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War veteran Cde Wilfred Mhanda, who died on Wednesday after battling colon cancer, will be buried at Glen Forest cemetery in Harare today.Family spokesperson Mr Munyaradzi Mhanda said Cde Mhanda will be buried at 2pm.
He said Cde Mhanda was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent chemotherapy for about six months, during which time he also battled inflammation of leg joints and swelling of the stomach.
Mr Munyaradzi Mhanda said Cde Mhanda was not married and had no children.
Cde Mhanda was a member of the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform founded in 2000, which was set up as an alternative to the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association. For a while he played a prominent role in the Second Chimurenga, but fell from grace after being central in a rebellion that sought to destablise the leadership of the struggle, which saw him imprisoned in Mozambique until 1979, when he was released at the behest of British and white settler authorities.
In his memoirs, titled “Dzino – Memories of a Freedom Fighter”, Cde Mhanda reveals how he was debriefed by the colonial Special Branch weeks before Independence Day and had an operative assigned to him.
“Sixty-four of us flew from Beira to Salisbury (now Harare) towards the end of January 1980 and became the responsibility of Lord Soames, transitional governor of Southern Rhodesia. As we walked across the tarmac to the Rhodesian air force plane at Beira airport, we could hardly believe what was about to happen . . .
“I was in a very confused state of mind . . . We had become outsiders, distanced from the contagious euphoria gripping the country . . .
“Upon our arrival, we were taken to Tomlinson Depot of the BSAP. There, over a period of two days, we were debriefed and vetted by the Rhodesian Special Branch and then transferred to the Skyline Motel, about 20 kilometres to the south of Harare. Superintendent Jeff Price of the Rhodesian Special Branch was assigned to us.”
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