Online Reporter
Latwell Nyangu
The late Brigadier General (Retired) Mark Charles Chimwaza has been hailed as an icon and exemplary army officer who served his country with exceptional loyalty and dedication.
Throughout his distinguished career, he remained steadfast in the face of neo-colonial challenges posed by the nation’s detractors.
Brigadier General Chimwaza passed away on 11 December at his home, following a battle with lung cancer.
He was 68 and is survived by his wife and three daughters.
President Mnangagwa conferred national hero status upon him on Wednesday, in recognition of his immense contribution to the liberation struggle and the development of the nation.
His body will lie in state at his home in Kuwadzana today.
Addressing mourners during a funeral parade at Charles Gumbo Barracks, chief mourner and Zimbabwe National Army Commander, Lieutenant-General Asher Walter Tapfumaneyi, said the late Brigadier General served diligently and purposefully in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
“He left a legacy in the organisation which is very difficult to emulate and has been an icon and prototype commander in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
“His exceptional loyalty and patriotism towards his beloved country remind us how fortunate we are as a nation to have had a generation of officers and commanders of the calibre of the late Brigadier General.
“His determination to fight for the liberation of the country, and to defend its ideals after independence, remained unmatched.
“The late was a distinguished military officer whose work we shall forever cherish.”
Lieutenant-General Tapfumaneyi described Brigadier General Chimwaza as a gallant son of the soil, emphasising that the sacrifices he and other heroes and heroines made for the freedom of Zimbabwe should never be forgotten.
“I know some of the younger generation often ask why we fought the whites, what provoked us, and why we decided to take up arms.
“We lived under Rhodesia, under the rule of colonial masters, and we took up arms. Zimbabwe did not gain its independence by mistake; it was hard-won. Many of our comrades died, and those of us who survived are gradually passing on, as the late Chimwaza has.
“We must defend what these people stood and fought for, which is Zimbabwe’s independence and sovereignty, at all costs.
“We must uphold the principles and values that the late general has left us.”
