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The late Major General (Rtd) Clever Shadreck Chiramba whose Chimurenga name was “Simangaliso Gumede,” passed on in the morning of 27 June 2021 at Parirenyatwa Hospital. He was born on 02 February 1955 in Chivi District, Masvingo Province to Shadreck Chiramba and Sophia (nee Mudzingwa) Chiramba.
He was the third born in a family of eight (08) children comprising six (06) boys and two (02) girls. His siblings were Rhoda, Margret, Gerald who are still alive and the others include Sydney, Sam, Shacky and Takaedzwa who have since passed on.
The late General hails from the “Wamambo Chirasha” totem of the Zimuto fame. He did his primary education at Jenya Primary School in Chivi as from 1961 to 1968 before proceeding for his secondary education at Mashaba Mine (Temeraire) School from 1970 to 1971.
He could not complete his secondary education since his parents could not afford to pay school fees due to the racially discriminative system that marginalised black Zimbabweans who happened to make up the majority of the people.
Having dropped out of school, the late General Officer was forced to seek employment at a very tender age and worked in Gweru as a general hand to raise the much needed school fees. This enabled him to pursue his education through correspondence when he enrolled for the part of his studies with the Central African Correspondence College in Gweru period 1973 to June 1974.
It was during his working days in Gweru that he experienced first hand brutality of the colonial regime which was manifested in the inhuman treatment of workers at the work place and the squalid conditions under which they lived.
While still working as general hand in Gweru, the youthful Clever Shadreck Chiramba was among a group of young men who were motivated to join and participate in the Liberation Struggle. On 3 June 1974, he left Gweru at the age of 19 to cross the border into Botswana through Plumtree and joined the liberation struggle as a ZIPRA Cadre.
Other comrades who accompanied him include Paul Hamadziripi and Steven Nyamande. Their group was subsequently conveyed to Zambia and during the same month the late decorated General Officer commenced training at Morogoro Training Camp in Tanzania. It was at Morogoro during training that he met the current Commander Defence Forces General Philip Valerio Sibanda and they trained together from June 1974 to November 1974.
Having distinguished himself during the initial training General Chiramba was among the few selected to undergo Cadet Light Artillery Weapons Training in Ukraine between November 1974 and October 1975. His area of specialty was in Artillery weapons which he had mastered in the then USSR. Upon completion of his training in Ukraine, the late Comrade returned to Morogoro Camp for deployment. It was during that time that the revolution underwent some changes as a result of efforts by the Frontline States to unite the two military wings ZANLA and ZIPRA.
In late November 1975, he left Morogoro for Mugagao, Tanzania, and was among the cadres earmarked for the integration of ZANLA and ZIPRA forces. In December 1975, he left Mugagao Camp for Beira in Mozambique (Dondo) to be deployed at the front. He was among a group of 1000 trained cadres in a ship called “Mapinduzi”.
By the end of 1975 he had deployed in Mt Darwin in the Nehanda Sector, Nyombwe Detachment and initially deployed as a 60mm Mortar operator. It was not long before he got injured in action along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border area in Mt Darwin and had to be repatriated to the rear in Tete Province where he received treatment at Tembuwe Camp.
The late General Officer did not take time to fully recover and had to be re-deployed at the Battalion Administration Operation Camp as a Logistics Officer responsible for armaments, food stuffs and clothing for comrades deployed in the frontline under Tete Province.
It was during his deployment at the Administration Camp that he distinguished himself as a capable logistician leading up to 1978 when he was promoted to a post in the General Staff responsible for operational logistics at the rear a position he held until the end of the war in 1979. In 1979, the late General Officer remained at the rear looking after strategic armaments.
During the Integration period following the attainment of Independence in 1980, the late general was responsible for integrating ZANLA forces into the Zimbabwe Army Service Corps. He was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army in 1980 and was commissioned as Colonel on 16 April 1981. The late General Officer was appointed Commanding Officer Mashonaland Services Corps in Mid 1981 up to December 1983. In 1984, he was appointed Commander Bulawayo District up to 1985 when he was then appointed Deputy Commander 5 Infantry Brigade.
