In the late 1990s, and early 2000s, a number of Zimbabweans moved to South Africa to study and work in universities. The restricted access to Ian Smith’s Papers at Rhodes University raised suspicion about whether the records were purely personal. Two books published in the mid-2000s about Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle history, and the moments that preceded it, relied on archival documents in the collection for evidence. This further fueled suspicions that the collection was related to the government’s dealings. At the same time, Zimbabwean archivists began engaging more actively in two key regional initiatives; The Aluka Project and the East and Southern African Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA). The former stressed the importance of digitising struggle history archives, and the latter advocated for the repatriation of migrated archival collections.
When Ian Smith passed away in 2007, the archival and academic community became more vocal about their suspicions. They pressured the government to investigate the nature of the documents, and to request their repatriation if the records were government related.
In 2010, following mounting pressure from the archival and academic communities in and outside of the country, a report was commissioned by the late former President Robert Mugabe. Prof. Enocent Msindo, a Zimbabwean academic stationed at Rhodes University, led the investigation. He found that 99% of the records in “Ian Smith’s Papers” that he had access to, were, indeed, government records. After a three week verification process by State officials, who were given full access to the collection, it was confirmed that the Ian Smith Papers were government records. The collection was, thereafter, referred to as the Rhodesia Cabinet Files.
In 2011, heads of national archival institutions congregated in Algeria to convene the African Council on Archives; a platform that would deal with African-specific challenges facing archives. The intention was to formulate an African Strategy. Repatriation was a key issue. During this meeting, the demand for the repatriation of the Rhodesia Cabinet Files was presented by the Director of National Archives of of Zimbabwe’s, Ivan Murambiwa, to a joint sitting of the International Council of Archive, and the East and Southern African Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA). He received full support from the professional network that was gathered there, including Mandy Gilder, National Archivist at the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa.
The following year, an agreement, facilitated by Mandy Gilder, was reached between Rhodes University and the Zimbabwean Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to repatriate the Rhodesia Cabinet files. Although this repatriation revolved around archival records, the Zimbabwean Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs were tasked with their transportation, due to the potentially sensitive nature of the content. Furthermore, the documents were not taken to the National Archives for public access and curation. They were, instead, stored at the State House, under restricted access protocols.
Three years later, in June 2015, Zimbabwe was set to host the ESARBICA conference, and the Director of the National Archives, Ivan Murambiwa was to be appointed the President of the Council for the coming two years. He felt that this would be an apt time to declassify the Rhodesia Cabinet Files. President Robert Mugabe and his cabinet, however, denied this request, which reignited rumours that the files contained sensitive information about the current government’s political and ethical deviancy.
In 2018, following the resignation of the long standing President Robert Mugabe, and six months after Zimbabwe entered into its Second Republic phase, under the leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s, the Rhodesia Cabinet Files were transferred into the care of the National Archives of Zimbabwe, in a public handover ceremony. This was meant to signal the dawn of a new, more transparent, era. However, the records remained classified.