Zanu-PF national hero died a pauper

Zanu-PF politburo member Edson Ncube who died at his Mpopoma house in Bulawayo last week and was declared a national hero was living in poverty, neighbours have revealed.

They said Ncube who was buried at the national shrine lived the last years of his live in abject poverty and was a bitter man.

"Ncube lived alone, he had children with different women but was never married. He has always stayed alone. He once had a car some years back but it was taken away by Zanu-PF," said a neighbour from Bulawayo's Mpopoma suburb.

"Afterwards, Ncube has been relying on neighbours to transport him to Zanu-PF meetings."

They said the day Ncube died, Zanu-PF acitivists rushed to teh house and cleaned it before mourners could visit.

"The house was so dirty and to avoid embarassmnt, the Zanu-PF people came and cleaned the house before mourners came. There was so much dirt in the house and his furniture was so old that  some party members had to bring their set of sofas to be used for sitting by important guests because the ones Ncube owned could not be exposed to the public," said another neighbour.

"It becomes senseless for one to be declared a national hero when they were living such a pathetic lives. The whole honour loses meaning as it becomes an event for political grandstanding by Zanu-PF."

Contacted to comment, acting Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Killian Sibanda said, "I have nothing to say on the matter. How members live their lives outside the party is not our business."