The provincial hero’s status bestowed to the late Chiwundura legislator, Kizito Chivamba leaves a bad taste in the mouth and the late Patrick Kombayi’s family has every reason to be apoplectic.
Comment: NewsDay Editor
That Chivamba was pardoned by President Robert Mugabe in 1991 after a brazen attempt on Kombayi’s life was quite an insult, but his hero’s status is quite reviling and must be condemned in the strongest terms.
Chivamba does not deserve any form of hero status and the fact that he and his co-accused, Elias Kanengoni, have been awarded some form of recognition sullies the image of heroes in this country.
It is quite unfathomable that people, who were willing to kill someone, whose “crime” was to belong to a different party from Zanu PF, are honoured as heroes.
Hero status in this country has forever been downgraded, because the most undeserving people find themselves in shrines with people that are considered luminaries in this country.
As we have argued before, there is need for a total revamp in the manner heroes’ statuses are conferred – right from liberation, provincial to national hero status – because as it is, the status has lost its lustre.
Mugabe and his party need to be reminded that national and provincial shrines belong to the State and they should not monopolise them by pretending they are owned by Zanu PF.
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The conflation between Zanu PF and the State is the very reason why the ruling party cannot fill the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare for burials or commemorations and feels obliged to force-march people from areas such as Mbare Musika to attend such occasions.
Hero status is supposed to be revered and to be the highest honour, but what honour is there when people like Chivamba are interred at provincial shrines.
Then the government wonders why people drag their feet to national events such as Heroes’ Day, the short answer is because most people no longer identify with the so-called heroes and feel the process to accord the status is contrived.
An apolitical body of eminent historians and contemporary scholars needs to be set up to oversee the hero’s status conferment process.
This body should work in a professional manner and look into the deceased person’s history, their contribution to Zimbabwe whether pre- or post-independence and in whatever field, before making a recommendation to the President to confer the status.
The process should be taken away from Zanu PF and be made to be more transparent.
