Matemadanda: The Lion of Gokwe who never lowered his rifle

Comrades, patriots, children of Zimbabwe,

We woke up today under the heavy clouds of grief, but also under the bright torch that Comrade Victor Matemadanda lit and carried for 66 years. He was born on 3 March 1960 in Gokwe, a son of the soil. He died on 21 June 2026 at Parirenyatwa Hospital, a soldier of the nation. Between those two dates was a life forged in fire, tempered by war, and dedicated to Zimbabwe.

The War Comrade  
At just 13 years old in 1973, while others were still learning to read, Victor shouldered a rifle and joined ZANLA. He did not wait for freedom to be gifted. He marched into the bush, into the rain, into the gunfire, because he knew what we all knew: that no people are free until they free themselves. He fought not for medals, but for a flag. He bled not for titles, but for a land.

The Political Commissar  
When the guns fell silent, the war continued in boardrooms and ballot boxes. Comrade Victor became the voice of the war veterans. As Secretary General of ZNLWVA and later National Political Commissar of ZANU PF, he was fearless. He called out betrayal when he saw it. He stood against the G40, stood with Lacoste, stood for the Second Republic when the nation stood at a crossroads. "As war veterans, we fought to liberate the country and we want to give direction now," he said. And he did. He gave direction. He reminded us that an enemy is not a political opponent - that democracy must breathe even in our own house.

He was removed, scandalized, pushed aside by bigwigs in Midlands who mistook proximity to power for immortality. But history is patient, comrades. History is the greatest commissar. And history will record that Victor Matemadanda was never a coward. He was arrested, taken to Law and Order, hauled before courts for daring to speak truth to power - even under Mugabe's Presidential Insult Law. Yet Beatrice Mtetwa walked him out, because truth cannot be jailed forever.

The Diplomat and Son of Gokwe  
In 2018 the people of Gokwe Central sent him to Parliament. He became Deputy Minister of Defence. And in 2021, President Mnangagwa sent him as Ambassador - first to Mozambique, then to the Kingdom of Eswatini. He represented us with distinction. He carried Zimbabwe's name across borders, not with arrogance, but with the dignity of a man who had fought for that name.

He graduated from UNISA. In 2022 he earned his doctorate in Business Administration. A freedom fighter with a scholar's pen. A man who proved that revolution and education are not enemies, but twins.

The Man  
He was a husband. A father to Terrence. A son of Gokwe. A comrade to many of us who stood in the dust, in the rain, in the chambers. He was brave - the face of the Second Republic when bravery was needed most. He was unflinching. He was loyal. And he was human.

Comrades, they thought they could break him. They thought removing him from Political Commissar would erase him. They forgot that you cannot remove a mountain by shouting at it. Victor Matemadanda was a mountain. Carved by war. Crowned by service. And now, called home by history.

The Charge He Leaves Us  
Victor is gone, but the revolution is not. The struggle he began in 1973 did not die at Parirenyatwa last night. It lives in us. It lives in every child in Gokwe who goes to school because he fought. It lives in every diplomat who stands tall because he represented. It lives in every voice that refuses to be silenced.

So let us not weep only. Let us rise. Let us finish the work. Let us build the Zimbabwe he dreamed of - free, united, dignified.

Rest well, Ambassador. Rest well, Deputy Minister. Rest well, Political Commissar. Rest well, my brother-in-arms.

The guns are silent now. Your watch is ended. Ours has just begun.
You were my friend we fought many wars together. Fare thee well my cde my shefu my brother.  

Aluta Continua. Hamba Kahle, Cde Matemadanda.