Zanu-PF senator dies

Senator for Zvimba Constituency and Zanu-PF Central Committee member Cde Virginia Muchenje has died. She was 66.

Muchenje died yesterday of suspected diabetic complications.Zanu-pf Mashonaland West Province has since recommended provincial hero status. The provincial secretary for administration Simbarashe Ziyambi confirmed the death of Muchenje, who got involved in politics in the 1970s when she provided material support to liberation war fighters.

"Details are still sketchy but we can confirm that Senator Muchenje has died. We are still to get details of where she died and the cause, though it is thought to be related to diabetes," he said.

Born on August 7 1950 Muchenje held several lower posts in Zanu-PF in post-independent Zimbabwe ,starting in 1981. She rose through the ranks to become a Central Committee member in 2000 before being elected senator for Zvimba Constituency, a position she held until her death. Burial arrangements are still being finalised.