Eng. Shingai Levison King

If we do not tell our history often enough, our children may end up hurting those who sacrificed so much for their freedom. Around 1996, during the early years of my legal practice, I was instructed to represent the South African Embassy in a Magistrates’ Court matter. Mukoma David Munhumeso had sued the South African Government to recover rentals he had paid over the years for South African freedom fighters who had been housed under cover in the Avenues during the struggle against apartheid. I was instructed by the then South African High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr. Kingsley Mamabolo. The Embassy accepted that Mukoma David Munhumeso had indeed played the role described in his court papers, and I was asked to meet him to negotiate a settlement. He was being assisted by my college mate and friend, Advocate Martin Dinha. We settled the matter, and the South African Embassy agreed to compensate him. What stayed with me was not the legal case. It was the conversation afterwards. I listened as Mukoma David Munhumeso recounted the sacrifices made by ordinary Zimbabweans who quietly risked their lives, homes and livelihoods to support South Africans in the fight against apartheid. My heart broke today when I heard one of the marchers claim that Zimbabwe played no role in that struggle. I could not help but wonder: how does a man like Mukoma David Munhumeso feel when he hears that? I have heard Thabo Mbeki speak with remarkable honesty about the solidarity shown by Zimbabwe and other frontline states during the liberation struggle. But are we, on both sides of the Limpopo, doing enough to pass that history on to the next generation? Let me be clear. Illegal immigration cannot be justified, and every sovereign nation has the right to enforce its laws. But history also teaches us something about humanity. If the children of those who once sheltered and protected my family came to my door because their own home was burning, would I simply turn them away? Or would I first reach out to the parents who once stood by us, so that together we could find a dignified and lasting solution? History should not divide us. It should remind us who we became because we stood together.