Vusumuzi DubeRutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE late liberation war hero and Retired army commander, Colonel (Rtd) Lwazi Tsheza will be laid to rest on Wednesday (tomorrow) at Umvutsha Cemetery in Bulawayo.
Col (Rtd) Tsheza passed away on 1 July at the United Bulawayo Hospitals.
He was 68.
The ruling ZANU PF party and the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association requested for the liberation war hero status for the late whose pseudo name was ‘Wine Dewa.’
In his application for the conferment of hero status District Chairman 9/10 of Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association Cde Gibson Ngwenya said:
“Comrade Lwazi Tsheza retired from the army on 9 December 2003 with a discharge rank of Colonel. Comrade Lwazi then joined the War Veterans and has been consistent though not having been well for some time. I have known Comrade Lwazi during and after the liberation struggle. I have no objection to him being conferred the appropriate hero-status,”
Lwazi Tsheza was born on 9 December 1953 in Nyamandlovu Hospital in Tsholotsho District and lived at Sandawana Line. He started his Primary education at Sandawana Primary School and moved to Bulawayo to attend Insukamini, Mpumelelo and Mzilikazi Primary Schools.
He then went to Fatima Secondary School in Lupane and finally at Gloag College of Agriculture.
Upon completion of education, he was briefly employed in the Construction Industry.
It was then when political activism took center stage in the early 70s. He became an active member of Youth Wing of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) of the Mzilikazi West Branch as an Organizing Secretary under the Chairmanship of a Mr Masuku and the Secretary Mr Zondo of the same area.
This attracted the attention of the Rhodesian Special Branch and in particular a Police Anti-Terrorist Unit based at Nguboyenja, headed by a notorious white man called “Kutsi”, after several skirmishes with these Agents it became prudent for him to take heed the call to join the freedom fighters in Zambia, the Zimbabwe Peoples Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA).
Early in 1976 together with a friend Teddy Ndlovu from the same suburb they skipped to Botswana, headed for Zambia.
In Botswana they were well received but were kept in a prison cell in Francistown Prison, as a way of protecting them from the Rhodesian who were always marauding and keeping an eye on ZAPU/ZIPRA activities inside Botswana.
When he arrived at Zambia, he completed his military training at Membeshi, a guerilla camp east of Lusaka. On completion of military training, he was selected amongst a group to proceed for Advanced Specialised Training to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) where he trained in artillery.
On his return to Zambia, he was assigned to a team of re-organising and training of ZIPRA Artillery units. He was appointed the Chief of Artillery responsible for coordinating all fire support systems in the Battalion.
The commitment of these large tactical formations ushered a new operational era which presented insurmountable challenges to the Rhodesian Regime, and contributed immensely to the attainment of independence in 1980.
At independence in 1980 he was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army through the integration process of the former warring parties namely, ZIPRA, ZANLA and Rhodesian Army.
He was promoted to the rank of a Captain and then rose through the ranks to attain the highest rank of a colonel. He gracefully retired from service on attaining the retirement age of fifty years.
Mourners are gathered at number Plot 2 Whitmore Avenue in Norwood, Bulawayo. -@nyeve14
Bongani Ndlovu