Cde Joshua Malinga to be buried on Friday

Nqobile Tshili, Online Writer

The body of the National Hero Cde Joshua Malinga arrived at his home in Richmond in Bulawayo on Wednesday where it will lie in state.

Family and friends and scores of Zanu-PF supporters converged at Cde Malinga’s residence for his funeral service.

Cde Malinga’s send-off funeral service will be held at Amphitheatre on Thursday morning.

He will be buried at the National Heroes Acre on Friday as opposed to Saturday as was initially planned.

Cde Malinga who was Special Advisor to the President, former Mayor of the City of Bulawayo and Zanu-PF Politburo died last week in Bulawayo aged 79. He was declared a National Hero by President Mnangagwa.

 

 

In his condolence message on Sunday night, President Mnangagwa said the ruling Zanu PF party had unanimously conferred him with national hero status in recognition of his role in championing the cause of special interest groups in public policy, particularly those living with disability.

Cde Malinga was born on 20 April 1944 in Filabusi. He was born able-bodied and was attacked by Polio at a very young age.  He grew up in Filabusi and would remain at home looking after the grains while others took to the fields.

He was then taken to Bulawayo by the late Cde Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu who took him to Jairos Jiri center where he went to school and later trained as a cobbler.  As a young man he was touched by how the blacks were treated by the whites leading him to join politics.

He became an activist and rose in politics to become a popular figure.  Cde Malinga was later elected Ward 2 Councillor in the early 1990s and became Mayor in 1993  up to 1996 serving two terms as an Executive Mayor.

He was once a Zanu-PF District chairman for Lookout Masuku district before becoming a Provincial member, then rose to becoming a Central Committee and subsequently appointed a member of the Politburo up to the time of his death. He was once the World President of the disabled people.

Mourners are gathered at number 1 Brooke road in Richmond, Bulawayo.