SOUTHERN AFRICAN NATIONAL LIBERATION STRUGGLES
HASHIM MBITA RESEARCH PROJECT
INTRODUCTION
The liberation of Southern Africa was a major political event of the twentieth century, since the end of colonial rule and the dismantling of the apartheid regime had far-reaching consequences, not only for the continent, but also for the world. The liberation paved way for establishment of majority rule which created the possibility for millions of people to be free from racial oppression, economic exploitation and political exclusion. Today, the liberation of the Southern Africa is translated in SADC vision of a “Common Future, a future within a regional community that will ensure economic well-being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice and peace and security for the people of Southern Africa”.
17th August 2014 will constitute an indelible mark in the history of the liberation struggle of the people of Southern Africa, as the day that the publication on the documentation of ‘Southern African National Liberation Struggles’, an ambitious project under the patronage of the Brigadier-General Hashim Mbita, saw the light. Indeed, the launch of the publication in VICTORIA FALLS, Republic of Zimbabwe, in the margins of the 34th Ordinary Summit of SADC Head of States and Government, will immortalize a legacy for future generations not only from Southern Africa but also from the rest of Africa and entire world.
BACKGROUND
The HashimMbita Research Project was initiated in August 2005, following the approval by SADC Summit held in Gaborone, Botswana, in August 2005. The Project Unit was based in Dar-Es-Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
The Project was led by Brigadier-General Hashim Mbita, as the Patron of the project, the former Executive-Secretary of the Liberation Committee of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), from 1974 to 1992 and directed by Prof. Arnold Temu, as Project Manager and Prof. Joel das Neves Tembe as Deputy Project Manager.
The project’s primary objective was to document the history of the liberation struggle of the Southern African Region through collection, cataloguing and compiling of oral texts and data in SADC Member States and outside the region.
The research component of the Project included various researchers from the region and beyond the region.
THE PUBLICATION
The Hashim Mbita Research documentation of the ‘Southern African National Liberation Struggles’ is made of ten (10) volumes that comprise approximately 2,415,254 words, which have been typeset into approximately 5,394 pages structured as follows:
PART 1: Wars of Liberation States:
1.1. Mozambique
1.2. Angola
1.3. Zimbabwe
1.4. Namibia
1.5. South Africa
PART 2: Frontline States:
2.1. Tanzania
2.2. Zambia
2.3. Botswana
PART 3: Extended Frontline States:
3.1. Malawi
3.2. Lesotho
3.3. Swaziland
PART 4: External Support and Perspective
The publication of the “Southern African National Liberation Struggles” is published under Mkuki Na Nyota Publishers from the United Republic of Tanzania. The publication of the very first edition comprises 400 sets of a total of 4,000 volumes.
