Mnangagwa declares Matemadanda national hero

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the late Victor Matemadanda a national hero, describing him as a committed liberation war veteran, politician and diplomat who dedicated his life to the service of Zimbabwe.

The announcement was conveyed to the Matemadanda family on Monday night by ZANU PF Politburo member Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.

Matemadanda, who died on Saturday at the age of 66, was serving as Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Mozambique and the Eswatini at the time of his death.

In a condolence message, President Mnangagwa said he received news of Matemadanda's death with deep sorrow, describing him as a liberation war veteran whose nationalist convictions were shaped during his youth as part of the Zimbabwean migrant community that settled in Zambia to escape persecution under Rhodesian colonial rule.

"I learnt with deep grief and sadness of the untimely demise on Saturday night of Victor Matemadanda, Zimbabwe's Ambassador to the sister Republics of Mozambique and Eswatini," said the President.

"A war veteran who became part of the leadership of the association of our Liberation Veterans after Independence, the late Matemadanda's association with nationalist politics and the National Liberation Struggle for our Independence dated back to his youthful days as part of the Zimbabwean migrant community which had settled in Zambia to escape persecution and inhibitions in the then-settler colonial Rhodesia."

President Mnangagwa said Matemadanda left the relative stability of life in Zambia to actively participate in the liberation struggle, initially mobilising support for freedom fighters and refugees in camps located in Zambia and Mozambique.

He said the late ambassador later became directly involved in the war effort by assisting in the transportation of military supplies and equipment to operational zones using large trucks.

Following Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, Matemadanda joined the Zimbabwe National Army, where he served with distinction before transitioning into political and veterans' affairs.

"At Independence, Matemadanda would join the Zimbabwe National Army, in which role he served his country with loyalty and utmost distinction. After leaving the army, he continued to advance the interests of the party and war veterans through the Veterans Association, which he helped lead," said Mnangagwa.

The President also noted that Matemadanda's advocacy for war veterans often placed him at odds with authorities during the First Republic, leading to his incarceration on several occasions.

He later rose through the ranks of ZANU PF to become the party's National Political Commissar, a role in which Mnangagwa said he brought renewed energy and dynamism to the ruling party.

In recent years, Matemadanda was redeployed to diplomatic service as Zimbabwe's ambassador to Mozambique and Eswatini.

According to the President, he distinguished himself by travelling extensively across Mozambique to identify and document former liberation war bases and burial sites where Zimbabwean fighters were laid to rest.

"To broaden his vista as one of the promising cadres in the leadership of the Party, I took the decision to introduce and redeploy him into our diplomatic service as Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Mozambique and Eswatini. He distinguished himself in that role, traversing all the provinces in Mozambique which housed our wartime bases, and in which remains of countless Zimbabwean freedom fighters lie buried in mass graves," he said.

Mnangagwa said it was unfortunate that Matemadanda died before completing a programme aimed at rehabilitating and preserving wartime shrines and burial grounds in Mozambique.

He pledged that the Government would continue with the initiative as part of efforts to honour fallen liberation fighters.

"This is the least we can do to honour our fallen heroes, and to pay lasting tribute to the late Matemadanda," the President said.

He extended condolences on behalf of the Government, ZANU PF, his family and the nation to Matemadanda's widow, children and relatives.

Senior government officials, including Monica Mavhunga and Amon Murwira, visited the family home in Harare to offer their condolences.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Matemadanda's eldest son, Terrence, said the family was struggling to come to terms with the loss.

"We are at a loss for words as a family because it happened suddenly. It is not something we expected or saw coming," he said.