adminMarvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
THE late former Gwanda South Member of Parliament, Cde Orders Shakespeare Mlilo, who died last week and was declared a liberation war hero, was buried at his rural home in Gwanda District on Friday.
Mlilo died last Tuesday at the age of 64 due to heart problems.
Hundreds of people gathered at the late Cde Mlilo’s homestead in Mlambapele to lay to rest a man who was described by many as a “patriotic cadre who dedicated his life to serving Zanu-PF and the interests of the people.”
His brother and family spokesperson Engineer George Mlilo, who is also Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Permanent Secretary, said Cde Mlilo’s death was a huge loss to their family.
“Whenever we had problems at home, he was one person who would easily come up with a solution, now that he’s gone, I don’t know what we’ll do. We’re in so much pain, he was more like a father to us and we’ll forever miss him,” he said.
“He was our pillar of strength and our children learnt a lot of good things from him.”
War veterans said Cde Mlilo’s great works would never be forgotten.
Matabeleland South Provincial Minister of State, Cde Abedinico Ncube said Cde Mlilo’s death was a big blow to Gwanda and Zanu-PF.
“We’ve lost a great man, a hardworking man and this big gathering today shows that this country didn’t come on a silver platter,” said Cde Ncube.
“We now have schools and clinics that we didn’t have before the struggle because of cadres like Cde Mlilo who dedicated their lives to liberate this country. May his soul rest in peace.”
He encouraged the late Cde Mlilo’s family to remain united and for people to pray for continued peace in the country.
The late Cde Mlilo joined the liberation struggle in 1973 in Zambia and his war name was Boys Malunga.
He was trained at Morogoro in Tanzania and went for further training in the Soviet Union.
He went back to Zambia in 1977 as an anti-air instructor at CGTI 1 Camp and was later deployed at CTT Camp as a Defence commander.
After independence, he worked as a teacher.
Until 1987 when the Unity Accord was signed, he was the political commissar in PF Zapu under Shashe Block District.
He was appointed as one of the taskforce members in integrating PF Zapu and Zanu.
In 1988 he was the party’s district chairperson for Shashe Block.
He has been in the Zanu-PF provincial executive since 1993 holding various posts.
Cde Mlilo was the councillor for ward 19 (Mlambapele area) in Gwanda District for 18 years.
In the 1990s, for three terms he was the chairperson of the Gwanda Rural District Council and he also served as vice president of the Association of RDCs.
From 2008 to 2013, he served as the MP for Gwanda South and met his death when he was serving as the Zanu-PF provincial secretary for environment and tourism.
He is survived by his wives and several children.
Online Reporter