adminsaid Lt Col Mahlanza died on on Saturday at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals after a short illness.
He was 56.
Lt Col Mahlanza was born on July 12, 1957 in Zimunya, Mutare District.
He received his primary education at Derembwe School and pursued secondary education through correspondence after independence.
Lt Col Mahlanza crossed the border in 1976 to join the liberation struggle in Mozambique at Nyadzonia Camp. He survived the 1977 Nyadzonia air attacks by the Rhodesian forces after which he and other survivors were transferred to Masengere Camp where they received military training.
Lt Col Mahlanza was one of the few comrades selected to undergo military training in Tanzania at Nachingweya, as part of the Songa Mbele group.
After completing his training he was deployed in Tete Province, Nehanda sector in Guruve under the leadership of current Air Force of Zimbabwe Commander Air Marshal Perrance Shiri.
Lt Col Mahlanza rose to become a detachment security commander before the declaration of ceasefire leading to elections that ushered in independence in 1980.
He was attested into the ZNA as a military policeman in 1981. He did various military police courses at School of Military Police in Bulawayo.
Lt Col Mahlanza was later commissioned and promoted to Lieutenant in 1989 and rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant Colonel in 2006, the rank he held at the time of his death.
During his service, Lt Col Mahlanza served under different formations and units where he held different appointments among them Officer in Charge Crime and Officer Commanding Special Investigation Branch at various Brigades in the ZNA.
He was also Officer in Charge Investigation under the United Nations Verification Mission in Angola between 1994 and 1995.
While serving at the Zimbabwe Military Police Directorate, he was at one time appointed General Staff Officer Grade 2, Administration and Quartermaster Staff Officer Grade 2 and Deputy Director Military Police between 2006 and 2011.
Lt Col Mahlanza was later reassigned as General Staff Grade 1 responsible for Staff Development at the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Headquarters in 2011 before being appointed Commanding Officer Army Headquarters Camp the same year, the post he held until his untimely death.
He is survived by his wife Lillian nee Romo and five children.
Online Reporter