Mosi Tunya: The Fire That Could Not Be Extinguished – The Story of Nehanda Nyakasikana

 

Mosi Tunya: The Fire That Could Not Be Extinguished – The Story of Nehanda Nyakasikana

A Prophecy of Rebellion

In the heart of Zimbabwe, where the mighty Zambezi River roared and the land stretched far under the African sky, a girl was born in the mid-1800s among the Shona people.

Her name was Nehanda Nyakasikana, and she was no ordinary child. From a young age, the elders recognized that a great spirit had chosen her. She was believed to be the spiritual medium of Mbuya Nehanda, the ancestral guardian of the land. People traveled from far and wide to seek her guidance, and chiefs knelt before her wisdom.

But as she grew older, dark clouds gathered over her land.

The British settlers arrived, calling Zimbabwe "Rhodesia," after Cecil Rhodes, the man who sought to claim all of Africa for the British Crown. They stole the land, took cattle, forced Africans into labor, and demanded taxes.

The Shona and Ndebele people suffered, and they turned to Nehanda, their spiritual leader, for answers.

Her response was clear:

"The British must go. Our land must be free."

The First Chimurenga – The War of Liberation (1896–1897)

Nehanda, though not a warrior with weapons, was a warrior of the spirit. She called upon the Shona and Ndebele warriors to take up arms and fight for their land.

Her words were fire.

• Warriors armed with spears and bows attacked British outposts.

• They burned colonial farms, refusing to let their sacred lands be stolen.

• The British, expecting an easy conquest, found themselves facing a war unlike any other.

For almost two years, the Shona and Ndebele warriors waged a fierce battle against the British forces. The British struggled, for they had never fought against warriors who believed their spirits made them invincible in battle.

But the British had guns, cannons, and reinforcements from South Africa. Slowly, the resistance was pushed back.

Then came the ultimate betrayal.

One of Nehanda’s closest advisors, after being tortured, revealed her hiding place. The British surrounded her, capturing her in 1897.

"My Bones Will Rise Again" – Nehanda’s Execution

The British put Nehanda on trial, accusing her of ordering the killing of a colonial official. The court was a formality—they had already decided her fate.

She was sentenced to death by hanging.

On the day of her execution, the British expected her to beg for mercy, to show fear. Instead, she stood tall, her head high, looking her executioners in the eye.

Her last words, spoken with unshaken defiance, would echo through history:

"Mapfupa angu achamuka."
("My bones will rise again.")

And then, they hanged her.

But Nehanda was right.

The Legacy of Nehanda – The Second Chimurenga

For decades, the British controlled Zimbabwe, but the spirit of Nehanda never died. Her prophecy became the rallying cry for Zimbabwe’s second war of liberation, known as the Second Chimurenga (1964–1980).

The freedom fighters of ZANU and ZAPU believed that Nehanda’s spirit guided them, that her prophecy was unfolding before their eyes.

And in 1980, her words came true—Zimbabwe won independence from British rule.

Today, statues of Nehanda stand in Harare, and her name is spoken with reverence. She is not just a historical figure—she is a symbol of African resistance, of a woman who faced an empire and did not bow.

Some say that if you stand by the banks of the Zambezi River at night, you can hear the wind whispering through the trees:

"My bones will rise again."

And they did.