Source: Skeletal Human Remains Unearthed At Chipinge School ⋆ Pindula News
Human remains were recently discovered at Mariya Primary School in Chipinge, at a site that once served as a “keep” established by the Rhodesian government during the final 15 years of the white minority regime.
A “keep” was a fortified settlement created during the liberation struggle, intended to control rural populations and restrict their support for liberation fighters. Villagers were often forcibly relocated into these highly guarded enclosures, where their movements were tightly controlled.
According to Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, the acting spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) in Manicaland Province, the remains were found by Ashington Gumbo (20), who was levelling the school’s football field.
Gumbo, a resident of Mariya Village under Chief Musikavanhu, discovered a skull, thigh bones, and fibula bones while digging into an anthill.
He reported the discovery to the village head, Aggrey Mariya, who then alerted Chisumbanje Police Station.
Police attended the scene, and preliminary investigations confirmed that the area had served as a “keep” between 1976 and 1980 under the Rhodesian administration.
It is suspected that the remains belong to an individual who was buried during that period, but efforts to identify the deceased have so far been unsuccessful.
Following consultations with Headman Zamuchiya (50) and Chief Musikavanhu, a decision was made to exhume the remains and rebury them at a different location.
