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Walter Muchinguri
Senior Researcher
(Zimpapers Knowledge Centre)
THIS month, the country will once again pays tribute to gallant sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice to free Zimbabwe from colonial rule so that future generations can continue to enjoy the peace and tranquillity that exist in a free and independent society.
In the days leading to the Heroes and Zimbabwe Defence Forces Days commemorations, we will feature a number of eminent heroes and heroines, some of whom were interred at the National Heroes Acre.
One of these is Dr Tichafa Samuel Parirenyatwa, a man of various tributes: medical doctor, social worker, politician and revolutionary patriot, who left an indelible mark in the country’s medical field after becoming the first black medical doctor in the then Southern Rhodesia.
Dr Pari, as he was affectionately known, failed to realise his full potential as a doctor and politician after his life was cut short when he was assassinated by security agents of the white minority regime in 1962 about 15km from Shangani, while on his way to Bulawayo, on a ZAPU mission.
The state agents tried to conceal his brutal assassination by fabricating a car accident at the Heany Junction level crossing.
He was barely 40-years-old.
At the time of his death, Dr Parirenyatwa had risen to the level of Deputy President of ZAPU and was a dedicated medical practitioner.
The hundreds of people that lined the road as his body was being taken from Bulawayo to Salisbury (now Harare) and the thousands that lined the streets in Salisbury and kept vigil at his home just off Ardbennie Road was testament of the great man he was.
He was initially buried at the family’s farm in Chitowa, Murehwa, but following Independence, Dr Parirenyatwa was accorded national hero status in 1984.
His remains were reburied at the national shrine on 8 August 2004.
Dr Parirenyatwa was born on July 17, 1927 in Makoni near Rusape to David Deme Parirenyatwa and Sophia Parirenyatwa. His father was a cook in the household of a Rhodesian Governor. He had subsequently advanced himself through night school to become a lay preacher and a teacher of repute.
In 1930, the family moved from Rusape to settle in Murehwa.
Dr Parirenyatwa’s maternal and paternal grandparents were linked to early black resistance against colonialism. David Deme Parirenyatwa’s grandfather was Chief Chingaira, a hero of the First Chimurenga, who died at the hands of colonialists.
Dr Parirenyatwa’s mother Sophia Rugare Parirenyatwa hailed from the Tangwena tribe, who, during the reign of the late Chief Rekayi Tangwena, confronted the imperialists head-on, to repel the seizure of their land and resisted white settler designs in the Gaerezi Ranch.
Dr Parirenyatwa’s resentment of foreign white oppression was in his blood.
He attended Murehwa Primary School and later proceeded to Howard Institute before enrolling at Adams College in Natal, South Africa. He proceeded to Fort Hare University where he graduated with a BSc degree in Biology.
Dr Parirenyatwa cut his teeth in politics while he was at Fort Hare, where he became one of the chief organisers of the African National Congress Youth League in the Thyeumie Branch of the political movement.
Besides being a popular student during his college days, Dr Parirenyatwa exhibited dynamic leadership qualities. After Fort Hare, he secured a place at Witwatersrand Medical School in South Africa and was among the few black medical students that enrolled at the Medical School.
In 1957, he qualified as a medical doctor and made history by becoming the first black medical practitioner in Southern Rhodesia.
Combining work and politics, Dr Parirenyatwa became actively involved in campaigns to defy the abhorrent apartheid laws. It was during these campaigns that he proved to be a militant and fearless fighter against injustice to the extent that he nearly got deported from South Africa.
When he returned to Southern Rhodesia, Dr Parirenyatwa worked at the Salisbury North Hospital (initially renamed Andrew Fleming and later Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals (after him).
As the first black doctor in the country, he worked among hostile racists that were always trying to find fault with his work, but he soldiered on and performed his duties diligently and professionally, and eventually became the envy of his white counterparts.
They ended up befriending and respecting him. His success soon made him a household name and this raised the profile of black people in Southern Rhodesia.
Dr Pari had broken the myth that practising Western medicine was the preserve of white people.
However, the prospects of high social status brought by his professional attainment did not make him lose sight of what he saw as his societal obligation, that is, fighting for social justice, equality and black majority rule.
He was later transferred to Antelope Hospital in Kezi, Matabeleland South, where he once again met a hostile white community that could not hide its hatred at the appointment of an African medical officer to serve as the hospital.
Dr Parirenyatwa, however, won the community over through expertly performing surgeries and treating both black and white patients professionally.
Soon, he became an asset to the community and the same whites that had been hostile were inviting him to their homes and were in the forefront of opposing his departure when he was recalled to Salisbury.
In the meantime, the winds of African nationalism were sweeping across Africa and Dr Parirenyatwa resigned from the Federal Government Service in 1961 to dedicate more of his time to the nationalist cause.
He then established surgeries in Highfield and at Amato along Kingsway (now Julius Nyerere Way) in Salisbury.
Private practice gave him room to attend to political activities and this resulted in him being elected ZAPU’s deputy president at the party’s launch in December 1961.
When ZAPU was formed after the banning of the National Democratic Party, it was decided that the new party would need a sophisticated approach to fight the settler Government.
Thus Dr Parirenyatwa devoted most of his time working for the party and crafting strategies that were effective in confronting the settler minority.
He travelled around the country addressing rallies and opening new branches and through his work as a doctor and politician he inspired many young people to participate in the nationalist struggle and to train as medical doctors.
Dr Pari was viewed by many as a militant who was anxious to move away from politics of accommodation to that of military confrontation with the white establishment for black majority rule to be achieved.
He saw the armed struggle as not only necessary, but inevitable.
During a lunch meeting of the Rhodesian National Affairs Association, which he attended as deputy president of ZAPU on April 14, 1962, he predicted that while he was advocating confronting the white settlers, the planned takeover of the country was going to be through a constitutional process, not spearheaded through the colonial parliament.
To expedite the process towards black rule, Dr Parirenyatwa worked hard to transform ZAPU into an efficient political force, with a broad-based national membership for Zimbabwe and well organised structures from branch to national level.
He recognised the need to mobilise support from the grassroots and as such, established a research unit within the party to get a deeper appreciation and understanding of the issues at stake.
He was also a strong advocate for discipline and professionalism in the administration of party affairs.
His dynamism, persuasiveness, popular appeal and humility made him a formidable force and a treasure to the party, while the white settler Government viewed him as a threat.
After independence the Government saw it fit to rename one of the country’s leading referral hospitals after him in honour of his selflessness, dedication and the sacrifices he made to free Zimbabwe.
Thus Andrew Fleming Hospital became Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
During the country’s silver jubilee celebrations in 2005, Dr Parirenyatwa was among other distinguished people that were posthumously conferred with the Order of Great Zimbabwe (Gold) together with Father Zimbabwe, Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo and the Soul of the Nation, Vice President Dr Simon Muzenda.
A Guide to the Heroes Acre: Some Basic Facts about Zimbabwe’s Heroes and Heroes Acre. – Harare: Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, 1986, 2019. Additional information is from the Zimpapers Knowledge Centre archives.
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