THE late former Mashonaland West Provincial governor Mudhumeni Chivende, who died in Chinhoyi on Saturday, worked tirelessly for Zanu PF and government and deserves national hero status, his family said yesterday.
BY NUNURAI JENA
Family spokesperson Kudakwashe Augustine Mubika said they were still waiting for Zanu PF to decide Chivende’s status before they could announce burial arrangements.
“We are not the ones to request because the contribution that Sekuru Chivende did for this country speaks for itself, but we have our own expectations as a family because of his immense contribution to the liberation struggle. We also have our plan B, but in order to continue respecting our party our plan remains confidential,” Mubika said.
Chivende (76) died a pauper after being dumped and neglected by his erstwhile Zanu PF colleagues since he left government in 1990.
He succumbed to kidney failure after being admitted at Chinhoyi over the past two weeks.
In August last year, Chivende’s wife, Rosemary told NewsDay that the family was struggling to pay for his medication and other basic needs, with none among top Zanu PF officials coming to his rescue.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“It’s surprising that no one is helping vaChivende, but I know they will be the first to come and give speeches at his funeral. They [Zanu PF] look after the dead more than the living,” Rosemary said then.
Chivende, who served as Mashonaland West’s first provincial governor at independence in 1980 and was one of the key facilitators of the famous Chinhoyi Battle of 1966 where seven freedom fighters died in a fierce battle with Rhodesian forces, left government after serving two five-year terms.
The former governor, who is credited with accommodating the first group of seven freedom fighters from Zambia who later perished at the Chinhoyi Battle, last year revealed that he did not benefit from government’s land reform programme or car schemes since he left public office. His only claim to fame was his equally struggling farm in Raffingora.
Chivende is one of the 10 people that Mugabe appointed to the Central Committee at the December 2014 congress, raising questions as to whether the Zanu PF leader knew the current status of the people he was appointing to the party’s main decision-making body.
