A sculpture of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, a 19th-century Zimbabwean woman who was hanged for leading a rebellious opposition against the white colonialists in the Southern African country, has been unveiled in Harare. 

The anti-colonialist heroine, fondly referred to as Mbuya, the Shona word for grandmother, was hanged in 1898 after she led a rebellion against white occupation.

The towering bronze statue which stands at an intimidating height of more than three meters was unveiled at a major intersection in Harare close to the place where Nehanda was hanged, on May 25, which doubles as Africa Day,  by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Sharing pictures from the unveiling on social media, Zimbabwe's President Mnangagwa tweeted, "Happy #AfricaDay to all Africans celebrating across the continent! It was a true honour to today unveil the statue of liberation heroine #MbuyaNehanda. Her legacy is an inspiration to all Zimbabweans and all Africans."

Mr. Mnangagwa further added that the statue of Nehanda "is a declaration that we stand proud of our history and identity." 

As one of the spiritual leaders of the Shona, she had been an influential spirit medium for the revolt by the Chimurenga anti-colonialists rallying people to fight against the seizure of black-owned lands by the British South Africa Company's colonization of Zimbabwe.

She and Sekuru Kaguvi, whom some historians claim was her husband, were eventually captured and executed by the colonialists on charges of murder.

After her death in 1898, Nehanda became a symbol of resistance. She was also an inspiration for the 1970s bush war that brought an end to the white-minority ruled country of Rhodesia and led to majority rule and the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980.

Nationalists still say her name to evoke a spirit of patriotism and a major road and the maternity wing of one of the southern African country’s biggest hospitals in the capital, Harare, are named after her.

Several African countries including Zimbabwe and Nigeria, have been putting pressure on European and North American museums and cultural institutions to return skulls, bronze artifacts, ivory tusks, religious items, and other historical art and cultural objects shipped from Africa as part of war trophies during the pre-colonial and colonial period. 

Many of Zimbabwe's stolen art are from excavations of the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the ancient civilization in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo which is thought to have been the capital and the seat of the royalty of an unknown great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age before it fell into ruin.