THE fight over the name of late Zanla commander, Josiah Magama Tongogara has turned dirty with family members throwing mud at each other over the paternity of his children and marriage status of the late national hero when he died.
BY PATRICE MAKOVA
Last week Angeline Gamanya, who sired four children with Tongogara claimed that one of the Zanla supremo’s children, Sukai was not his. She said Sukai was the eldest daughter of Tongogara’s elder brother Michael and his wife Winnie who now lives in Mt Darwin.
Gamanya’s comments followed reports that Sukai, a general manager in charge of investigations at the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission (Zacc) was on the run.
But Tongogara’s elder brother, Michael said although he was opposed to “washing the family’s dirty linen in public”, he was being forced to comment because of the continued fights.
He said if anyone had doubts about the biological father of Sukai and the other nine children the ex-Zanla leader sired with different women, DNA tests should then be done.
Michael said all of Tongogara’s children, including Gamanya’s four children, should be subjected to DNA tests to kill off the debate. He said Sukai was born in Zambia in the presence of Josiah and called her “our mother”.
Michael said if Sukai was her real daughter, he would not have risked sending her to the war front to live with Josiah in Mozambique. Tongogara’s brother produced a long birth certificate taken in 1983 which states that Sukai was born to Josiah and Mary.
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Sukai yesterday said the family was wasting time and embarrassing the Josiah’s legacy by debating who were his children and who were not. She said to end the public mudsling, she was prepared to finance, DNA tests for all of Tongogara’s children.
“I know there are outside forces trying to destroy my career. I challenge anyone doubting that I am not Josiah’s biological daughter that we all go for DNA tests which I will pay for from my own pocket,” said Sukai.
But Michael has insisted that while Tongo had four children with Angeline, namely Hondo , Tichafa, Bvumai and Nyaradzo, he also sired six other children with different women.
‘I’M FOR DNA TEST’
Granger, who has a striking resemblance to Tongogara, also said Sukai was her sister.
Granger, who is a Zanu PF youth league official in Goromonzi, said he was also prepared to go for a DNA test to prove that he was Josiah’s child.
Gamanya yesterday said she could not comment because she was attending a church service. But her daughter Nyaradzo referred questions to Conrad, Tongogara’s first-born who lives in Gweru.
Conrad yesterday said Sukai was free to go for DNA tests. He said as far as she knew, Sukai was Michael’s daughter.
