By Tendai Chisiri
On 8 September 2025, the Former Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Her Excellency Dr Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma, toured Liberation City in Harare, Zimbabwe, highlighting that the project was integral to preserving and promoting African narratives.
Liberation City is a 101-hectare multi-purpose development which incorporates the Museum of African Liberation, Heritage Village, Liberation Mall, an African-themed Amusement Park, an Animal Park, a five-star hotel, and world class Presidential Villas, amongst other amenities and attractions. It is being developed by Pan-African think-tank, the Institute of African Knowledge (INSTAK), with support from the Government of Zimbabwe.
INSTAK Chief Executive Officer, Ambassador Kwame Muzawazi, conducted H.E. Dr Dhlamini-Zuma and her delegation on the tour of Liberation City.
In her remarks after the tour, H.E. Dr Dhlamini-Zuma said, “I think this is a fantastic project, because Africa must have its story, its history. What I also like is that it is being built by Africans in Zimbabwe. We’re not asking other people from other continents to come and build it for us; we’re building it ourselves.
“It also reclaims our identity. But more importantly, it tells of our journey in terms of our liberation because this freedom was not free. So for me, I’m very impressed, really.”
H.E. Dr Dhlamini-Zuma also hailed INSTAK for its innovativeness in finding commercial models to support the development and sustainability of the Museum of African Liberation.
“I also like the concept of having commercial ventures that support the Museum, because the Museum must be very cheap for people to come in so that nobody can say ‘I want to go to the Museum but I don’t have money to pay’. So I think it’s an excellent idea; I’m very impressed.”
H.E. Dr Dhlamini-Zuma served as the AU’s first female Chairperson from 2012-2017. She also held several senior posts in the Government of South Africa, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Home Affairs.
Ambassador Muzawazi thanked H.E. Dr Dhlamini-Zuma for visiting Liberation City, adding that her support for INSTAK over the years had been instrumental in the successful execution of several initiatives by the think-tank.
“In particular, as Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Her Excellency played a key role in the publication of the first-ever Africa Factbook. Under Dr Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma’s leadership, the AU endorsed and internalised INSTAK’s activities as critical components of AU programmes aligned to education, heritage and memory preservation and promotion.
“Her endorsement today of the work we are doing here with the support of His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Government of Zimbabwe emboldens us and encourages us to go further and do more for Africans everywhere.”
INSTAK and the AUC signed memoranda of understanding on the publication of the Africa Factbook in 2016 and 2019, with the landmark tome being released in 2020 as the first comprehensive and in-depth look at more than 1,000 years of African history.
The African Union, as well as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), amongst many other institutions and governments, have also backed INSTAK’s ongoing work at Liberation City.
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