admin
“Do we want a country where men can have as many wives as they want or do you want a country with responsible fathers who cater for their families? Such are the questions one should ask himself or herself.
“These are the reasons why Zanu-PF took about 50 hours in scrutinising the draft constitution. We wanted to see whether the people’s input had been factored. The constitution should reflect the wishes of people like Cde Mugwagwa as well. MDC took only seven hours because they don’t really appreciate the importance of this exercise. We (Zanu-PF) have been around for long and we are thus, wiser than MDC. The US constitution has been in existence for more than 200 years and we want ours to live that long as well. This is why we need to be patient and ensure that what we come out with as our constitution will benefit our children and future generations,” he said.
Cde Msipa said the war veterans should push for the crafting of a rights document which highlights how families of heroes would be taken care of.
He said the document would help remove the misconception that portrays heroes’ surviving spouses as beggars, when in fact; it was the country’s duty to address their needs.
“The document of rights should be handed over to the surviving spouse soon after burial. It then becomes easy for the hero’s widow or widower to follow what is stated in the document when pursuing avenues to get State assistance. It is a right to get help from Government, we should not portray the families of our heroes as beggars,” said Cde Msipa.
Meanwhile, war veterans in the Midlands have expressed displeasure in the failure to accord national hero status to veteran freedom fighter, Cde Mugwagwa who joined the liberation struggle way back in 1972 at the age of 19.
Cde Mugwagwa, whose Chimurenga name was Levy Dzamatsama, died last week on Sunday at his Riverside house in Gweru and was subsequently declared a liberation war hero.
In side interviews at the burial of Cde Mugwagwa at the Provincial Heroes Acre in Gweru yesterday, the ex-freedom fighters said the late war veteran deserved more than the liberation hero war status awarded to him as he had groomed a number of luminary figures during the struggle, among them Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
They said they would continue to lobby for national hero status for the late Cde Mugwagwa.
“We are generally not happy as war veterans with the hero status accorded to our colleague. Cde Mugwagwa did a lot for this country and he deserved national hero status. We are still lobbying that he be declared a national hero in line with his contribution to the independence of this country,” said a war veteran who identified herself as Mai Zende.
War veterans leadership representative in the Midlands first expressed their displeasure on Thursday on Cde Mugwagwa’s hero status when they held a quickly arranged meeting to review his role in the struggle.
They questioned how a man who received and later helped in training such luminaries as VP Mujuru would be a liberation war hero.
Another veteran of the struggle, Cde Christopher Takavarasha Mabhiza, said Cde Mugwagwa was a brave, dedicated and principled cadre and fighter.
He said he was a man who spoke his mind without fear.
“Cde Mugwagwa was a man given to constructive criticism. He was also a hard worker. When we had him in the structures of the province, our party, Zanu-PF became vibrant. We were able to welcome back most youths who had deserted the party. There are some among us who believe he should have been declared a national hero,” said Cde Mabhiza.
At the burial yesterday, Retired Major George Shumba from Kadoma who trained and fought alongside the late Cde Mugwagwa in the liberation war said the late liberation war hero was a brave and disciplined soldier who remained loyal to the party, Zanu-PF until the time of his death.
He bemoaned the absence of dedicated historians among indigenous people who can capture the works of people like Cde Mugwagwa in documentaries that would then be compiled into history books.
Rtd Maj Shumba said the country’s history should be written by Zimbabweans.
“Sadly at the moment, it is being written by Rhodesians who distort our history. The Rhodesians write about the liberation struggle from their own perspective. Each one of us should thrive to write his or her history which should then be compiled into documented history, our history. The kind of dedication and commitment shown by Cde Mugwagwa should be captured in history books for future generations. He was indeed a hero,” said.
War vets Midlands chapter’s secretary-general, Cde Reuben Wurayayi-Mafika said people like Cde Mugwagwa had remained fighters throughout their lives.
He said they first engaged in the war for the political independence of the country, before joining the fast-track land reform and, recently, the economic empowerment of indigenous people.
“A revolution is continuous and grows in all proportion. In a revolution, there is nothing like ex-freedom fighter, ex-detainees or ex-anything. The revolution is still on. The past 10 or 15 years have marked an epoch of counter-revolutionalism. There are enemies in our midst. We have non-governmental organisations that confuse our people.
“Very soon there will be voter education exercise. What is voter education when there is no political consciousness? Zimbabweans should protect and defend their land, which is their inheritance. People like Cde Mugwagwa sacrificed their lives for this land,” said Cde Mafika.
Midlands Provincial Administrator Ms Cecilia Chitiyo said women benefited a lot from the role played by liberation war heroes as they brought independence which later empowered women.
Among his military highlights, the late Cde Mugwagwa was in 1975 appointed Commander Tete detachment and he became member of General Staff towards the end of 1975. He was later appointed Provincial Security for Tete Province.
The late liberation war hero was also once a deputy commander at Nyadzonya Camp in Mozambique.
Cde Mugwagwa is survived by wife, Margaret and four daughters.
Online Reporter