Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika-Senior Reporter
THE body of national hero Brigadier General (Rtd) Samuel Mpabanga is expected to be ferried to his farm in West Nicholson and his rural home in Mapate Village in Gwanda South today, where relatives and friends will pay their last respects.
Brig-Gen Mpabanga died at Gwanda General Hospital on Monday last week after a long illness.
He was 69.
President Mnangagwa conferred Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mpabanga with national hero status on Saturday.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage confirmed the funeral timeline.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage wishes to advise the nation that the late National Hero, Brig-Gen (Rtd) Samuel Mpabanga will be laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre at a date to be confirmed.
“The body of the late National Hero will be ferried to Plot 20 Jannee Farm in West Nicholson, tomorrow (Monday) 16 February 2026 at 10am. The cortege will depart from the farm to his rural homestead in Mapate Village at 1200hrs and a church service will be held at the homestead up to 2pm.
“The remains of the national hero are expected back in Bulawayo at 3pm where they will lie in state at Doves funeral parlour,” read part of the statement.
Tomorrow, the body will be airlifted to Charles Gumbo Barracks where it will lie in state ahead of burial at a date to be announced.
Born on August 31, 1956 in Gwanda, he attended Mapate Primary School and Beitbridge Primary School from 1963 to 1970, before proceeding to Manama Mission (1971 to 1972) and Matobo Secondary School from 1973 to 1974.
He crossed the border to join the liberation struggle as a Zipra cadre in 1977 and briefly stayed at Mapate before crossing Shashe River with his colleagues headed to Selibe Phikwe in Botswana.
Brig-Gen (Rtd) stayed at Selibe Phikwe Prison for three months with his uncle, the late Raphel Mpabanga, Martin Kukubele and the late Sibusiso Mpabanga.
He started military training late 1977 at Mulungushi, under the Zambian army, with attachments from ZIPRA who included the late Cephas Khupe and the late Gedi Dube.
From 1978 to 1979, he went for further military training in Odessa, Russia, formerly the Soviet union
He joined the Zimbabwe National Army on July 12, 1980 and retired from active service on August 31, 2022.
The national hero also served as a defence attache at the country’s embassy to Zambia between 2016 and 2022. While in Zambia, he oversaw the management and upkeep of liberation war shrines where scores of Zimbabwe’s heroes and heroines are buried.
He is survived by his wife and four children.
