08 Dec 2015

Botswana’s role in regional liberation struggle was this week rewarded with the erection of a regional Kazungula liberation heritage monument at the foot of the new Kazungula Bridge. 

Speaking at the launch of the monument, former Minister of education, Dr Gaositwe Chiepe said the motivation behind the establishment of a regional monument at Kazungula was that Botswana contributed to the liberation struggles of all neighbouring states, particularly ordinary Batswana from the villages. 

The site is a regional monument located at the spot where all liberation movements from the region passed en-route to Tanzania and elsewhere where they went for military training during the liberation struggles of their respective countries.

“It is therefore relevant for a regional monument of this nature to be erected here to mark Kazungula’s importance in the history of liberation in the region, and is a testament to the hard-fought struggles the region had to bear to gain independence,” she added noting that it will also be a reminder of the suffering of their forefathers so that all could be free, lest future generations forget. 

“It is envisaged that the newly launched monument will be developed into a fully-fledged monument and a tourist attraction site with the input of other stakeholders and heritage institutions in the concerned countries. It will also help build to greater public awareness of Southern Africa’s entwined history and culture and validate the ‘C’ (community) in SADC,” she said. 

Dr Chiepe noted that there was a gap due to lack of transmission of information and knowledge to the young generation as many of the personalities who were instrumental in the liberation struggles are no longer alive while those who are alive have not documented their experiences in detail. 

“The Kazungula monument will serve as a vehicle to bridge that information and knowledge gap, as it is expected to link the activities that took place in other parts of Botswana such as Lobatse, Palapye, Francistown and Lesoma war memorial,” she said. She added that these places together with the new Kazungula site were part of the liberation pipeline and hosted safe houses and meeting places against colonial and apartheid regime.

It was through this pipeline that a pontoon was bombed during the liberation struggle by the Smith regime of Rhodesia to combat this underground route into Tanzania via Zambia. 

The remains of the pontoon are conveniently placed next to the monument and were visited by President Jacob Zuma back in 2012 where he confirmed having used the route during the South African struggle. 

A representative from South African high commission Mr Judika Tladi appreciated Botswana’s role in the liberation struggles which paved way to freedom for many countries in the SADC region. “Botswana was the only safe option for the region and the country used to house and protect political refugees,” he noted.

 

Reflecting on those times, one of the African National Congress (ANC) activists at the time, Mr Kopano Lekoma reminisced about the ordeal they used to go through, walking from Francistown to Kazungula on foot with occasional rides here and there. “On top of that we had to worry about dangerous wildlife as we walked at night taking the freedom fighters to Kazungula ferry to cross into Zambia,” he said.

He noted that the erection of the monument simply means that their efforts were not in vain as people used to perceive them as terrorists. Ends