Online Reporter
Zvamaida Murwira, Senior Reporter
A CHURCH service will be conducted today for national hero, Brigadier-General Mpandasekwa Mzheri, at the family home in Helensvale, Harare, before being taken to Charles Gumbo Barracks where it will lie in State ahead of burial at the National Heroes Acre tomorrow.
President Mnangagwa, who is the Chief Mourner, is expected to preside over the burial of the war veteran and career soldier, Brig-Gen Mzheri, who died last Tuesday.
Yesterday, the body was airlifted from Charles Gumbo Barracks in Harare in the morning to his rural homestead at Vutika Secondary School under Chief Maziofa in Mberengwa district, to allow relatives and friends an opportunity to bid him farewell.
Hundreds of people thronged the Mzheri rural home where they bid the national hero farewell.
Speakers described him as a person who loved people and had a desire to develop the community and nation at large.
They also thanked President Mnangagwa for conferring national hero status on Brig-Gen Mzheri.
The body was later flown back to Charles Gumbo Barracks, taken to a funeral parlour, before heading to his Helensvale residence in Borrowdale, where it was expected to lie in State.
In an interview last night, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said preparations for the burial were on course.
“The preparations are going on well. We expect people to be seated by 0730 hours at the National Heroes Acre,” he said.
“His Excellency, the President, will preside over the burial and we expect a huge number of people to attend the event.”
Minister Kazembe said all logistics, including transport, have been marshalled.
“We have gathered enough buses to take people to the National Heroes Acre. We urge people to go to their usual pick-up points for transport, as everything is now in place,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage said there will be a church service at the national hero’s residence today.
“On Sunday, a church service in his honour shall be held at 1400hrs after which the body will be taken back to Charles Gumbo Barracks where it will lie in state ahead of burial on Monday the 13th of October 2025,” reads the statement in part.
In his address during a funeral parade held last Thursday, Commander Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Matatu, implored Zimbabweans to defend the country’s independence and sovereignty at all costs, as a way of paying homage to illustrious sons and daughters of the soil such as Brig-Gen Mzheri.
“We must defend what they stood and fought for, Zimbabwe’s independence and sovereignty, at all costs,” said Lt-Gen Matatu.
He said Brig-Gen Mzheri belonged to the pioneering generation of military officers who laid the foundation for the modern ZNA.
“Brigadier-General Mzheri was among the first crop of senior and general officers in the ZNA. These senior and general officers managed the integration process at the formation of the ZNA and, while it was still in its infancy, deployed and commanded its formations on operations in Mozambique to safeguard our strategic lifeline through that country,” he said.
“They laid the foundation upon which ZNA operational concepts were developed. They laid the foundation upon which the ZNA grew into a formidable force, excelling internationally on United Nations peacekeeping operations and on Operation Sovereign Legitimacy in the DRC, making the nation proud and gaining the respect of our allies and foes.”
Commenting on the conferment of the national hero status, family spokesperson, Mrs Connie Chikore, said they felt honoured by the recognition accorded to Brig-Gen Mzheri.
“We would like to greatly thank President Mnangagwa and the Politburo,” she said.
Brig-Gen Mzheri, whose Chimurenga name was Khetani Khanye, died on Tuesday at a medical facility in Harare following a long illness.
He was 75.
Brig-Gen Mzheri was born on March 7, 1950 in Mberengwa District, Midlands Province.
He participated in the Lancaster House peace talks in 1979 as a military advisor. At independence, he was one of the first 18 ex-combatants to be attested into the Zimbabwe National Army as a Colonel on April 16, 1981, becoming the first Commandant at Inkomo Garrison.
Throughout his decorated military career, he held several key positions, including Commander 3 Infantry Brigade, Commander Special Task Force Mozambique, and Director General Defence
Policy, Public Relations and Protocol, before retiring on 31 July, 1999.
Brig-Gen Mzheri was decorated with several medals, among them the Liberation Medal, Independence Medal, Ten Years’ Service Medal, Long and Exemplary Service Medal, Mozambique
Merit Award for his distinguished service to the nation.
derick.khumalo