Harare, (New Ziana) –Acting President General (Retired) Constantino Chiwenga has called on different sections of the society to play a role in promoting nation building and unity.
He was speaking at the National Heroes Acre on Wednesday during the burial of three heroes, namely Major-General (Retired) Solomon Siziba, Chnehamo “Chen” Chakezha Chimutengwende and ambassador John Shumba Mvundura.
Major-General (Rtd) Siziba (67) died last Wednesday at the Josiah Magama Tongogara Camp Hospital in Harare after a long battle with cancer, while the late Chen Chimutengwende (81) died last Thursday after suffering from a chronic kidney disease, and ambassador Mvundura (81) died last Wednesday at the St Anne’s Hospital after battling liver cancer.
Acting President Chiwenga said despite divergent political views, the nation should be guided by the ethic of transformative politics where tolerance, forgiveness and Ubuntu take precedence in the quest to build a prosperous and secure Zimbabwe that everyone wants.
“Let us all strive to build a habitable, peaceful, economically stable and secure Zimbabwe as a legacy for future generations,” he said.
“It is the duty of each generation to take our nation forward. That way, the trajectory of our Nation will remain on the upward, with each generation leaving a wholesome legacy for the one coming after it.”
Turning to the heroes, Acting President Chiwenga said the good deeds, selflessness, and sacrifices that define their legacies are what they left behind and will be forever cherished.
He expressed condolences to the Chimutengwende, Mvundura and Siziba families at the sorrowful loss of the three gallant sons, which he said was a huge blow to the nation.
“May the pain of the three bereaved families be relieved by the distinguished role the late departed cadres played in liberating our Nation, and the patriotism they exhibited during their respective services to our country, to the veterans of the Liberation Struggle and to the ruling ZANU PF party,” he said.
Acting President Chiwenga said people should not forget that it is through the selfless sacrifices and dedication to duty by the late three gallant sons and many other departed and living cadres, that Zimbabwe continues to enjoy its sovereign nationhood as a State.
“We can only realise our vision of attaining an Empowered and Prosperous Upper Middle-Income Society by guarding against and desisting from all forms of actions and misdeeds which undermine the national interest.
“Foremost is corruption and all forms of related unethical and selfish conduct, especially in respect of business transactions at whatever level, small, medium to large economic units. Any act of shady dealings and acts of deceit go towards undermining the ideals for which these gallant national heroes sacrificed,” he said.
Chimutengwende, or Cde Chen as he was affectionately known, was born on the 28th of August in 1943. He did his primary and secondary education in Highfields, in the then Salisbury. He began his political career in 1957 at the tender age of 14 while living in Highfield in the then Salisbury.
His nationalist convictions and abhorrence of the oppressive colonial environment saw him rise rapidly until 1963, when he was appointed to the post of Secretary for Information and Publicity in the ZANU Youth League.
The following year, 1964, Cde Chimutengwende received military and ideological training in Ghana during Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s time. He remained committed to the liberation of the Zimbabwean people even while living in various countries across the globe, mobilizing resources and canvassing for international support of the liberation movement back home.
After Independence, Cde Chimutengwende served in various capacities in Government, serving as a Member of Parliament representing Mazowe East and Mazowe Central constituencies in Mashonaland Central Province, for a period spanning more than two decades.
In 1986, he was also appointed to the post of ZANU (PF) Provincial Chairman for Mashonaland Central and held that position for a period of 17 years.
Within that time frame, he served as a Cabinet Minister for 14 years, when he held various portfolios which include Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications, Minister of Environment and Tourism as well as Minister of State for Public and Interactive Affairs.
Whilst serving in the Legislature, Chimutengwende’s wisdom saw him being appointed to the post of Deputy President of the Senate and head of the Zimbabwe delegation to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).
He also served as a member of the Politburo and at the time of his passing on he was a member of the National Consultative Assembly.
The late Ambassador Mvundura was born on 8 August 1943 in Makoni District, Rusape, Manicaland Province.
He did his primary education at Dumba primary school from 1951 to 1956 and later on transferred to Handina primary school from 1957 to 1959. Mvundura enrolled for secondary education at Harare secondary school from 1961 to 1963.
A seasoned diplomat and a veteran of the liberation struggle, Mvundura’s political career began in the early days of ZAPU and ZANU when the black political activists began mobilizing support to act against the oppressive colonial rule.
As an activist and chair of youths in Old Highfield, he was among those who stood up and fought for the independence of Zimbabwe. Mvundura received his military training in Tembwe, Mozambique in Tete Province and was a member of the ZANLA General Staff.
He was later deployed in Nachingwea, Tanzania as an Assistant Instructor. Between 1978 and 1980, he was ZANU’s Chief of Protocol and Deputy Chief Representative in Mozambique.
The Nation has lost a Diplomat who served in different countries since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. His first diplomatic mission was in Mozambique and Swaziland followed by Malawi, Libya, Nigeria and Cuba.
Despite retiring from Government Service in 1994, his resilience and commitment to his country led to his re-appointment as ambassador to Cuba from 2000 to 2013. The late Major General (Rtd) Solomon Siziba was born on the 25th of April 1958 in Nhwali, Gwanda district in Matabeleland South province.
He did his primary education at Nhwali Primary School before enrolling for secondary education at Manama Mission in 1977. The late Siziba, whose Chimurenga name was “Cde Lebanon Ngazimbi”, was part of the group of Manama Secondary School children who were taken by the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army guerrillas to Botswana in 1977 and later joined the liberation struggle in Zambia.
He underwent Basic Guerrilla Training in Kaunga, Zambia under the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). On completion of his training, the late Siziba was appointed as assistant to the Camp Armourer and later elevated to the post of Reconnaissance Detachment Commander.
He was one of the survivors of the 1978 Rhodesian Security Forces attacks at Freedom and Mukushi Camps in Zambia.
As the war of liberation progressed, the ZIPRA command element saw fit to select General Siziba to undergo specialist Reconnaissance training in Moscow in the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1979.
On completion of that training, he was deployed at Mazoe Training Deport in Solwezi, Zambia as the Reconnaissance Detachment Commander up to ceasefire.
The late Siziba was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army and commissioned as Captain and appointed Adjutant for 18 Infantry Battalion in Kezi, Matabeleland South and was deployed with 1 Infantry Brigade during the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ military intervention in Mozambique as part the country’s quest to honour its regional peace and security obligations.
He was also part of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces contingent which was deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the SADC Forces Headquarters during “Operation Sovereign Legitimacy.”
For his continuous loyalty to the country, dedication to duty, discipline, professionalism and unquestionable allegiance to the command element and other various positive traits which he exhibited in task execution, he was appointed as Defence Attaché at the Zimbabwe Embassy in Botswana from 2005 to 2013.
The late Siziba was appointed the Deputy Commander of One Brigade following his promotion to the rank of Colonel.
From 2013 until 2018, he was appointed Director of Administration at the National Prosecuting Authority and was also its Board secretary.
In 2018, the late Siziba was reassigned to mainstream military duties at the Zimbabwe National Army Headquarters as Brigadier General Inspectorate, a post he held until retirement from the military in 2024, the same year he was elevated to the rank of Major General.
New Ziana