Welshman Hadane Mabhena

Book excerpt: The late Welshman Hadane Mabhena, was a leading Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) activist, the political party led by Joshua Nkomo. He was among the pioneers of the liberation struggle in Nkayi and Matabeleland North. He faced incarceration in various prisons in Rhodesia. He was detained in Gonakudzingwa near the border with Mozambique. A loud and fearless voice for the voiceless, uMawelishi, as he was affectionately known among his colleagues and admirers, was declared a national hero when he passed on. While the focus of the book is on an individual, Welshman Mabhena, it also illuminates the times, both good and bad, that were an integral part of Welshman Mabhena’s life.