Chiwenga mourns Khaya Moyo

Tributes continued to pour in for Simon Khaya Moyo yesterday, who succumbed to cancer on Sunday at a Bulawayo hospital, with Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga saying his death was devastating.

Khaya Moyo (76) died of cancer.

VP Chiwenga said: "I was devastated to learn of the death of Simon Khaya Moyo, one of our veteran freedom fighters in the armed struggle for national independence."

He said Khaya Moyo, as a veteran politician and the party's spokesperson as well as a Politburo member was a humble and dedicated cadre of the armed struggle, who also served the country wholeheartedly, in various capacities.

"The late Ambassador belonged to a pioneering generation of freedom fighters, who started as activists in the youth wing of the nationalist movement, in the then Rhodesia," said VP Chiwenga.

"The veteran politician joined the liberation struggle in Zambia at a tender age. He was then sent to Makerere University to further his studies.

"Upon return, he was appointed political secretary to the then President of ZAPU, J. M. N. Nkomo. The late Moyo served as Special Assistant to the President of ZAPU, for a very long time.

"After independence, Ambassador Khaya Moyo held several key appointments, among them as a diplomat, Cabinet minister and Senator. At the time of his death, he was the Senator for Bulilima and Mangwe constituencies."

VP Chiwenga said the country had lost a doughty fighter and solid veteran of the liberation struggle.

"I wish to express my deepest, most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Moyo family, especially to his grieving wife, children, the ruling party Zanu-PF and the nation at large," he said.

"May they derive solace from the fact that we join them in mourning this illustrious son of the soil, who was one of us and indeed, a determined liberator of his people and nation. May his dear soul rest in eternal peace."

Zanu-PF national chairman and Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said the party in general and the department of information and publicity in particular was poorer without Khaya Moyo's soft, but powerful touch.

"As we mourn his sudden demise, Zanu-PF remembers his dedication to duty, his shrewdness in handling sensitive internal matters, his astuteness in managing diplomatic issues and above all, his humility," she said.

"SK Moyo rose through the party ranks to become a Member of Parliament and served in various ministries before he became a senior Minister of Government in 2013 and party national chairman in 2009, a position that he held until the post was frozen in 2014 at the party's extra ordinary congress held in Harare."

Muchinguri-Kashiri said SK Moyo was redeployed to the position of party spokesperson in 2014, a position that he continued serving in into the Second Republic, bridging the gap between the past and the New Dispensation.

Ambassador of the State of Palestine Mr Tamer Almassri said Moyo played a role in enhancing relations between his country and Zimbabwe.

"During his tenure as Chairman of Zanu-PF as well as the spokesperson of Zanu-PF party and during his various Government Ministerial positions, he contributed greatly not only in supporting the just struggle for self-determination of Palestine, but also to the fostering of Palestinian-Zimbabwe relations," he said.