Gibson Mhaka — As Zimbabwe prepares for its 45th Independence Day celebrations next week, it also pauses to remember and pay tribute to numerous heroes and heroines who tragically passed away during this historically significant month.
Chinhoyi Seven heroes
On April 28, 1966, seven liberation war fighters made the ultimate sacrifice in the famous Chinhoyi battle, a pivotal event that marked the beginning of the Second Chimurenga.
These brave comrades -- Simon Chimbodza, Christopher Chatambudza, Nathan Charumuka, Godwin Manyerenyere, Ephraim Shenjere, David Guzuzu and Arthur Maramba -- engaged the Rhodesian forces at the very start of Zimbabwe's fight against colonial rule.
On that fateful day in 1966, these seven gallant fighters confronted the Rhodesian forces, who were supported by fighter jets and helicopters, in a battle that took almost the entire day. They resolutely defended their positions, compelling the Rhodesians to deploy their full military might, including air power.
Tragically, the seven were killed only after they ran out of ammunition and they are buried at Chemagamba Cemetery, Mashonaland West Provincial Heroes Acre in Chinhoyi, and were declared national heroes in 2017.
Lieutenant-General Lookout "Mafela" Masuku
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) Commander, the late Lieutenant-General Lookout "Mafela" Khalisabantu Vumindaba Masuku, who was a freedom fighter par excellence, and a member of the Joint Operations Command was born on April 7 in Gwanda 1940 and died on April 5 in 1986 at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
He was laid to rest at Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo.
Lt-Gen Masuku was declared a national hero on June 10, 1994 together with 11 other national heroes that include Cdes Nikita Mangena, Artwell Bokwe, Amon Jirira, Jini Ntuta, Edison Sithole, Benjamin Burombo and Dr Samuel Tichafa Parirenyatwa.
Lt-Gen Masuku's colourful military career started when he became a full-time political activist in Beitbridge in 1962.
He then left the country the following year and underwent military training in the then Soviet Union which he completed in 1964.
After his training, he earned a reputation of being a fearless fighter and was appointed an instructor at Morogoro training camp in Tanzania.
He was later appointed ZPRA Commissar and deputy Commander, which Dr Nkomo said he held with distinction in the field. In June 1978, Lt-Gen Masuku became ZPRA commander after the death of Cde Nikita Mangena.
He represented ZPRA at the Ceasefire Commission and on the Joint Operations Command, where he played a pivotal role in securing and implementing the ceasefire agreement under the Lancaster House Agreement.
Lt-Gen Masuku led the first group of guerrillas who returned home after the declaration of ceasefire. His promotion to Lt-Gen of the integrated Zimbabwe National Army was gazetted in 1981 and he was appointed deputy commander to Rex Nhongo (the late General Solomon Mujuru).
Cde Maurice Nyagumbo
Cde Maurice Nyagumbo, one of the longest-serving prisoners of the liberation struggle, having spent 21 years in detention, died in Harare on April 20, 1989, and was buried at the national shrine on April 23, 1989.
Despite his unfortunate death by suicide in the midst of a corruption scandal, the former Senior Minister of Political Affairs and Secretary for Administration of the ZANU PF Politburo and Central Committee was endowed with an undying spirit that spurred him on, even in the face of adversity, until his beloved country attained majority rule.
He, however, paid a high price in the loss of freedom when he was arrested in November 1976 and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for his part in transporting young black Zimbabweans who wished to join the liberation forces in Mozambique.
He was released from prison in 1979 and immediately flew to London for the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement. At independence in 1980, Nyagumbo was elected into the first Parliament of Zimbabwe and became the first Minister of Mines in the initial Zimbabwe Cabinet.
Commendably, Cde Nyagumbo documented his life in a highly illuminating autobiography aptly titled "With the People: An Autobiography from the Zimbabwean Struggle," thereby contributing a critical historical record of the country's struggle for nationhood.
Cde Victoria Chitepo
On April 8, 2016, Victoria Chitepo, the widow of the late national hero and former Zanu chairperson Advocate Herbert Chitepo, passed away.
