SAHA is an independent human rights archive dedicated to documenting, supporting and promoting greater awareness of past and contemporary struggles for justice in South Africa.
At the centre of this project is an important collection of nearly 10,000 photographic negatives taken by the late Zenzo Nkobi- a Zimbabwean photographer with ties to the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) from the mid-1970s until well after independence in 1980.
These images provide an intriguing glimpse into the struggle waged by ZAPU’s armed wing, ZPRA, and provide evidence of the significant role it played in combating the Rhodesian regime.
According to the book, SAHA conducted 26 interviews in 2010 and 2011 with some of the ZAPU survivors. Conducted using a selection of Nkobi’s photographs as a starting point, the research explores various aspects of this history, from the early development of ZAPU, its administration and leadership, through recruitment and military training within ZPRA.
“This virtual exhibition, based on the project report of the same name, brings together images and extracts from the interview transcripts to tell the story of ZAPU’s liberation war, as seen through the lens of Zenzo Nkobi’s camera and told in the voices of ZAPU survivors,” reads a statement on the front cover of the book.
Surviving ZAPU comrades and ZPRA ex-freedom fighters interviewed throughout the project include Dumiso Dabengwa, Zephaniah Nkomo, Andrew Nyathi and Nomathemba Moyo.
Post published in: Arts