Matemadanda declared national hero as Mnangagwa praises liberation war service

Matemadanda declared national hero as Mnangagwa praises liberation war service

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President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Mozambique and the Kingdom of Eswatini, Victor Matemadanda, a national hero.

The decision was conveyed to the family on Monday night by Politburo member Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, according to a report published by The Herald.

Matemadanda died on Saturday. He was 66.

In his condolence message, President Mnangagwa described Matemadanda as a “war veteran who became part of the leadership of the association of our Liberation Veterans after Independence,” and said his nationalist politics dated back to his youth.

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

The President said the late diplomat’s nationalist convictions could be traced to his youthful years as part of the Zimbabwean migrant community that settled in Zambia to escape persecution under the Rhodesian settler colonial regime.

Mnangagwa said Matemadanda later left Zambia to join the liberation struggle, initially mobilising support for fighters and refugees in camps in Zambia and Mozambique, including efforts led by the late Patrick Kombayi. He said Matemadanda later became involved in transporting war material to forward operational points using large trucks.

“At Independence, Cde Matemadanda would join the Zimbabwe National Army, in which role he served his country with loyalty and utmost distinction,” Mnangagwa said.

After leaving the army, the President said, Matemadanda continued to work through the war veterans’ association, which he helped to lead. Mnangagwa said Matemadanda’s stance on issues affecting war veterans, including their welfare and incorporation into party structures, “led to his repeated incarceration under the First Republic”.

The President also said Matemadanda later served as ZANU PF National Political Commissar, where he brought “exceptional vibrancy to the Party”.

On his diplomatic work, Mnangagwa said he redeployed Matemadanda into the foreign service as Ambassador to Mozambique and Eswatini, where he travelled across provinces in Mozambique that housed Zimbabwe’s wartime bases.

He said Matemadanda advocated for the rehabilitation of burial sites and shrines linked to Zimbabwean freedom fighters in Mozambique, adding that Government would continue with that work.

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

Senior Government officials, including Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs Senator Monica Mavhunga and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Professor Amon Murwira, were among those who visited the Matemadanda family home in Harare to pay their respects.

Matemadanda’s oldest son and family spokesperson, Terrence, said the death came unexpectedly.

“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.

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Matemadanda’s declaration as a national hero is expected to be followed by official burial arrangements in line with the country’s national heroes’ commemorations.

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