He remained at 5 Infantry Brigade until January 1988 when he was appointed Acting Commander 3 Infantry Brigade. In December 1988, the late General Officer was appointed Commander Engineers Corps, a post he held until March 1990 when he was again re-appointed Commander 3 Infantry Brigade. In 1993, General Chiramba was appointed Commander 5 Infantry Brigade and subsequently got promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1994.
He remained as Commander 5 Infantry Brigade until the end of 1996 when he was then posted as Commander 2 Infantry Brigade.
He commanded 2 Infantry Brigade up to the beginning of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo when he was seconded as deputy managing Director Senga Senga Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a post he held until 2004 when he retired from the Zimbabwe National Army. In recognition of his illustrious career as a Senior Officer and General in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Chiramba was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2004 upon his retirement.
During his service in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, the late General Officer attended the following military courses:
Basic Military Training, Tanzania in 1974.
Light Artillery Weapons Cadet Training Course in Ukraine period November 1974 to October 1975.
Standardisation Course at the Zimbabwe Staff College in 1983.
Senior Officers’ Signals Course 3/49 at the School of Signals from July to September 1984.
National Defence Studies course in India from January to December 1989.
Command and Staff Course Number 6 at the Zimbabwe Staff College period January to December 1992.
The late freedom fighter was awarded the following medals for his continued dedication, selfless and exemplary service to the nation:
Liberation Medal — for his gallantry and selfless dedication to the Liberation of Zimbabwe.
Independence Medal — for his contribution towards the Independence of Zimbabwe.
Ten Years’ Service Medal — for his immense contribution to the integration, formation and development of the Zimbabwe National Army during the first ten years of its existence.
Long and Exemplary Service Medal — for his exemplary service for continuous fifteen years.
Mozambique Campaign Medal — for his contribution towards the restoration of peace and stability in Mozambique.
Grand officer of the Zimbabwe Order of Merit Award — for his eminent achievement and distinguished service to Zimbabwe or to humanity at large.
Having diligently served in the military and retiring as Major General, General Chiramba was purposefully seconded to the mining venture in the DRC until his resignation in 2007. He then returned to Zimbabwe to pursue his farming business in Karoi having benefited from the Land Reform Programme. He was into soya beans and maize production on his 300 hectare farm in Karoi until his untimely death.
It should be very clear to us all that the late Major General was no ordinary man, but a true revolutionary and Comrade. He gave up his youthful days to fight for the freedom we enjoy today. He committed his whole life to serving Zimbabwe and fought to defend her interests. He made valuable contributions to the liberation of Zimbabwe and played a pivotal role in nation building during the post-Independence period. Above all, he remained focused and steadfast in the face of neo-colonial machinations by our detractors.
As we pay our last respects to the late gallant Son of the Soil, we must not forget the sacrifices he and other heroes and heroines made for the freedom of our motherland, Zimbabwe. We must defend what they stood and fought for, we must defend Zimbabwe’s independence and sovereignty at all costs. We must uphold the principles and values that the late General has left us.
Major General Clever Shadreck Chiramba (Rtd) will be remembered for his immense contribution to the Liberation Struggle. Indeed, he was a selfless team player and a true Revolutionary Cadre.
To Major General Chiramba, we say we surely know what it means not to have you now as the standards you set may be unassailable especially to those who lack the strength, spirit and resilience.
You raised the bar of patriotism and all that matters to us now is obedience to our great nation, Zimbabwe. Your professional conduct whose qualities are based on honesty, integrity, humility, stability, loyalty, enthusiasm and leadership speaks well into your legacy.
General Chiramba is survived by his wife Beatrice, eight children and fourteen grand children.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
Lala Ngokuthula qawe lama qawe.
Zorora Murugare gamba remagamba.
Rest in peace Son of the Soil.
Compiled by Army Public Relations
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