Liberators are in dire need of political and moral cleansing

THE ruling ANC convened a landmark Liberation Movements Summit from July 25 to 27, gathering six southern African liberation parties including MPLA (Angola), Swapo (Namibia), Frelimo (Mozambique), Zanu-PF (Zimbabwe) and CCM (Tanzania) to deliberate on the theme: “Defending the Liberation Gains, Advancing Integrated Socio-Economic Development, Strengthening Solidarity for a Better Africa”.

- ZAMIKHAYA MASETI

Conspicuously absent, however, was Zambia’s United National Independence Party (UNIP), the liberation movement led by the late president Kenneth Kaunda. This party offered refuge to the exiled leadership of the ANC and embraced thousands of young South Africans who crossed borders to join the national liberation Struggle against apartheid.

The ANC, as a liberation movement, had its headquarters in Lusaka under the protection of UNIP, and the Zambian people sustained its operational lifeline. The organisers of the summit have not explained this omission, and it stands as a glaring historical oversight in any attempt to reconstruct the liberation narrative of southern Africa.

Any honest retelling of southern Africa’s liberation history is incomplete without recognising Zambia’s indispensable role, under the leadership of the United National Independence Party (UNIP) and Kaunda.

While not always armed with material abundance, Zambia carried the weight of regional liberation with unmatched moral clarity and unwavering solidarity.

Lusaka was not just a geographical refuge for exiles — it was the beating heart of a pan-African revolutionary conscience, hosting the ANC’s headquarters, training camps, political schools and underground logistics.

The Zambian people paid a heavy price, including economic sabotage, border raids by the apartheid regime, and relentless pressure from the West. Yet Kaunda’s government never wavered. It chose principle over profit, and African unity over diplomatic convenience. That such a pivotal liberation movement was absent from this summit should not be taken lightly — it reflects a growing trend of selective memory that must be confronted if we are to truly reclaim and revitalise the liberation legacy.