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Blessings Chidakwa, Herald Bureau
NATIONAL hero Cde Ezekiel Tobias Musiiwa Chaunoita, who was a retired director in the President’s Department, has been described as a unifier, loving and caring person who always had the interests of the nation at heart.
Cde Chaunoita, also known as Cde Zvenyika, died on May 4 after battling a long illness. Zanu-PF National Political Commissar, Cde Mike Bimha, delivered the national hero status message to the Chaunoita family in Harare yesterday.
“His Excellency, the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF, Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa has conferred National Hero status to the late Cde Ezekiel Tobias Musiiwa Chaunoita who died on 4 May 2024. The late Cde Chaunoita will be interred at the National Heroes’ Acre, Harare, at a date to be announced,” said Cde Bimha.
Cde Chaunoita’s elder brother, Mr Kainos Chaunoita expressed gratitude to Government for the hero status. “As a family, we thank our Government and President Mnangagwa for conferring our son this respect. We did not know that when our son went to war, he would bring something. We are in grief but at the same time grateful to the Government. The gesture comforts us,” he said.
His younger brother, Mr Felix Pedzisai Chabveyo, said his brother was a devoted member of the Apostolic sect. “We were all born worshipping in the Johane Marange Apostolic Sect, and he only took a break when he went to fight in the liberation war. This has always been his church until his death and even today, his family has not known any other church besides Marange,” he said.
Cde Chaunota was born on June 1, 1958, in Gutu District, Masvingo Province. He did Sub A and Standard One at Gudo Primary School in Gutu from 1967-1969 and transferred to Mataruse Primary School in the same province in 1970 to complete primary education. Cde Chaunoita went to Gutu Secondary School for his Form 1 and Form 2 from 1971-1972, and did not continue with his secondary education due to financial constraints. He did menial jobs in Gutu from 1973-1974, and it was the period that he experienced the brutality of the white settlers.
Outraged by the enactment of suppressive Acts such as the Land Husbandry Act and the Tax Act, among others, and continued wanton and unjust racial segregation, Cde Chaunoita together with five other youths from Gutu, left the country in September 1975 for Mozambique to join the armed struggle, under ZANLA. The group comprised Brigadier General (Rtd) Charles Hwekwete the late Colonel Masocha, the late Amen Sithole and two others. They crossed into Mozambique by foot via Machipanda without detection by the Rhodesian forces. Cde Chaunoita briefly stayed at Villa De Manica from September to December 1975, before transferring to Nyadzonia Camp where he received political orientation. On August 9, 1976, he survived the Nyadzonia massacre that left hundreds of comrades dead with others sustaining injuries.
He was transferred to Tembwe Camp for his initial three months military training and specialised in military engineering. He trained VIP security protection in Yugoslavia from January 1978 to August 1978. He returned to Mozambique and was deployed to Gaza Province where he served as a security detail to the ZANLA High Command. Here he brushed shoulders with the late National Heroes, Cde Menard Muzariri, Cde Elias Kanengoni and Cde Nash Dzimiri. In January 1979, he was deployed to Maputo Province where he was appointed Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to the late Vice President Simon Muzenda. He was then elevated to the General Staff of ZANLA.
In addition to being the ADC to Vice President Muzenda, the ZANLA leadership gave him other responsibilities. The added responsibilities were in recognition of Cde Chaunoita’s experience and dedication to the liberation war and his leadership acumen. On December 29, 1979, Cde Chaunoita escorted the late General Josiah Tongogara from Maputo to his base in Chimoio to supervise ceasefire duties assigned to his troops. Cde Chaunoita and Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri survived the car accident that claimed the life of Gen Tongogara. In March 1980, Cde Chaunoita returned to Zimbabwe, and as a member of the General Staff and ADC to VP Muzenda, he did liaison duties between Zanu-PF and the President’s Department.
On November 21, 1981, Cde Chaunoita was attested into the President’s Department as a Senior Security Officer under the Internal Branch. In December 1981, he was sent to Romania for seven months where he trained in the field of clandestine investigations.
He was appointed Officer-In-Charge at the Harare International Airport Station in August 1982. On July 1, 1983, he was promoted to intelligence officer. He was transferred from the Internal Branch to the Security Branch where he was appointed to the rank of Deputy Director Security on July 1, 1984, with an oversight role of ensuring that all Divisions such as Presidential, Ministerial, Liaison, Provinces and Vetting worked in harmony.
He was promoted to the rank of Director Security on October 1, 2000. He was redeployed to the Director General’s Office as Director on July 1, 2002, a post he held until he retired on June 30, 2020.
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