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Rutendo Nyeve
Bulawayo Bureau
NATIONAL HERO Colonel Tshinga Dube (Retired) will be buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare this week, with a funeral service set to be held tomorrow at Bulawayo’s Barbourfields Stadium.
Col Dube (Retd) passed away on Thursday evening at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo after battling kidney failure.
He was 83.
Speaking soon after a meeting between the Dube family and senior Government representatives led by Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Reverend Paul Damasane at the family home in Bulawayo yesterday, the national hero’s son and family spokesperson, Mr Vusumuzi Dube, said the tentative day for burial was Wednesday.
“We have discussed as a family and proposed that our father be laid to rest on Wednesday. Tomorrow (today), the body will be taken to his farm at Shangani, where friends, workers and neighbours will get an opportunity to bid him farewell.
“On Monday, a funeral service will be held for the people of Bulawayo to pay their last respects at Barbourfields Stadium.
“On Tuesday, a funeral parade will be held at Imbizo Barracks before the body is flown to Harare for burial set for Wednesday,” he said.
ZANU PF Politburo member Cde Richard Ndlovu said Col Dube (Retd) joined the liberation struggle at a young age.
“He gained political consciousness while at school. He then crossed the border to Botswana and would return later on to map and pave the way for guerrillas to come and fight the settler regime.
“It was a very difficult task as this mission got him arrested before he went back and reported to the superiors. After that, he went to the Soviet Union, where he played a huge role there before coming back soon after independence to play a crucial role during the integration of the army,” said Cde Ndlovu.
He said Col Dube (Retd) had the welfare of comrades at heart till his untimely death, as witnessed by his active role in the ZIPRA Nitram Properties project to retain assets owned by the liberation movement.
Another ZANU PF Politburo member, Cde Elifasi Mashaba, said, as a province, they had lost a guide, adviser and elder who did not hesitate to speak the truth.
Born on July 3, 1941 at Fort Usher in Matobo district, Matabeleland South province, Col Dube (Retd) joined the liberation movement in the 1960s.
He trained as a guerrilla fighter in the Soviet Union and China in 1972, becoming a leading figure in ZIPRA.
Col Dube (Retd), whose nom de guerre was Cde Embassy, was one of the first guerrillas to be deployed to the front, where he operated in Tsholotsho district. His operations saw his unit, which laid the groundwork for the Wankie Battles, a joint operation by ZAPU and ANC cadres, overlapping to the nearby district of Bulilima in Matabeleland South.
One of the epic battles that he participated in was the Madliwa Battle, which took almost five days along the Zambezi River Escarpment near Kariba.
During the ceasefire period, he was chosen as a member of the committee responsible for integration, demobilisation and selection to form the Zimbabwe National Army.
He was appointed a full colonel, served 10 years in the army and then transferred to the Defence Headquarters as deputy secretary in charge of research and development.
After serving for about three years, Col Dube (Retd) took over as chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Defence Industries, where he worked for 23 years.
He later transitioned to a political career, serving as the Member of Parliament for Makokoba in Bulawayo for several years.
In 2015, he was appointed Minister of War Veterans, serving until 2017.
He is survived by his wife, Nomathemba Wendy Dube, several children and grandchildren.
Online Reporter