adminhero, Dr Samuel Tichafa Parirenyatwa died.
He died on August 13, 1962 under unclear circumstances near Heany Flyover along the Harare-Bulawayo Road.
The Zanu-PF top brass among them national chairman Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, political commissar Cde Webster Shamu, Cdes Emmerson Mnangagwa, Rugare Gumbo, politburo Dr David Parirenyatwa, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu and Dr Stan Mudenge drove to the place of the tragedy, about 30km from Bulawayo.
Dr David Parirenyatwa is the son of the late Dr Parirenyatwa.
The leaders drove to the tragic spot after holding a national co-ordinating committee meeting in preparation for the revolutionary party’s 12 Annual National People’s Conference to be held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds.
The party leaders and scores of supporters were taken down memory lane as they reminisced the painful years of the liberation struggle. The visibly saddened crowd marched through the bridge chanting slogans and singing revolutionary songs.
At some point Cde Khaya Moyo led the group in song and dance and was joined by Cde Shamu and Dr Ndlovu.
The leaders listened sorrowfully to Dr David Parirenyatwa as he narrated the sad death of his father, who was one of the pioneers of the nationalist cause and the first black medical doctor in the country.
Dr Parirenyatwa said his father was ambushed by the Rhodesian agents on his way from Harare to Bulawayo en-route to Kezi where he was supposed to address a party meeting. The late Dr Parirenyatwa also worked as a medical doctor at Kezi’s Antelope Mine Hospital.
“My father stopped over in Gweru to pay a courtesy call on Cde Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo. As he drove from Gweru his car had a break down but he managed to fix it.
“After driving for about 20km his car was stopped by the Rhodesian forces who forcefully took him out with his driver Mr Danger Sibanda,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
Cde Mnangagwa said the painful death of Dr Parirenyatwa inspired many Zimbabweans to join the liberation struggle to unseat the settler government.
“This is a true history. I was in Zapu by then when Danger arrived in our military training base in Tanganyika and told us that Cde Parirenyatwa had been killed,” said Cde Mnangagwa.
“However, Danger did not train with us as he proceeded to England. He is alive and is still in England today.”
Cde Khaya Moyo described the flyover as a place of tragedy and a beacon of the spirit of nationalism. He paid tribute to the living and the departed heroes who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the country from colonial bondage.
“This is the place of tragedy and we are here to pay homage to the late Dr Parirenyatwa for his role in the struggle for freedom,” said Cde Khaya Moyo.
“It is befitting that the 12th National People’s Conference takes places in Bulawayo, which is an appropriate venue for us to recognise the source of inspiration from this illustrious cadre.”
He challenged party members to take the conference seriously and consolidate the gains of independence by ensuring that the party wins the forthcoming elections resoundingly.
Speaking at the same place Dr Ndlovu said the flyover bridge should be named after Dr Parirenyatwa as a reminder to all Zimbabweans about his legacy of fighting colonialism.
Dr Parirenyatwa, who worked closely with the late Vice President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, was declared a national hero posthumously in 1984 and his remains were exhumed and buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
Online Reporter