Senator Gombami dies

She was 48.

Senator Gombami died yesterday morning at a clinic in Gokwe after a short illness. Her husband, Mr Fanuel Gombami, said he was dumbfounded by the sudden death of his wife.
“I am at a loss for words with her sudden death as she was a pillar of strength to me. We consulted each other on all things and she gave sound advice,” said Mr Gombami in a telephone interview from Harare.
“We had gone to Gokwe to bury our nephew on Sunday. In the morning today we visited my aunt. Upon arrival she complained of being dizzy and collapsed and died on the spot.”
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said:

“Yes it is true. She passed away in the morning today (yesterday) upon admission at a clinic in Gokwe. We received the message from her husband that she was visiting Gokwe and had a sudden illness.”
“This is a sad development for the party and it is really affecting us. She was a very active member of the party and the chairperson for the women’s assembly in Bulawayo province. She was also my deputy in Copac.”
Mr Mwonzora described the late Gombami as a dedicated politician who worked tirelessly for the party. He said Gombami was one of the founder members of the party in 1999.
“We went to South Africa with her in 2009 and met key players in the South African constitution making process such as Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and Mr Pravin Gordan, now the Minister of Finance. We are all saddened by her death and express our condolences to her husband,” he said.

MDC-T Bulawayo provincial chairman Mr Gorden Moyo also expressed shock at the death of Gombami.

“We have received that information with shock. We understand she died at around 6am. Her body has been taken to Harare for postmortem,” said Mr Moyo.

“As a party we are shocked by this development. On Friday we had a get-together meeting with our Members of Parliament and the provincial leadership. She was also there and there was no indication that she had any problem.

“We have lost a senator who was also the chief whip of the party in the senate. She was the senator for Mabutweni constituency, which covers Mpopoma, Pelandaba, Njube and Lobengula. Above that she has for the past two-and-a-half years been an active member of Copac.”
When a Chronicle news crew visited her home at block 74/2270 in Mpopoma, where mourners are gathered, none of the family members was around as they were reported to have gone to Harare to fetch the corpse.

Gombami was born on 21 November 1963 in Bulawayo. She did her primary education at Lukhanyiso Primary School in Mpopoma before going to Mzilikazi High School for her secondary education.
She got married to Mr Fanuel Gombami in 1983.

She is survived by three children, two girls and a boy.
Burial arrangements are yet to be announced.