President Mnangagwa mourns old friend

Mukudzei Chingwere

Herald Reporter

President Mnangagwa has consoled the Masawi family following the death of his long-time friend Cde Silas Takawira Mashupiko Masawi on Tuesday.
He was 86.

Cde Masawi – a Zanu PF stalwart- was a member of the Zimbabwe Political Prisoners Detainees and Restrictees Association (ZIPPEDRA) and chairman of Tangwena Zanu PF Party District in Mazowe West Constituency at the time of his death.

“Following the blowing up of a steam locomotive outside Fort Victoria (now Masvingo) in 1964 by the Crocodile Gang, a ZANLA Guerilla Unit 1-led, Colonial Administration Forces went on a manhunt against members of the group,” said the President in a statement.

“I escaped and went into hiding to stay at the late Michael Mawema’s house in Highfield and it is at this house that I first met Cde Silas Masawi in 1964.

“Cde Silas Masawi, already active in the underground movement of Zanu, was a dependable and committed cadre in the liberation of this country. I stayed with Cde Masawi under one roof until I was betrayed and arrested in 1965.”

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