Cele: An unflinching revolutionary

An astute and unflinching revolutionary, Cephas Cele was among the first cadres trained in 1967 to fight the bitter war of independence. As a specialist in military engineering and combat tactics he rose through the ranks to become commissar and second in command of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra).
The fourth child and only son of Sithundi and Nhlahlelana Cele’s six children, Cde Cephas Cele was born on February 28, 1935 in Chief Mzimuni’s area in Gwanda. He received primary education at Glassblock Number 2 School and Hope Fountain Mission between 1942 and 1952.
Until 1955 he was at Inyathi Mission for his secondary education. A year later Cde Cele became a teacher initially at Ncema Primary School and then at Glassblock Number 2 school. He left the teaching profession and moved to Zambia in 1963 in search of better and more rewarding employment opportunities.
While teaching in Southern Rhodesia, Cephas Cele had become an active member of the National Democratic Party’s Youth League. When the NDP was banned he joined the Zimbabwe African People’s Union  (Zapu) at its birth. Zapu was again outlawed within a year of its formation.
In Zambia Cde Cele joined Zapu’s external wing. In 1967 he was trained as a guerrilla at Morogoro in Tanzania together with former Zimbabwe National Army commander General Solomon Mujuru. Fellow national heroes Albert Nxele, Alfred Nikita Mangena and Lookout Masuku were among the military instructors at Morogoro.
Such was his outstanding performance in combat tactics that he was appointed Zipra Commander for the western front which included joint military operations with Umkhonto we Sizwe. Umkhonto we Sizwe was the military wing of the African National Congress of South Africa.
Cde Cele returned to Zipra headquarters in Zambia on promotion as chief of personnel and training. In 1969 Zapu suffered a leadership crisis after its exiled cadres arrested and detained the party’s political leaders including Jason Z. Moyo, George T. Silundika and Edward Ndlovu.
Until their release in 1971, Cephas Cele found himself performing additional administrative duties created by the leadership vacuum. Nikita Mangena was appointed Zipra commander in 1971 while Lookout Masuku, who was the commissar deputised him.
When Nikita Mangena died in 1978, Lookout Masuku replaced him as commander and Cele was elevated to the position of Zipra commissar. He was also a member of the Revolutionary Council, the supreme policymaking body of Zapu. Cele’s role as political commissar was to mobilise and induct army recruits on the aims and objectives of the armed struggle.
Cde Cele had a stint as Zapu’s representative in Hanoi, Vietnam.
At independence in 1980, Cephas Cele became a member of the Demobilisation Directorate, a transitional body charged with rehabilitating former combatants and assisting them return to civilian life. He was himself appointed a Government social welfare officer until he retired in 1991.
Cde Cele remained an active PF-Zapu member and was deeply involved in events and meetings leading to the Unity Accord of 1987.
At the time of his death, Cephas Cele was survived by his wife Debra, eight children and 14 grandchildren.