Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Online Reporter
HUNDREDS of mourners gathered in Chidobe village outside Victoria Falls to pay their last respects to one of the ruling Zanu-PF’s loyal staffers Cde Innocent Mabhena who died on Monday.
He was aged 51.
Cde Mabhena who was the party’s driver for Hwange District, collapsed at his home and was rushed to Victoria Falls Hospital where he died.
Cde Mabhena was buried at his rural Chidobe home this Thursday morning.
Mourners included local villagers, Victoria Falls residents and Zanu-PF district and provincial leadership.
While the Seventh Day Adventist Church led the funeral service, the ruling party’s members lit up the somber atmosphere with revolutionary songs and dance, as they painted the village in their trade mark green, red and yellow regalia.
They were supported by MenBelievED and Matabeleland North Cross Borders4ED members.
Instead of the Doves Funeral Service hearse carrying the coffin to the family graveyard about 600 metres away from the homestead, Zanu-PF members carried it as the funeral cortege moved to the final resting place led by a party vehicle amid song and dance.
Cde Mabhena became a driver for the ruling party in 2017.
His brother Mr Gift Mabhena said the multitudes of mourners were testimony to the work he did for the party and community.
“We are grateful for the way people came to pay their last respects including Zanu-PF members. Your presence here is testimony of his work and if it is anything to go by, then the heavens are opened for him,” he said.
The late Cde Mabhena’s twin daughters Rose and Rosary said they had lost a pillar who showed them love, until his time of death.
“He was full of love and tried by all means to make us get everything we needed. It was hard but he gave us beautiful lives as he played a bigger role in our lives as his children,” said Rose.
The party’s Matabeleland North Provincial Administrator Cde Bigboy Nkiwane said the party had lost a dedicated son whose position will not be easy to fill.
“We are here with other party staffers like district administrators from the party’s districts, and other drivers. We worked very well with him since 2017. He has left a void which will not be easy to fill,” he said.
Hwange District Coordinating Committee chair Cde Mathew Muleya said the late Cde Mabhena’s contribution to the development and growth of the party was immeasurable.
The party provided a beast, transport for mourners and also the coffin in partnership with Doves Funeral Service.
Acting Chief Mvuthu Mr Bishop Matata Sibanda implored his subjects to continue working and commiserating with each other in times of grief.
Members of the opposition party Citizen’s Coalition for Change and Hwange West Member of Parliament Vusa Moyo also attended.
Cde Mabhena did his primary education at Mizpah Primary School and Chidobe Primary before going to Mosi-oa-Tunya High School for secondary education.
After school, he worked as a driver for a number of tourism companies including Shearwater Adventures, Matetsi, Tatenda Safaris, and Mahelane before driving for Zanu-PF.
He is survived by wife Sazini Ncube and five daughters.
Online Reporter