Chiyedza Makamba, daughter to exiled former Zanu PF Central Committee member James Makamba, was yesterday laid to rest at the family’s Blueridge farm just outside Harare in an emotional send-off not witnessed by her father.
Makamba — a wealthy businessman and former Harare Mayoral aspirant — is in exile after fleeing the country following charges of externalising funds in 2005.
Chiyedza tragically passed on in a car crash along the Harare-Mutoko Road on her way home around 9pm on Monday.
Senior Zanu PF officials who attended the burial included Youth Development minister Saviour Kasukuwere, Transport, Minister, Nicholas Goche, Lands and Rural Resettlement minister, Herbert Murerwa, Goromonzi North MP Paddy Zhanda, former Health Minister David Parirenyatwa, businessman Themba Mliswa and Women Affairs minister Olivia Muchena, among others.
Speaker after speaker described the late Chiyedza as a vibrant personality, hardworking and focused. Her friends told NewsDay they drove from different corners to pay their last respects after learning of her death.
“It’s a blow not only to the Makamba family, but to all her friends and relatives. I was one of the few people who last saw her the night she was involved in an accident and it really pains me,” said Fortune Gwasira, a close friend. It is understood Makamba communicated to his friends in Zanu PF asking them to assist his family in their moment of sadness as he would not attend “due to his invidious position”.
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“He called and said there was nothing he could do about it and delegated Zanu PF members close to him. It’s so sad that because of what is happening, he cannot come to be with his family and bury his daughter,” said a Zanu PF insider.