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Columbus Mabika
Correspondent
A man of few words, whose service to the nation will forever be etched in the collective national memory, the late Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Commander, Lt Gen Edzai Chimonyo, was yesterday laid to rest at the revered National Heroes Acre among his comrades who helped liberate Zimbabwe from colonial bondage.
On a wintry but sunny day, the late commander’s comrades in arms sat sombrely as they followed proceedings during the burial of one of their own and another gallant son of the soil, Cde Chakabva, the legendary Cde Vhuu.
With Covid-19 restrictions in full force, following a spike in infections, only a few people attended the interment of the two heroes.
Lt-Gen Chimonyo, died at the Avenues Clinic in Harare last week after battling lung cancer. He was 68.
In Edzai Mabhunu, as he was affectionately referred to during the liberation war days, Zimbabwe lost a gallant fighter, military strategist, organiser, loyalist and patriot whose life personified the armed struggle and changed the face of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
A commander during and after the liberation struggle, Lt-Gen Chimonyo, lived by the principle that the army is the insurer and guarantor of peace in the country. He has left a void too big to fill for both the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and nation at large, fellow Service Chiefs said.
ZDF Commander, General Philip Valerio Sibanda, who at some time shared trenches, courses and appointments with Lt-Gen Chimonyo during their military careers, said his exploits were second to none and would be difficult to replace.
“As defence forces, we have lost a genuine freedom fighter, a patriot, a hard-working man and a disciplinarian. We are going to find it difficult to replace him,” said Gen Sibanda.
“While we were together at Mgagao training camp in 1975, I really did not know him much, but we got to know each other well after independence when he was in the joint high command. I was a liaison officer for an assembly point and we went on a course together in 1982, that was the first time we got to know each other well. Since then we have attended a number of courses together, we shared appointments at some stage, he was a brigade commander while I was a brigade commander somewhere.”
“When he left for Tanzania to be an ambassador some 12 years ago, he was coming from Defence Headquarters and I was at Army Headquarters, so we got to know each other fairly well. From the time he became army commander in 2017, I got to know him much more than the past because we were now working very closely on a day-to-day basis,”
Commander Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Air Marshal Elson Moyo who was appointed to the helm of AFZ during the same period when Lt-Gen Chimonyo was appointed commander ZNA, said the late hero was an irreplaceable, principled man and full of wisdom as he always wanted the best for the defence forces.
“I worked with Lt Gen Chimonyo for quite some time, but in my present capacity as AFZ commander, I started working with him when I was appointed to the helm of AFZ. He was full of wisdom in as far as complementing each other was concerned. He was a team player and we shared quite lot experiences,” he said.
“He was ery principled, he was looking forward to upgrading the army from where it is. In terms of discipline, he was very strict, he wanted the best. He would have wanted to see the army rising from the level where we are now.”
Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga who shared the trenches with Lt Gen Chimonyo during the liberation struggle concurred, saying he was a military genius.
“I first met Lt Gen Chimonyo in Mozambique before independence. After independence, he was commander One Brigade in Bulawayo. As I climbed up the ranks in the ZRP, I once worked directly under him under the joint operations system, he was a strong character and very level-headed when it comes to commanding forces on the ground,” he said.
Commissioner-General of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Moses Chihobvu who worked under Lt Gen Chimonyo as a junior officer at One Infantry Brigade before he switched to ZPCS said the late hero was a humble, firm soldier.
“I knew the general in the early 1980s, then I worked with him when he was commander One Infantry Brigade around 1985 when I was a junior officer before I switched to the ZPCS. He was a man who could sit down and hear even from a junior officer and share ideas. He was firm. After my transfer to ZPCS, we continued to work together, and recently we met. I am shocked by his death,” he said.
Commander 2 Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Mpulaeng Siziba who was a company commander when Lt Gen Chimonyo was commander 2 Infantry Brigade during the DRC war, said Lt Gen Chimonyo was a military genius par excellence who achieved his intended goals.
“I started knowing him when we where in the Congo, that’s when I worked closely with him. I was a company commander and he was commander eastern front in Congo. He was a principled man who commanded us very well, gave us good direction, and we achieved our intended goals,” he said.
“After that I was appointed commander 2 Infantry Brigade where I was directly under his command. During that time, I consulted him every time I had a problem. I would go directly to him and he would give me sound advice and directions. I could feel that there is a commander up there whom I could turn to each time I faced challenges.”
Besides his military exploits during and after the war of independence, Lt Gen Chimonyo said he was the first person to open the door of the vehicle that the General Josiah Magama Tongogara was travelling in after it was involved in an accident in 1979.
Online Reporter