Mbizi Police Post: From a House of Pain to a Shrine of Memory, Where Zimbabwe’s Liberation Story Still Breathes
- Southerton Business Times
- Jan 19
- 5 min read
HARARE : THE recognition of Mbizi Police Post in Highfields as a heritage site marks a defining moment in Zimbabwe’s ongoing journey of remembering, reclaiming and honouring the long and painful road to freedom, a road soaked in sacrifice, courage and unbreakable resolve, and it is fitting that this recognition is unfolding under the Second Republic led by President Cde Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, a leader whose own life story is inseparable from the brutality, betrayal and resilience that defined the liberation struggle. Once a feared outpost of colonial repression, Mbizi Police Post now stands poised to be transformed into a sacred national monument, a place of conscience where the past speaks honestly to the present and the future, reminding Zimbabweans, especially the youth, of the true cost of independence.
For decades, the name Mbizi evoked dread among African nationalists and the wider Highfields community, for it was here that the Ian Smith regime unleashed its machinery of terror in a desperate bid to crush African nationalism and block the inevitable march towards self-rule. Highfields itself was not an ordinary township; it was the political heartbeat of the nationalist movement, a crucible of ideas, organisation and resistance. It was home to towering figures of Zimbabwe’s liberation such as Father Zimbabwe Cde Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the indomitable Cde Leopold Takawira, Cde Herbert Wiltshire Chitepo, Cde Edgar Tekere, Cde Simon Muzenda, Cde Enos Nkala, Cde Willie Musarurwa, Cde Nathan Shamuyarira and many other committed sons and daughters of the soil whose names are etched into the country’s liberation history. Within this charged political environment, Mbizi Police Post became a central node in the colonial state’s apparatus of surveillance, detention and torture.
This police post was not merely a law enforcement facility; it was a calculated instrument of fear. Many liberation cadres and nationalist activists were dragged into its narrow cells, dehumanised and brutalised in ways designed to break both body and spirit. Among those who passed through the dark corridors of colonial detention in Highfields and its surrounding police facilities were cadres such as Cde James Chikerema, Cde Dumiso Dabengwa, Cde George Silundika, Cde Maurice Nyagumbo, Cde Cephas Msipa and many others whose sacrifices laid the foundation of the Zimbabwean nation. Survivors and historical accounts speak of cells with toilets inside that were flushed from outside, a cruel design meant to humiliate detainees and remind them constantly of their powerlessness under colonial rule. Beatings, psychological torture, sleep deprivation and intimidation were routine, and Mbizi became synonymous with suffering inflicted in the name of preserving white minority rule.
It is against this grim historical backdrop that the efforts by Cde Andrew Makahamadze, Chairperson of the Southerton Constituency Community Development Trust (SCCDT), take on profound national significance. Upon recognising that the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa places deep value on preserving Zimbabwe’s history, especially sites that carry the emotional and political weight of the liberation struggle, Cde Makahamadze championed the idea that Mbizi Police Post should no longer remain a silent relic of pain but be consciously preserved as a heritage site. His vision dovetails seamlessly with President Mnangagwa’s long-stated desire to ensure that Zimbabwe’s liberation heritage is protected, documented and transmitted across generations, not as propaganda, but as lived history rooted in truth and sacrifice.
President Mnangagwa’s personal experiences under the Ian Smith regime give particular moral authority to this national thrust. In a recent interview, the President opened up with rare candour about the betrayal, torture and suffering he endured during the liberation struggle. He recounted how in 1965 he was sold out to the Rhodesian authorities by a trusted comrade, Michael Mawema, an act of betrayal that changed the course of his life. Arrested in Highfields at Mawema’s house while writing a report for the late National Hero Cde Herbert Chitepo, President Mnangagwa was taken into the clutches of the colonial security system, passing through interrogation centres that included the notorious Butcher House A20 at Harare Central Police Station. There, he was subjected to gruesome torture, including severe beatings and water-boarding, methods designed to extract information and instil terror.
He described torture chambers where detainees were hung upside down and beaten mercilessly, experiences that left deep physical and psychological scars. Sentenced to death by the Ian Smith regime, President Mnangagwa narrowly escaped the guillotine only because he was underage, just 18 years old at the time. That narrow escape from execution is not merely a footnote in history; it is a defining moment that shaped the character of a man who would later become Zimbabwe’s President. He spent a total of ten years in prison, including three years in solitary confinement, before being released and deported to Zambia. Yet even after such suffering, he never lost the zeal to see a free Zimbabwe. Instead, he studied law, rejoined the liberation struggle and emerged as one of the key architects of the nation’s independence.
These experiences explain why, under his leadership, the Second Republic has placed renewed emphasis on liberation heritage sites and monuments. President Mnangagwa has often spoken about the need to tell Zimbabwe’s story honestly, to ensure that the youth understand the road that was travelled to independence, and to guard against historical amnesia. His decision to abolish the death penalty in Zimbabwe is deeply connected to his own brush with the gallows, a powerful example of how personal suffering has been transformed into progressive national policy.
The proposed conversion of Mbizi Police Post into a national monument is therefore not an isolated project but part of a broader national vision. Zimbabwe today hosts the African Liberation Museum, which has rapidly become a major continental hub for African history, particularly the history of liberation movements. This continental outlook reinforces the importance of preserving local sites like Mbizi, which anchor the grand narrative of African liberation in specific places where real people suffered, resisted and endured. As Cde Makahamadze has rightly noted, Mbizi Police Station is of paramount importance due to its rich history, including the incarceration of liberation stalwarts. It is a place that played a significant role in the birth of Zimbabwe.
Working in collaboration with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, the SCCDT has taken concrete steps to document and preserve this painful yet sacred history. The Government is now finalising the nomination dossier that will be submitted to the line Ministry, paving the way for Mbizi Police Post to be officially declared a national monument through a Government Gazette. This process reflects the State’s clear intention to keep alive the memory of the liberation struggle, not as a static museum piece, but as a living lesson in resilience, unity and patriotism.
As Zimbabwe moves forward under the Second Republic, the transformation of Mbizi Police Post from a symbol of colonial brutality into a heritage site of national pride sends a powerful message. It affirms that the pain endured by liberation cadres was not in vain, that the stories of dehumanisation and resistance will not be buried, and that the nation remains committed to honouring those who suffered so that Zimbabwe might be free. In preserving Mbizi, Zimbabwe is not reopening old wounds for their own sake; it is ensuring that history is confronted honestly, that sacrifices are acknowledged, and that future generations understand that independence was hard-won through blood, tears and unwavering courage. Mbizi Police Post thus stands as a silent witness to the past and a bold statement of the present, a place where memory, leadership and national purpose converge in the ongoing story of Zimbabwe.
Comments