Britain’s colonization of Zimbabwe began in 1890 under the rule of the British South Africa Company and continued under formal British colonial administration as Southern Rhodesia until independence in 1980. In total, Zimbabwe endured roughly 90 years of British occupation and settler rule (1890–1980).

The violence of conquest and resistance left deep scars. During the First Chimurenga (1896–1897)—the initial uprising against company rule—historians estimate that over 8,000 African men, women, and children were killed, alongside several hundred settlers. Decades later, during the Second Chimurenga (1964–1979)—the liberation war against white minority rule under British sovereignty—an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people lost their lives, the vast majority Black Zimbabweans. These numbers represent not only combatants, but also civilians caught in repression, reprisals, displacement, and detention.

We remember especially the early spiritual and political leaders who were executed or died in captivity at the hands of colonial authorities:

Mbuya Nehanda – A revered spirit medium and leader of the 1896 uprising, executed by hanging in 1898.

Sekuru Kaguvi – Spiritual leader of the resistance, also executed in 1898.

Chief Mashayamombe – Captured and executed after resisting company forces.

Mapondera – A nationalist leader who led armed resistance in the early 1900s; he died in prison in 1904 after capture by colonial forces.

Their deaths did not silence the call for freedom. Instead, their courage became a moral foundation for later generations who continued the struggle until independence was finally achieved on April 18, 1980.

Abel Muzorewa (1925–2010) was the first black Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Robert Mugabe (1924–2019) was the leader of ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front) and ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2017.

Today, we honor the memory of all who perished—known and unknown—whose lives were taken through conquest, dispossession, forced labor, detention, and war. Their resilience endures in the sovereignty of modern Zimbabwe, and their sacrifice remains woven into the nation’s identity and its ongoing pursuit of justice and dignity.