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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Reporter
The death of Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Johannes Tomana has cost the country a patriotic and dedicated servant, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said yesterday.
She was speaking at the Tomana family home where she had gone to commiserate with relatives.
“This is a sad loss not just to the Tomana family, but to the whole of Zimbabwe. I worked very closely with him and he was like a brother because we were both from Manicaland province so the bond we shared was deep. His death comes as a shock especially because no one heard about his sickness. I feel for his wife, who works under one of my parastatals, Zimpapers, and his children,” she said.
The Minister said Ambassador Tomana worked hard and had a passion for everything he did.
“He had so much passion to see this country succeed. He worked hard wherever he was placed. As Attorney General, he did a good service to this country. Ambassador Tomana loved his job and those who worked with him would know that he was a straight person who never entertained unprocedural things. And when President Mnangagwa appointed him to be the ambassador to DRC he did well there. We pray for God to comfort his family and relatives,” Minister Mutsvangwa added.
Ambassador Tomana died at his rural home in Honde Valley on Sunday after a short illness. He was 56.
His son and family representative, Ricky Tomana described his father as a loving, kind hearted and principled man.
“As his first child and only son, it’s a mammoth task but I have to step up. For us as his kids we are devastated but we will have to sail through. It is not only us that have lost a father but he had quite a number of children he used to help. He mentored them and took them through certain situations. He was ever loving and to lose him in such an abrupt way is a lot to handle,” he said.
His sister Mrs Beauty Tomana Sikwila said Ambassador Tomana had taught them to always trust in God in whatever situation.
“My brother’s passing on is a blow to the family because he was a unifying force. He was always there for us and we are happy that as his siblings, we were there for him when he took his last breath. The best thing I learnt from my brother was that you have to always be true to yourself and he encouraged us to depend on nobody but God. He was always proud of his church (Johanne Marange) he followed until the end. Even the day before he died, he asked for his church leaders to come and pray with him,” she said.
Ambassador Tomana was appointed as Attorney General in 2008 during the inclusive Government where he performed the dual role of leading the prosecution department and Government advisory role.
The two were later split under the new Constitution that came into effect in 2013 where Ambassador Tomana became the country’s first Prosecutor General.
Zanu PF secretary for information and publicity Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa said Ambassador Tomana was a rare breed of a civil servant.
“He was prosecutor general in one of the most difficult times of this country, as we were giving birth to the second republic. There were a lot of attempts to abuse his office for political purposes but he stood his ground and resisted the temptation to use the chief law office of the land to settle political scores but more important he thwarted the schemes of those that wanted nefarious political agendas which were driven from outside.
“He knew what was at stake, he stood with the patriotic line of Zimbabwe and defended what were Zimbabwean interests in the tradition of the sacrifices of the people who fought for this country,” he said.
Amb Mutsvangwa said this had saved the country from plunging into chaos. “It is unfortunate that at such a young age, with a young family to bring up, he has passed on in such circumstances. I wish the family the best of courage and endurance in this difficult time, particularly his wife and the children,” he said.
Amb Tomana was appointed into diplomatic service in September 2020 when he assumed the post of Zimbabwe’s ambassador to the DRC, a position he held until his untimely death.
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