Mkushi Camp survivor declared liberation war heroine

ONE of the survivors of the 1978 bombing of the Mkushi Camp in Zambia, Cde Sithembeni Dube, was declared a liberation war heroine following her death last Tuesday

Cde Dube, whose liberation war name was Zenzo Dube, died at the age of 65 and was buried yesterday at the Bulawayo Provincial Heroes’ Acre in Nkulumane suburb.

Born in 1959 in Kafusi Village under Chief Mathe area in Gwanda District, Cde Dube attended Kafusi Primary School from Sub A to Standard One before she dropped out and joined the liberation struggle in 1977.

She was persuaded by her parents and friends to join the armed struggle. She crossed the border to Botswana where she stayed for two weeks in the Zapu camp before proceeding to Zambia for military training.

In Zambia, she was received by Zipra combatants at Victory Camp before moving to Mkushi camp, where she trained for six months. She survived the bombing of Mkushi camp by the Rhodesian Air Force, which was a retaliation for the downing of an Air Rhodesia Viscount plane by Zipra forces in February 1978. Cde Dube, together with other survivors, was taken to Solwezi and Kafue.

After independence, Cde Dube was demobilised and returned home, where she played a significant role in mobilising members to form Zapu party structures in Bulawayo.

Following the December 1987 Unity Accord between PF-Zapu and Zanu (PF), Cde Dube served as a political commissar in Masakhane District, Pumula South under Ward 27.

She was also an active member of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA).

Cde Dube is survived by four children and seven grandchildren.