Forget our history, lose our soul

Africa's liberation was built on the courage that our schools are failing to teach

- Cathay Yenana

Inspiration: Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana. Photo: Wikipedia

There is a dangerous silence creeping into our classrooms. Across many education systems, history is increasingly treated as optional, a subject pushed aside in favour of maths, science and technology.

In doing so, don't we risk producing generations who can code machines but do not understand the struggles, sacrifices and courage that shaped the societies they live in?

History is not just about memorising dates, deaths or distant wars. It is about identity. It is about moral memory. It is about understanding how people, often under extraordinary oppression, found the courage to resist injustice.

Few stories illustrate this more powerfully than that of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, a woman whose courage continues to echo across Africa's liberation history.

Born around 1862 in what is now Zimbabwe, Nehanda was a revered svikiro, spirit medium, of the Zezuru Shona people.

During the late 19th century, when the British South Africa Company began imposing colonial rule across the region, seizing land and dismantling indigenous systems of governance, Nehanda emerged as a powerful voice of resistance.

Her influence was not rooted in political office or military command. It came from something deeper: spiritual authority and moral conviction. She mobilised communities to resist colonial domination during the First Chimurenga uprising.

Colonial authorities eventually crushed the rebellion. Nehanda was captured and accused of involvement in the killing of a colonial official.