The widow of the late founding president of Zanu Ndabaningi Sithole, Vesta Zvemwaida Saungweme Sithole, has died.
Report by Pride Gonde Saungweme, who was 71, died in the United States on Thursday after a long battle with cancer.
Nancy Saungweme, the deceased’s younger sister confirmed, Sithole’s death and described her as a mother and liberation war fighter.
“She died yesterday in the United States after a long battle with cancer. We have lost a sister and caring mother. Vesta was the first born in our family.”
According to Nancy, Sithole went to the US in 2002 seeking medical attention after suffering from heart problems.
Chronicling her sister’s history, Nancy said she was an ex-fighter, having joined the liberation struggle in Zambia before moving to Tanzania where she first married a banker with whom she later separated and then married Sithole.
“In 1964 she left Zimbabwe for Zambia and Tanzania, ending her nursing career at Mpilo Central Hospital midway to contribute to the liberation struggle. She is one of the few women who joined the liberation struggle,” said Nancy.
Saungweme-Sithole was an author who wrote a book My Life with an Unsung Hero, giving her version of the liberation war in which her husband was ejected from the leadership of a party he formed.
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She was born in the Eastern Highlands area of Chimanimani and is survived by three daughters, one son and six grandchildren.
Mourners are gathered at number 19 Rothesay Road, Avondale in Harare.
