MDC-T and Zanu-Ndonga will this weekend hold a memorial service for the late Zanu founder Ndabaningi Sithole in Chipinge, Manicaland, a first of such events lined up to honour fallen heroes whose works were not acknowledged for their differences with Zanu PF.
The memorial service will beheld at the late Sithole’s Freedom Farm where MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai will be the guest speaker.
“All is set for the service to honour our hero, the national hero, for the great works that he did for this country. We invited everyone and so far MDC99 has confirmed that they will attend the service. We invited Zanu PF, students, civic society, trade unions and we want everyone to attend. We have not received confirmation from Zanu PF yet but we expect a response from them by Friday,” Zanu-Ndonga chairperson Reketai Semwayo said. MDC-T organising secretary Nelson Chamisa said Sithole’s pre and post-independence contribution deserved recognition.
“Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole is an icon of our liberation struggle, a hero of the people’s struggle for democracy. It is for that reason that we have decided to honour his contribution to our being and independence,” Chamisa said, adding that more such distinguished Zimbabweans would be honoured by the MDC-T as a party.
Semwayo said: “We had this plan for some time now, but we did not have the funds for the programme. MDC-T has decided to fund the programme to honour our leader who participated in the formation of the party. He used to give advice to the late Gibson Sibanda and Tsvangirai and supported many players in his campaign to democratise the country.”
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said he was not aware of the programme and referred questions to secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa who, however, could not be reached for comment.
Born in 1920, Sithole was the founding leader of Zanu in 1963 when the party was formed at former Defence minister Enos Nkala’s house in Highfield, Harare.
Sithole was later elbowed out of the party after falling out of favour with President Robert Mugabe. In 1987, he went into self-imposed exile in the United States fearing for his life but returned in 1991 to lead Zanu-Ndonga.
