Online Reporter
Patrick Chitumba, [email protected]
A DARK cloud hung over Gokwe Centre on Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of mourners from all walks of life gathered to pay their last respects to the late National Hero and Zimbabwean Ambassador to Mozambique and Eswatini, Cde Victor Matemadanda.
Family members, traditional leaders, war veterans, Government officials, Zanu-PF cadres and ordinary citizens stood united in grief, remembering a son of the soil whose life was defined by sacrifice and service to Zimbabwe.
President Mnangagwa declared the late Cde Matemadanda, who died on Saturday aged 66, a National Hero and extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
At Gokwe Centre, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Midlands Province, Owen Ncube, paid tribute to Cde Matemadanda, describing him as a “loyal, patriotic and dedicated” cadre who served the party, Zanu-PF and the nation at large.
He applauded President Mnangagwa for conferring National Hero status on Cde Matematanda as a fitting recognition for a life lived in the trenches, in office and among the people.
Born on March 3, 1960 in Gokwe, Cde Matemadanda answered the call to arms in 1976.
“He crossed into Mozambique, trained at Tembwe and Chimoio under ZANLA, and fought to end colonial rule.
Post-independence, he was integrated into the Zimbabwe National Army, rising to Lieutenant Colonel with discipline and distinction,” said Minister Ncube.
He said Cde Matemadanda served as Zanu-PF chairperson for Gokwe, Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, and later as the party’s National Political Commissar.
“In every role, he was a fearless advocate for war veterans’ welfare and a guardian of the liberation ethos. Even after surviving a near-fatal road accident in 2021, his resolve never broke,” he said.
As an Ambassador and former legislator, Cde Matemadanda carried Zimbabwe’s flag abroad with the same courage he showed in the bush.
“He remained grounded — a man of the people, for the people. Today, Gokwe receives its hero as we pay our last respects,” he said.
Zanu-PF Politburo member Engineer Daniel Mackenzie-Ncube also extended condolences to the Matemadanda family.
“It came as a shock to hear of the passing of Cde Matemadanda. His death is a loss not only to his family but to the province and the country at large.
“We worked well together in the province to build the party for socio-economic development. We are grateful to the Zanu-PF First Secretary and President, Cde ED Mnangagwa, for conferring National Hero status on Cde Matemadanda. May the bereaved family find comfort in the Lord,” he said.
Chief Njelele said he was moved by the procession at Gokwe Centre that honoured the late National Hero. Traditional leaders led rites befitting a gallant son of the Midlands.
Zanu-PF Midlands provincial chairman Cde Edison Chiherenge said for many, Cde Matemadanda represented the bridge between the liberation struggle and the post-independence project — a leader who never forgot the villages that raised him.
“The province joins the nation in mourning a patriot whose name will be etched in Midlands’ history,” he said.
Amb Matemadanda experienced the harsh realities of colonial displacement at an early age after his family was moved from their ancestral land to Gokwe. His family later relocated to Zambia, where he was inspired by his father’s participation in the liberation struggle to join the fight for Zimbabwe’s independence while still a teenager.
In the 1970s, he underwent military training and operated between Zambia and Mozambique as part of the liberation movement.
In 1979, he was deployed to the Mutoko front as a Zanla combatant, playing his part in the final stages of the armed struggle that culminated in Zimbabwe attaining independence in 1980.
After independence, Amb Matemadanda emerged as one of the country’s most influential war veterans’ leaders. As secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, he championed the welfare of former freedom fighters and played a pivotal role in shaping the organisation’s leadership and policy direction.
His influence later extended into mainstream politics. In 2017, he was appointed Zanu-PF National Political Commissar, a strategic position that placed him at the centre of the party’s mobilisation and organisational structures.
A year later, he was elected Member of Parliament for Gokwe Central before being appointed Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs.
In 2021, President Mnangagwa appointed him Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Mozambique, with additional accreditation to the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Away from politics and public office, Amb Matemadanda remained committed to academic advancement and earned a degree from the University of South Africa (Unisa) before attaining a Doctorate in Business Administration from the African Leadership Institute in 2022.
Cde Matemadanda will be buried today at the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare.
