers paid a courtesy call at Chifunde district administrator Mrs Cremilda da Conceiao Abranches Sabino’s offices.

Snr Asst Comm Ndebele told Mrs Sabino that the tour was aimed at making sure the recruits understood Zimbabwe’s political history. The subject is also part of the curriculum for the police training programme.
“We want them to appreciate and understand what happened during the liberation struggle. The political history of Zimbabwe is also part of their syllabus since we want them to know what brought Zimbabwe to be what is today,” she said.

The tour is a third since the introduction of the programme and will now be a permanent feature of the training. Zimbabwe National Museums and Monument central region director Mr Lovemore Mandima said there were two camps at Tembwe with about 5 000 freedom fighters who had received training.

“On November 26, 1977 during the morning, the camp was bombed resulting in the death of these freedom fighters. An estimated 1 500 freedom fighters died during the attack by the Rhodesian Forces,” he said.
Mr Mandima said the camp was attacked three days after Chimoio and over 180 soldiers were deployed at Tembwe Camp which is 190km away from Tete City. Mr Mandima said most of the camps in neighbouring countries like Mozambique and Zambia were attacked in the morning.

“The freedom fighters were attacked in the morning mostly because that was the time they would either have meetings or when on parade.”
He said during the liberation struggle the political leadership in Zimbabwe managed to convince other political leaders, local and traditional leaders in these neighbouring countries so that camps would be set up to train freedom fighters.

“They also wanted bases to operate from resulting with these camps being set up,” Mr Mandima said. He said after independence in 1980, Government embarked on a reburial programme of fighters initially buried in Mozambique and Zambia. The National Heroes Acre was also constructed during the same period.
The officers and recruits also visited Chimoio, Nyadzonia and Nyangao. Early this year another group of recruits visited shrines in Zambia on the same educational tour.