As Zimbabwe marks 45 years of freedom from colonial rule this 12 months, a number of Zimbabweans are debating whether or not the nationwide vacation continues to be price celebrating.
This 12 months, Independence Day falls on Good Friday, a uncommon overlap that’s prompting much more reflection. Whereas the nation formally commemorates its break from colonial rule on 18 April annually, many Zimbabweans are quietly asking: what’s being celebrated?
Zimbabwe celebrates Independence Day
Because the nation celebrates Independence Day, President Emmerson Mnangagwa hosted a Youngsters’s Celebration at Nyamuroro Excessive Faculty in Gokwe North District, Midlands Province. The principle commemorations passed off on 18 April in the identical district.
The 2025 celebrations are operating beneath the theme: “Zim@45: Devolve and Develop Collectively In direction of Imaginative and prescient 2030.”
“It is a day of nationwide delight. Residents ought to participate and take heed to the President’s message as we mark 45 years of independence and self-determination,” mentioned the Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Everlasting Secretaryadded Mr Nyoni, as reported by The Chronicle.
Embracing Easter Holidays
This 12 months, some Zimbabweans are selecting to lean into the non secular significance of the Easter weekend as a substitute of nationwide celebrations. Church buildings throughout the nation are celebrating Easter, whereas nationwide flags dangle low.
Social media can also be telling, whereas a number of posts mark the nation’s forty fifth birthday, many extra are sharing Good Friday messages, Bible verses, and Easter needs. For them, Easter affords one thing Independence Day not does: hope, therapeutic, and a purpose to imagine in a greater tomorrow.
The previous Residents Coalition for Change chief, Nelson Chamisa, posted on his X: “GO HAPPY, BE BLESSED…Wishing you a blessed Good Friday and a joyful Easter! Could the sacrifice and love of Christ carry eternal hope and happiness to you all. Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour…”
Right here is how others reacted on social media:
@mlobiwazo20: “Nowadays, I’d fairly simply concentrate on Easter as a result of it brings extra peace and that means.”
@KelvinP46686737: “…in the mean time we’re going to have a good time Easter vacation and likewise praying for our nation Zimbabwe. As lengthy we’re beneath ZANU PF we don’t have a good time independence, cz we don’t have freedom.”
@IreneTariroWyn: “45 years after independence Zimbabwe has regressed a lot that there’s nothing to have a good time a minimum of if we’re celebrating potholes as a result of now we will take a shower in the course of the highway.”
@nickmangwana: “Marching collectively, marching ahead. Zimbabwe’s Independence Day parade is a celebration of our nation’s freedom, unity, and cultural heritage.”
Do you suppose celebrating Zimbabwe’s Independence Day continues to be related?
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