By Eugenie Muchetu
Harare, (New Ziana) – A monument honouring Africa’s luminaries, from historical icons to trailblazers across the continent and the diaspora, is set to be erected in the soon-to-be established, The Great African Memorial Park at Liberation City, in the capital.
The tribute will celebrate excellence in fields such as art, science, music, and politics, paying homage to those who have shaped not only Africa’s journey, but the course of global history and culture.
Black people come from a proud and enduring heritage. Africa, the cradle of humanity, holds immense natural wealth and has birthed countless inventors, scientists, artists, poets, and brilliant military strategists.
Its powerful empires laid foundations of global civilization, none more renowned than that of 14th-century Malian emperor, Mansa Musa, the richest man in the world at the time. Under his reign, the Malian city of Timbuktu rose as a beacon of scholarship in Islam, law, science, and medicine, ushering in an age of enlightenment while much of the world remained in darkness.
The park will celebrate monumental African excellence, recognising extraordinary minds whose sacrifices and inventions shaped modern society. Among those to be honoured are Kwame Nkrumah, Josiah Tongogara, Bob Marley, Marcus Garvey, George Padmore, Martin Luther King Jr, Muhammad Ali and Nelson Mandela.
Spearheaded by the J R Turner Foundation, a Zimbabwean registered organisation that is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of African history through the achievements of great African men and women from around the world, in collaboration with the Institute of African Knowledge (INSTAK), the park will be built on a 10,000-square-metre plot within Liberation City donated by the institute.
“It’s actually part of the whole Liberation City,” said INSTAK Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ambassador Kwame Muzawazi. “The Great African Memorial Park is a place for monuments, for showcasing art, and for celebrating our heroes and defining moments in history.” INSTAK is currently building Liberation City in Harare, whose main project is the Museum of African Liberation.
It also encompasses Heritage Village, Liberation Mall, an Animal Park, an African-themed Amusement Park and a five-star hotel. The Great African Memorial Park will be part of the city and is set to draw tourists from across Africa and around the world once completed.
At the heart of the park will stand a 30-metre bronze statue of world boxing champion Muhammad Ali, aptly dubbed “The Greatest,” sculpted by renowned African-American artist Jesse Richardson to symbolize triumph over adversity.
Around it, more than 500 memorial plaques will honour legends whose achievements laid the groundwork for today’s freedoms. The Richardson family donated the Muhammad Ali bronze collection, valued at US$25 million, to the J R Turner Foundation to support the park and its various initiatives.
The centrepiece statue is one of seven monumental pieces, each worth US$3.2 million, alongside 50 marquee-sized bronze sculptures at US$50,000 each. Of the 50 statues, 16 have already been sold to collectors, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Robert “Kool” Bell of Kool & the Gang, the Ali family, Kuda Tagwireyi, and Standard Bank while a collection has been gifted to the Museum of African Liberation.
Mrs. Adiva Israel, founder and CEO of the J R Turner Foundation, underscored the meaning of Ali’s statue: “The bronze represents the victorious stand Muhammad Ali took, his Olympic triumph, and legendary wins against Joe Frazier and George Foreman.” She said the collection was donated to raise awareness and funds for their various projects and initiatives.
Besides honouring Africa’s icons, the park will also house the “Eternal Peace Through Repatriation” programme, an initiative offering those in the diaspora the opportunity to be laid to rest on African soil. Through the symbolic “Door of Return,” those seeking burial in their ancestral homeland may be repatriated and interred in Africa. “There’s a deep yearning,” said Mrs. Israel, “that if we cannot be taken back to Africa during our lifetime, we should at least be recognised and granted the right to be laid to rest here, if we so wish. It’s also about giving our ancestors, who paved the way, the right to return and rest on African soil.”
Ambassador Kwame Muzawazi reaffirmed the park’s homecoming mission. “All Black men, George Padmore, Bob Marley, even Tupac, must be buried here. These are sons of Africa. That is the purpose,” he declared.
He explained that while the J R Turner Foundation had originally proposed a monument focused solely on Muhammad Ali, the vision expanded. “We said, let’s have something broader, a monument that celebrates across the board. Muhammad Ali contributed greatly to the African cause, but he stood on the shoulders of giants who must also be honoured in the same space.”
Mrs Israel stressed the need to address one of the greatest crimes against humanity, the transatlantic slave trade. Over 400 years ago, millions of African men, women, and children were kidnapped and taken to the West to build what we now know as modern-day America and Europe.
“The West was empowered by enslaved Africans and African ingenuity.” Mrs. Israel further explained the purpose of the “Eternal Peace Through Repatriation” programme. “It will allocate land for Africans who were kidnapped and be brought back to the continent, to provide a final resting place of peace, where they can find healing and solidarity.” Symbolic burial sites will be created for African greats whose remains cannot be repatriated to Zimbabwe.
“We’ll conduct symbolic burials by visiting their resting places, whether in Nigeria, Jamaica, America, with the families’ permission, collect soil from those sites…we then bring that soil back and do a symbolic burial back home here in Zimbabwe.” Just as the biblical nation of Israel brought back Joseph’s bones from captivity in Egypt to their promised land, Marcus Garvey is set to become one of the first African giants honoured at the Great African Memorial Park.
“Our plan was to bring Marcus Garvey’s remains to Liberation City,” explained Mrs Israel. “We received an endorsement from Marcus Garvey Jr, he was meant to visit last year for a flag-raising ceremony, but at 92, his health made travel difficult. Still, we hoped to begin negotiations to repatriate his father’s remains from Jamaica to Zimbabwe. If that proves impossible, we’ll hold a commemorative burial, collecting soil from his grave to be laid here, allowing his spirit to rest among fellow sons of Africa.”
The park’s burial section will feature 2000 graves for those in the diaspora who wish to be laid to rest in Africa, as well as space for symbolic burials. Recognizing that 2000 graves fall short of the millions who may seek a final resting place on the continent, the Foundation plans to petition the Office of the President and the Zimbabwean government for a larger site.
“One hectare isn’t enough,” 2000 graves are not enough, probably even 100,000. We will accommodate as many as humanly possible. The first high-profile individuals will be buried in Liberation City, and the rest outside.” Greats already buried in Africa will not be reburied at the park. “The privilege with some of our great African warriors, leaders, and patriarchs is that they’re already buried on the continent,” she explained.
“Burial isn’t the objective, it’s honour. We’ll memorialize them, placing their names alongside great Africans from the diaspora, kings, queens, liberators, doctors, laureates, inventors, anyone who gifted something to Africa and the world.”
Mrs. Israel clarified the distinction: “Burial is different from honour. Honours are for all African greats, but burial is open to anyone in the diaspora, whether alive or late. If someone’s late, and their family says, ‘My mother always wanted to be buried in Africa,’ that wish can be fulfilled.”
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