Nehanda

In 1898, British colonial authorities hanged Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana for her role in the First Chimurenga uprising in what is now Zimbabwe. They believed the execution would end her influence. Instead, her final words, "e;My bones will rise,"e; outlived the empire that tried to erase her, reappearing decades later in the Second Chimurenga as a rallying cry for liberation fighters. Nehanda traces the trial transcripts, missionary accounts, and oral histories surrounding her life and execution, following how her authority as a spirit medium shaped resistance against colonial rule. It examines not only what she did in life, but how her voice continued to operate long after her death, carried through memory, story, and political struggle. This is the story of a woman whose execution did not silence her. It is the account of a gallows that failed to contain her words, and a prophecy that colonial power could neither prevent nor forget.