Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWEANS must nurture a spirit of love and unity within their communities to build a foundation for national development, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has urged.
VP Chiwenga said this while addressing mourners in Tsvarai Village, Honde Valley, on Wednesday at the burial of the late Mrs Callista Chimhini – sister to Sports, Arts and Recreation Minister, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Anselem Sanyatwe.
The late Mrs Chimhini, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and underwent treatment until she succumbed to the ailment, was the wife of former Mutasa North legislator, Mr David Anthony Chimhini, to whom she was married for 52 years.
She was 78-years-old.
“God is love. If you love your neighbour, you have loved God. Let us love each other. Those that do philosophy say in God’s time, a thousand years are like one second. We all do not live up to even a quarter of that second. So why do we trouble ourselves? Let us love one another.
“If we love each other and stay in unity, God will hear our prayers. Just as our sister assisted many as a midwifery expert, let us be midwives to all our neighbours in delivering a better life for one another. Let us never think we will know it all, more than God. That will be a great mistake. The huge crowd that is here shows us the great love that you had, our sister. Go well our sister,” said VP Chiwenga.
VP Chiwenga also spoke of the late Mrs Chimhini’s philanthropic work and her role as a medical practitioner during the liberation
▶ To Page 6
▶ Form Page 1
war. “We used to get medication from this woman. That is medication for comrades during the liberation war. This is why we are here. She worked for the country and helped the liberation struggle to be successful. We have cadres who are buried in Chimoio and Nyadzonia in Mozambique, close to this place. These people died for us to be free. I have seen so many people of my age who understand this, and let us always remind each other on the need to build this nation in love and unity.
“We are here to mourn our sister, the beloved wife of Mr Chimhini. We acknowledge that God took care of her, judging by the years she lived. God’s law stipulates that if you get to 70, it is enough, when you exceed, that it is a bonus. We were deeply concerned about her health, and I actually desired to see her get expert medical attention because to me she was a heroine in two ways. She was a heroine in assisting people during her time as a nurse. She was also a heroine in her church, through the philanthropic works that she carried out,” said VP Chiwenga.
A trained nurse, Mrs Chimhini was born on September 24, 1948 in Nyanga, and was married to Mr Chimhini for 52 years.
Mr Chimhini described his late wife as an exemplary wife.
“This lady knew how to balance church and her household chores as a wife and mother. I remember each time I came back home from Harare, and I would arrive at times when she was about to leave for church. But one thing that would strike me is that she would delay leaving home until she made sure I had food and I was comfortable. That would appeal to my emotions each time she behaved that way,” said Mr Chimhini.
In his eulogy, the late Mrs Chimhini’s last-born son, Mr Innocent Chimhini, said: “Our mother was a unifier. You can look at the gathering here. We have ZANU PF cadres here as well as those from the opposition, and yet she was never into politics. This is a living testimony of how she unified people during her lifetime. During her days on earth, she helped so many people. We are aware that she actually kept a small book with a list of people who needed help in different spheres of life. We really want to thank and celebrate her life on this day as we bid her farewell,” he said.
At the funeral, VP Chiwenga was accompanied by his wife, Colonel Miniyothabo Chiwenga.
Also in attendance were Minister Sanyatwe, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister, Advocate Felix Mhona, Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mr Abiot Maronge, and ZANU PF Politburo member, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Engelbert Rugeje, among other senior Government officials.
Mr Maronge also represented the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza.
