Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
FIRST Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa has paid tribute to national hero and Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Mozambique and Eswatini, Cde Victor Matemadanda, expressing profound sorrow at his passing.
Speaking during a condolence visit to Cde Matemadanda’s family residence in Harare on Tuesday night, Dr Mnangagwa said she received the news with immense shock and deep sadness.
“I have come to convey my deepest condolences to the Matemadanda family. His passing came as a huge shock to all of us. We are deeply saddened, and the whole nation is mourning with you during this difficult time.”
“It is difficult to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer with us,” she said.
The First Lady said the late hero remained committed to serving the country, carrying out responsibilities entrusted to him by President Mnangagwa, including spearheading a programme to ensure that fallen Zimbabweans who died in foreign lands were accorded dignified burials.
“He was carrying out a programme to properly rehabilitate burial sites and shrines as a show of respect and dignity for our fallen heroes, to demonstrate where we came from as a people and ensure that our children and compatriots in different countries, some of whom had not been properly buried, were accorded dignity,” she said. The First Lady said she had regular contact with Cde Matemadanda as he executed various national assignments on behalf of the President.
“I was in constant contact with him, regularly checking on how things were progressing, how he was carrying out his work and where he was.”
Dr Mnangagwa, who saluted Cde Matemadanda’s vital role in the liberation struggle, said that while that war had ended, the country was now engaged in the struggle to preserve, build and serve the nation to ensure its continued development and prosperity.
The First Lady said the responsibility now facing Zimbabweans was to build the nation, strengthen families and promote unity to ensure the country’s continued progress and development.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Mr Simbarashe Mazambani said the First Lady’s visit had affirmed the close relationship that existed between the late Ambassador and the First Family.
“Our uncle always told us that His Excellency President Mnangagwa was his elder brother and that the First Lady was his elder sister. He often spoke about the close bond they shared over many years. Today, through your presence and support during this difficult time, we have seen that what he always told us was indeed true,” he said.
Mr Mazambani expressed the family’s gratitude for the support they had received and thanked President Mnangagwa for conferring National Hero status on the Ambassador.
“Please convey our sincere gratitude to our father, President Mnangagwa, for the honour and respect he has shown to the Matemadanda family. We are humbled by this recognition,” he said.
Cde Matemadanda will be buried tomorrow at the National Heroes Acre.
