LIBERATION struggle stalwart Alma Mkhwebu will be buried today at the Provincial Heroes Acre in Gwanda.
She passed away on April 10, 2026.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa conferred liberation war heroine status on Mkhwebu in recognition of her role in Zimbabwe’s armed struggle, according to a letter from Zanu PF secretary-general Jacob Mudenda.
“I shall be most grateful if you would make the usual burial arrangements and payment of benefits to her family,” Mudenda wrote to Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Martin Rushwaya.
Mkhwebu, who hailed from Insiza district in Matabeleland South province, was born on March 22, 1958 and became politically active in 1976.
She later left the country for Botswana to join the liberation struggle.
Keep Reading
- Corruption Watch: Get scared, 2023 is coming
- Corruption Watch: Get scared, 2023 is coming
- Letters: Ensuring Africa’s food security through availability of quality seeds
- Is military's involvement in politics compatible with democracy?
She received military training at Mkushi Girls Camp in Zambia, which was bombed by the Rhodesian regime, and rose through the ranks to become a company commander specialising in radio communication.
After independence in 1980, she returned to Zimbabwe and was deployed to Insukamini Assembly Point in Gweru, where she undertook her studies.
Mkhwebu remained active in politics after independence, becoming a Zanu PF provincial member for three consecutive terms before serving in the party’s central committee.
She later served two consecutive terms as senator between 1995 and 2000 and held positions in the provincial league as deputy legal affairs secretary, before rising to the national consultative committee.
Beyond politics, she was described as a “vibrant and progressive” farmer and miner who contributed to the upliftment of communities in Matabeleland South.
Mkhwebu is survived by three children.