marble nkomo
Remember Deketeke, Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will tomorrow preside over the triple burial of three national heroes — Major-General (Retired) Herbert Chingono, Cde Cosmas Chiringa and war veteran Cde Elison Mupamawonde — at the National Heroes Acre.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are expected to converge at the sacred national shrine for a ceremony that will mark the fourth time since independence that the country has held a triple burial.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Ambassador Raphael Faranisi said all preparations for the ceremony were at an advanced stage.
“I can say all the necessary preparations for the triple burial are at an advanced stage.
“Mourners and guests are expected to be seated by 7am at the National Heroes Acre,” he said.
“Buses to ferry mourners from the provinces have been organised.”
Zimbabwe has only held three such triple burials before — on 26 January 2021, 29 April 2024 and 22 January 2025 — underlining the significance of tomorrow’s ceremony.
Triple burials at the National Heroes Acre are rare.
The first such burial was held on 26 January 2021, when Lieutenant-General (Retired) Sibusiso Moyo, Joel Biggie Matiza and Major-General (Rtd) Paradzai Zimondi were laid to rest.
The second took place on 29 April 2024 for Cde Nash Nyasha Dzimiri, Brigadier-General Shadreck Vezha and Cde Tsitsi Grace Jadagu.
The most recent was on 22 January last year, when Major-General (Retd) Solomon Siziba, Cde Chenhamo Chakezha Chimutengwende and Ambassador John Shumba Mvundura were buried.
Major-General (Retd) Chingono, a decorated liberation war fighter, died on 15 March at his Pentland Farm in Mazowe after battling diabetes.
He was 68.
Born in 1958 in Rukweza village, Makoni district, Manicaland province, he attended Nyazura Adventist Mission before joining the liberation struggle.
He later crossed into Mozambique for military training and was deployed in the Nyanga and Gandanzara operational areas.
Known by his Chimurenga name Cde Swift Chakanyuka, Maj-Gen Chingono is survived by his wife, Loyse, and six children.
His body is currently lying in state at Charles Gumbo Barracks in Harare ahead of burial.
Cde Chiringa, the Permanent Secretary for Harare Provincial Affairs and Devolution, died on 9 March at the age of 67 due to heart failure.
His remains were transported from his rural home in Nyanga via Backshill Farm in Nyazura last week and are now at Charles Gumbo Barracks.
War veteran Cde Mupamawonde, born in 1950 in Sohwe, Muzarabani, joined the liberation struggle in 1972, crossing into Zambia via Botswana.
He underwent military training in Morogoro, Tanzania, in 1973 before being selected for specialised artillery training in Ukraine in 1974 under the leadership of Cde Alfred Nikita Mangena.
Upon his return in 1975, he played a key role in the armed struggle, including involvement in operations such as the downing of an Air Rhodesia Viscount aircraft in February 1979.
His remains were airlifted to Samapiri Farm in Centenary for a provincial send-off and will lie in state there before being transferred to Charles Gumbo Barracks ahead of burial.
Online Reporter