FORMER Zanla commander Wilfred Mhanda and a fierce critic of President Robert Mugabe, has died.
MOSES MATENGA
Mhanda (64), whose nom de guerre was Dzinashe Machingura, died at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare after succumbing to colon cancer.
Family spokesperson Munyaradzi Mhanda confirmed the death yesterday, saying his uncle had suffered from colon cancer for some time. “He died last night at Parirenyatwa Hospital. He had been sick for some time suffering from colon cancer. The doctors had examined him and we thought he was going to recover,” he said.
“He had cancer of the colon which was diagnosed in 2011 and was successfully treated. He went through chemotherapy for six months which was completed and he was negative. But then there were some complications that developed.”
Mhanda was waiting to undergo a procedure to remove gases that had developed in his stomach as a result of chemotherapy.
Mourners are gathered at Number 7 Sudbery Road, Monavale in Harare.
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai described the late Mhanda as a dedicated patriot with an impeccable history in the fight to liberate the people.
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“We want to commiserate with the Mhanda family. He was a true, dedicated comrade who has an impeccable record and the president is mourning with the family on this sad loss,” Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said Mhanda made immense contribution to the independence of the country as a member of the High Command. “He made his contribution. He was a member of the High Command. He had his challenges after independence, but that does not take away his contributions as a fighter and commander,” Gumbo said.
Some of the people who went to pay their condolences include MDC Team leaders Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma.
A fierce critic of Mugabe, Mhanda was outspoken and played a critical role in the liberation of the country from colonial rule.
In his book published in 2011 titled Dzino: Memories of a Freedom Fighter, he expressed how he felt betrayed by Mugabe and the late Army General Solomon Mujuru.
In one of the interviews with a foreign publication, Mhanda described Mugabe as “intolerant of divergent views, single-minded and pre-occupied with position and power”.
Mhanda was also founder of the Zimbabwe Liberators’ Platform (ZLP) in 2000, a rival group to the radical Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans’ Association which is viewed as too partisan.
