adminSpeaking during the burial, the AFZ Commander Air Marshal Perrance Shiri described Grp Capt Muchena as a dedicated and loyal individual whose services were vital to the uniformed forces and the country at large.
“We are pained by the loss and the whole country has lost a liberator. She went to war in the 1970s with the aim of freeing her generation and those to come after her,” he said.
“Indigenous people were abused during slavery and in the era of Mbuya Nehanda and King Lobengula and that motivated her to take up arms.”
He also described Grp Capt Muchena as a person whose intelligence was vital during and after the liberation struggle.
“She worked in the secretariat department in Tete where we used to call her ‘Kabhegi’ because she would safely compile and keep information that was important to use against the colonial regime,” he said.
Air Marshal Shiri also noted that Grp Capt Muchena was a co-operative and disciplined individual who rose through the ranks to become the second Group Captain in the AFZ.
Family spokesperson Dr Samuel Muchena thanked the AFZ and the Government for the befitting send-off that was given to his daughter.
“She has played a role and that is why she was elevated to be a notable person in the uniformed forces of this country. We appreciate the respect accorded to her,” he said.
Born in Mutare on February 1, 1959, Grp Capt Muchena experienced the brutality of the colonial regime at the age of 17.
This prompted her to abandon school to take up arms in the liberation struggle. Grp Capt Muchena is survived by four children.
Online Reporter