*THE ANATOMY OF A TURNED TERRORIST (FREEDOM FIGHTER) : TELLING THE UNSPOKEN TRUTHS OF ZIMBABWE'S LIBERATION WAR* Join our community for more updates. https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vai0FQJ11ulJHRRO3r0l *A Call to the Nation: Fund, Document, and Preserve Our Hidden History* The Zimbabwe Liberation Heritage Group issues this urgent and unapologetic appeal:- *the time has come to confront one of the most painful, silenced, and misunderstood chapters of our liberation struggle* — the story of freedom fighters who were forced to turn against their comrades under unspeakable pressure. These are not mere footnotes in history. Their stories, soaked in blood, betrayal, courage, and despair, are essential to our national memory. We must tell them now — or risk losing them forever. *Why This Story Must Be Told Now* Too often, the narrative of Zimbabwe’s liberation war has been narrowed to victors and villains — heroes and traitors. But history is rarely so black and white. The phenomenon of “turned terrorists” is a dark, complex part of our past that demands truth-telling, not silence. Each story buried is a wound left festering. Each untold truth is a lesson denied to the next generation. Time is not on our side. Those who lived through the war are aging. Archives are incomplete. Many are dying with their truths locked inside them. This is a clarion call to government leaders, liberation veterans, business people, and cultural institutions: we must mobilize now to record, finance, and protect these accounts. *Why Did They Turn? Understanding the Unimaginable* To understand why some freedom fighters turned, we must confront the inhuman conditions they faced: - Torture that breaks the human soul. - Threats to rape or murder loved ones. - Inducements of money dangled before men whose families starved. - Isolation and psychological warfare, designed to annihilate loyalty and crush identity. They were not cowards. They were human beings subjected to unbearable pressure. And we owe it to them — and to ourselves — to tell the full truth. *Captured, Broken, Then Used as Weapons* _*Capture often came not from weakness but from:*_ - Betrayal by frightened community members. - Operational errors and fatigue after endless nights in hostile terrain. - Rhodesian intelligence — vicious, skilled, and relentless. And once turned, these fighters lived in torment — used by the enemy and hunted by their own. Even after the war, they lived in silence, shame, and fear — ostracized by the country they once fought to liberate. *This Is Not Just History — It Is National Healing* The Commander of the Selous Scouts, in his own memoirs, arrogantly dismisses these men as unreliable traitors. That is the enemy’s version. Do we, as a free Zimbabwe, accept the enemy’s judgment on our own people? The answer to this is a very big NO. We must reclaim the narrative. To reject this chapter is to erase a part of ourselves. Their testimonies are essential for: - Restoring historical integrity. - Fostering healing across generations. - Countering colonial disinformation. - Teaching the youth the hard, human truths of our journey to freedom. *Mugabe’s Reconciliation Policy:* *A Missed Opportunity?* While the late president, Robert Mugabe’s policy of reconciliation aimed to unify a divided nation, it left many questions unanswered. Some who turned were spared formal punishment — but also silenced and forgotten. The Selous Scouts were banned from integration, but many others remained invisible in the national memory. Now is the time to finish what reconciliation began — through truth. *The Law of War and the Morality of Survival* International Law recognizes duress and coercion. When someone is forced to act to save their child from rape or their mother from death, we must ask: was it betrayal, or survival? This project does not seek to exonerate or condemn — but to understand. And from understanding, to heal. *A National Project Demanding National Investment* We call on: *1) Veterans of the liberation struggle:* Share what you witnessed. *2) Former turned fighters:* Step forward with courage. We will honor your truth. *3) Government leaders and the National Archives:* Fund and protect this effort. *4) Patriotic business people:* Invest in this historical rescue mission. It is not charity — it is your legacy. *5) Scholars, journalists, artists, and filmmakers:* Help us tell these stories in every medium possible — books, podcasts, documentaries, plays, community forums. This is our responsibility. Not tomorrow. Not someday. _*The appropriate time is NOW.*_ *Preserving the Past. Inspiring the Future.* We must document every account — of triumph, of betrayal, of massacres, of survival. Only then will Zimbabwe’s liberation story be complete. This is not just about history. This is about identity. About nationhood. About justice. - Let us record every voice before it falls silent. - Let us name every pain before it is forgotten. - Let us honor every sacrifice — even those made in silence and shame *Compiled By - Tigere Mubayiwa 🦓* Contact Details:- *[email protected]* **NB: ZIMBABWE LIBERATION HERITAGE GROUP* *PRESERVING THE PAST - INSPIRING THE FUTURE.* Follow us on:- *FACEBOOK* *@Zimbabwe Intangible Cultural Heritage* https://www.facebook.com/share/17zXZ2WNmG/?mibextid=wwXIfr *INSTAGRAM* @ *ZICH TV MEDIA* https://www.instagram.com/zichtvmedia/profilecard/?igsh=d3N3ZmlkbTZ4a3E= *TIKTOK* *@ zichtvmedia* https://www.tiktok.com/@zichtvmedia?_t=ZG-8srTiO9lFYH&_r=1 *YOUTUBE* *@ ZICH TV* https://youtube.com/@zichtvmedia?feature=shared 🔄🔄🔄Share our Articles and documentaries with Family and friends