PRISONER 841 OF 1966 showcased at ZITF

By Sibonginkosi Maphosa

The department of War Veterans Affairs at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair went to the archives to explore and bring out information about prisoner 841 of 1966 whose case number was prisoner 841 /66.

His Excellency the President of the Second Republic, Emmerson Mnangagwa was once facing the death gallows with prison number 841 of 1966 where he was saved by his age according to the Rhodesian constitution hanging was carried out to people aged 25 years and above .

During the time of the sentencing President Mnangagwa was only nineteen when he faced a crime of treason alongside other political activists.

Senior Officer at the War Veterans Affairs stand, , Cde Enerst Chetse said his Excellency was only saved by his age as the Rhodesian judiciary system had sentenced him to death .

“This time around his department went deep into the archives of the prison where His Excellency was arrested and luckily found the real rope and weights that were used during the hanging of other political prisoners. In tandem with the theme of the ZITF we are then moving after givng a pictorial view of the First Chimurenga and Second Chimurenga . In the exhibition hall we capture the perspective of the whites where they looked at us from a very small globe as people who can be suppressed and hanged. Inside we then show the actual process they went through when being hanged “, said Chetse.

Of interest was the piece written and signed by his Excellency after the reversal of the sentence which read :

” Having survived a death penalty myself , I know the tribulations faced by those on death row . The moment the sentence is pronounced that you are going to die by hanging the whole world collapses on you . The death penalty is infact flagrant violation of the to life and dignity.”

Beneath there is his signature where he signed as Emmerson ‘ Trablabas’ Mnangagwa.

The War Veterans Affairs stand boasts of the history of the late Ndebele General Mgandane Dlodlo who was beheaded by the white settlers back in 1893.