Vice President Kembo Mohadi has joined President Mnangagwa and the nation at large in mourning the death of national hero Cde Tinaye Elisha Nzirasha Chigudu, who is set to be buried at the National Heroes Acre this morning.
President Mnangagwa declared Cde Chigudu a national hero last Friday, after considering the roles he played before and after independence.
He died last Wednesday at his Mt Pleasant, Harare, home after a long illness.
He was 82.
In a statement yesterday through his Chief-of-Staff Dr Clever Chirume, VP Mohadi said it was devastating that Cde Chigudu had died barely a month after the passing on of other illustrious sons of the soil namely Ambassador John Shumba Mvundura, Cde Chenhamo "Chen" Chakezha Chimutengwende, Major-General (Retired) Solomon Siziba and Cde Justin Mupamhanga.
"The Vice President joins His Excellency the President and the nation in mourning Cde Tinaye Chigudu, who has since been declared a national hero.
"It is sad that yet another gallant son of the liberation struggle has died a few weeks after we buried four others.
"Furthermore, it is unfortunate that those of us who participated first-hand in the liberation struggle are now leaving when their wisdom and guidance is still required. This is the generation that demonstrated loyalty and resilience against the colonial regime, qualities we require to attain Vision 2030 of an empowered upper-middle-income society," said.
In his condolence message last Friday, President Mnangagwa said Cde Chigudu demonstrated bravery when he became one of the first cadres to be trained to fight in the liberation struggle.
"He was one of the first combatants to be sent for training in North Korea under the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZPRA), the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU)," he said.
Cde Chigudu also demonstrated bravery when he was deployed as an intelligence operative in the then Salisbury, and the critical information he gathered regarding the methods of operation of the racist Rhodesian forces assisted the guerilla operations and recruitment of young Zimbabweans for guerilla training.
At the time of his death, he was farming in Makoni District.
Cde Chigudu was born on August 13, 1942.
He had his early education at Chigudu School, Cyrene Mission and Harare Secondary School where he was expelled in 1964 because of his political activism.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He left the country in 1964 and went to Zambia under ZAPU. He then trained guerilla warfare in the Democratic Republic of Korea as a ZIPRA cadre.
Upon return, he was deployed in the country as an intelligence officer. In May 1965, he was captured and detained in Gonakudzingwa, Gweru and finally Whawha.
He was in detention for 12 years and was released in 1977 and exiled. He went to the UK and was enrolled at Exeter University where he studied law between 1978 and 1981.
On coming home, he joined the civil service, first as under Secretary (Legal Affairs) Ministry of Transport from 1981. He was appointed Deputy Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs and then Permanent Secretary in the same Ministry from 1994 to 2004.
He later became Permanent Secretary for Mines and Mining Development from 2004 to 2005. He was then appointed Governor and Resident Minister of Manicaland in 2005 and retired in 2008.
Cde Chigudu is the former ZANU PF Provincial Chairman of Manicaland and worked as a senior consultant under the United Nations Development Programme to structure the Ministry of Interior for South Sudan.
He is survived by wife, Mrs Esther Chigudu (nee Dumba) and seven children.
