Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1990 - 2009 (Accumulation)
- 1979 - 2011 (Accumulation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.5 linear metres (5 archival boxes) of paper-based materials; digital materials; photographs; audio and video materials
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Mafela Trust organisation was established in 1989 by a group of freedom fighters of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) to research and document the political and military activities of ZAPU and its armed wing, the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZPRA), during the liberation war in Zimbabwe. Records pertaining to ZAPU and ZPRA history, including war records, were confiscated by the government-led Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1982 during the post-independence struggle, and never returned.
In the absence of a documented history, the Mafela Trust has been guided by their mission statement "When you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today", to launch numerous national projects in an attempt to recoup what has been lost. Most notable of these projects are the 'Fallen Heroes' project - an identification and commemoration of those who died during the liberation war, and the ‘War Graves’ project – the location and subsequent exhumation of war graves. Further research and oral history projects bear testament to the Mafela Trust's determination to recover the ZAPU/ZPRA history, including documenting the history around the formal alliance with Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC).
The materials produced as part of these projects form the bulk of the Mafela Trust collection at SAHA and include paper-based and digital materials, photographs, oral history interviews and video material. These materials were identified as endangered in the course of a research, digitisation and oral history project conducted by SAHA in 2010 and 2011, and the materials were relocated to Johannesburg in 2011 for comprehensive archival processing. A selection of materials in this collection has been digitised.
ANC - African National Congress
MK - Umkhonto we Sizwe
MOU - Memorandum of Understanding
MWHA - Matopo World Heritage Area
RSA - Republic of South Africa
ZANU - Zimbabwe African National Union
ZAPU - Zimbabwe African People's Union
ZPRA - Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The Mafela Trust collection consists of paper-based materials, digital materials, photographs, oral history interviews (audio cassettes and Hi8 video cassettes), and VHS video material.
The original order in which materials were received was not retained. A discussion with the Mafela Trust's national coordinator revealed that no proper filing system was in place in the office of origin, and his subsequent artificial order (defined by sections Vatican A, B, C etc.) did not allow for effective and systematic arrangement and retrieval of archival materials. (Meticulous record-keeping allows for reversal of current arrangement). The current system of arrangement embarks on an attempt to reflect the organisation's developmental history in terms of its aims and objectives, and thus allows for more effective access to the materials.
The paper-based and digital collections of the Mafela Trust archives have been arranged as two separate series. Although some duplication of documents exist, especially with materials created around 2000 onwards, the first series of paper-based materials contain archives that were generally created prior to 2000, and includes a fairly large number of handwritten and manuscript material. 49 items (625pp) from this series have been digitised to facilitate access. The digital collection commences circa late 1990s/2000+. It should be noted that the arrangement of the paper-based collection does not correspond with that of the digital collection.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
This collection is open for research
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
20120120