Born on March 27, 1928, in South Africa, Cde Victoria Chitepo was a teacher by profession. Her life took a significant turn when she married Cde Herbert Chitepo in Durban on November 29, 1955.
Deeply inspired by her husband's commitment to the liberation struggle, Cde Chitepo actively organised women for protest marches. Furthermore, she played a crucial role in coordinating care for detainees held in prisons in areas such as Marondera and Sikhombela, demonstrating her unwavering dedication to the cause of freedom.
After independence, Cde Chitepo was one of the three female ministers in Independent Zimbabwe (1980) as Deputy Minister for Education and Culture (1980-1982). She served as Minister of National Resources and Tourism (1982-1990), Minister for Information, Post and Telecommunications and Minister of Local Government (1990-1992).
She was once a Member of Parliament in Manicaland's Mutasa and Buhera West Constituencies between 1980 and 1995. Cde Chitepo worked as a United Nations eminent person and special advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Mr Boutros Boutros Ghali on the preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women (1994-1995).
Cde Chitepo was Women Voters Association of Zimbabwe chairperson in 1995 and was appointed a member of the Commonwealth observer group of the Kenyan elections in 1992. She was appointed a member of the Commonwealth Mission to South Africa (Comsa III) in 1993, replacing Justice Simbi Mubako.
She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Tourism and Hospitality Management Degree for her contribution to national development by Midlands State University in 2010.
Cde Vivian Mwashita
On the same day Cde Chitepo died, April 8, 2016, the nation also mourned the passing of war veteran and former member of the National Assembly and Senator, Cde Vivian Mwashita. She succumbed to complications from hypertension and diabetes at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. These two heroines, Cde Victoria Chitepo and Cde Vivian Mwashita, made history as they were interred in a twin burial at the National Heroes Acre.
Cde Mwashita was born on September 26, 1958, at Rusape Hospital. She received her primary education at Rukudzo Primary School in Kambuzuma, Harare, before proceeding to St Peter's Kubatana High School in Highfields for secondary education.
The late heroine was among the female cadres who crossed the border into Mozambique to join the liberation struggle under the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army in June 1975, accompanied by comrades Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Winnie Nevanji, Susan Muchinguri, and Tokodo Murinda.
They survived the Nyadzonya Massacre in August 1976. Cde Mwashita received training in guerrilla warfare in 1976 at Chimoio Training Camp in Mozambique.
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Cde Mwashita later proceeded to Ethiopia for four months to train as a military instructor at Tatek Military base.
On her return to Mozambique, she survived the air raid at Chimoio by Rhodesian forces in 1977.
It was at this point in September 1978 that Cde Mwashita was deployed to the battle front in the Tete Zanla Operational Province under the command of the now late Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri. At the battle front, she served as an assistant to Cde Vatema Tichatonga, now Group Captain Gede of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, who was a Detachment Commander at the time.
The biggest battles that Cde Mwashita fought included Hwata and Patamukombe where the fighting lasted from 7am to 9pm in which she lost four colleagues.
Between May and June 1979, Cde Mwashita left the frontline role to be part of a large contingent of female combatants responsible for carrying ammunition from Zumbo on the border with Mozambique via Chidodo to supply fighting formations deeper in the interior.
After the attainment of independence in 1980, Cde Mwashita first worked at the Zanu headquarters at number 88 Manica Road, now Robert Mugabe Road in Harare, where she served the party well under the mentorship of the likes of the late Dr Hebert Ushewokunze and Cde Tony Gara.
Later, she was attested into the Central Intelligence Organisation, where she served until 1995 when she retired. Thereafter, she pursued an illustrious political career under ZANU PF.
In 1995, Cde Mwashita was awarded a Liberation War Hero Bronze Award in recognition of her Liberation War credentials.
During the same year, she won the Harare South constituency parliamentary seat.
In 2005, she became the ZANU PF Senator for Mvurachena, which incorporated Harare South, Sunningdale and Waterfalls constituencies.
