National Anthem of Zimbabwe


The National Anthem of Zimbabwe, also known by its incipit "Simudzai Mureza wedu WeZimbabwe", is the national anthem of Zimbabwe.

History

It was introduced in March 1994 after a nationwide competition to replace the South African-derived "Ishe Komborera Africa" with a distinctly Zimbabwean song. The winning entry was a Shona song written by Professor Solomon Mutswairo and composed by Fred Changundega.
It has been translated into English and Ndebele, the two other main languages of Zimbabwe.
The Ndebele version is mainly sung in the Matebeleland regions of Zimbabwe, while the English version is not commonly sung. Some schools in Matabeleland South have introduced the Sotho/Tswana version.

Lyrics

Because Zimbabwe has several official languages, the lyrics of the song have been translated into the three main national languages: Shona, Ndebele and English, and may be sung interchangeably with each of the three languages bearing equal weight in law.