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Chronicle Reporter
A MILITARY parade for the late freedom fighter and retired senior army official, Retired Colonel Harold Mtandwa Chirenda, will be held at Imbizo Barracks today.Rtd Col Chirenda, whose pseudonym during the liberation struggle was Elliot Masengo, died after a long illness at the United Bulawayo Hospitals aged 69.
Zanu-PF Politburo member Cde Eunice Nomthandazo Moyo, who is also the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Bulawayo, yesterday said the military parade will start at 2pm today.
“Consultations on Cde Chirenda’s hero status are now at an advanced stage. Cde Didymus Mutasa (Zanu-PF secretary for administration) is handling the issue but tomorrow (today) a military parade will be held to honour him at Imbizo Barracks,” she said.
Rtd Col Chirenda went for military training in Algeria and he held several positions in Zipra such as deputy personnel chief during the armed struggle.
He was one of the first Zipra military trainers at Morogoro Camp, which opened in 1968. The late freedom fighter was in the Zipra high command together with the late General Lookout Masuku and Rtd Brigadier General Ambrose Mutinhiri, among others.
At independence in 1980, he was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army and served until retirement in 1995. Mourners are gathered at 22 Briton Road, Paddonhurst, in Bulawayo.
Online Reporter