Tshinga Dube to be buried at National Heroes Acre against his will

Former minister and liberation struggle stalwart Tshinga Dube, who passed away last week in Bulawayo, will be buried tomorrow at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, despite his expressed wish to be laid to rest at Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo.

Dube, a respected war veteran and key figure in Zimbabwe's liberation history, had made it clear to his family that he wanted to be buried in Bulawayo's Lady Stanley Cemetery, which is reserved for prominent residents who contributed to the city's development. However, government authorities overruled his family's wishes, insisting on his burial at the national shrine in Harare.

Dube's son, Vusumuzi Dube, confirmed the situation, expressing his disappointment at the decision.

"My father made it clear that he did not want to be buried in Harare, but authorities bulldozed their way and imposed their will on the family, even in death," Vusumuzi Dube said.

This controversy echoes past instances involving prominent ex-ZAPU figures, including the late minister Cephas Msipa, who, despite his desire to be buried next to his wife in Gweru, was laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre in 2016 at the insistence of the late former President Robert Mugabe.

The burial site has been a point of contention for many former liberation struggle leaders, particularly from the ZAPU faction. Some, such as Welshman Mabhena and Dumiso Dabengwa, explicitly rejected the idea of being interred at the National Heroes Acre, questioning its symbolic value and expressing disdain for the partisan selection process.

Mabhena, a former ZAPU secretary-general, was known for his public statements rejecting the national shrine. "I don't want to be buried at the Heroes Acre in Harare next to corrupt people, thieves, and murderers," he once said, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with the politicization of the heroes' status.

The National Heroes Acre, once a revered symbol of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, has faced increasing criticism over the years for what many see as a biased and politicized process of selecting national heroes. This has led to a growing number of former luminaries, especially from the ZAPU camp, rejecting burial there in favor of resting in their local communities.

Tshinga Dube's burial tomorrow at the National Heroes Acre is likely to reignite debate about the credibility of the site and its declining reputation among Zimbabwe's war veterans and citizens alike.