BY SILAS NKALA
EX-Zipra cadres have paid tribute to former Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa (pictured) as the country marked the first anniversary of his death.
Dabengwa died on May 23 in Kenya on his way back home from India, where he had gone for treatment for a liver-related ailment.
He was declared a national hero, but was buried at his Ntabazinduna home after his relatives said the former Zipra intelligence supremo did not want to be buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
Zapu and the Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation launched a week-long virtual celebration of the national hero with citizens invited to post comments on Zapu’s social media platforms on Facebook and Twitter.
Former Zipra cadre Ian John Moyo, whose wartime name was Gabazi Khumalo, said Dabengwa was one of the most feared men by the Rhodesian forces.
“When Dabengwa led Zapu out of Mugabe`s Zanu PF, my dreams of a genuinely free Zimbabwe were rekindled after the cowardly Gukurahundi genocide,” Moyo said in a post on the Zapu Facebook page.
“I believed, and still believe, that it is better to die having declared one’s opposition to tyranny.
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“Like Dabengwa did, I felt it was also noble for me to denounce the state injustices, state capture with all its evils such as torture and the physical elimination of all political opponents, abusing the state machinery to usurp all the economic resources for the benefit of so few.
“As Zapu members and other patriots count 12 months after Dabengwa`s departure, may his dream shared by those who perished in pursuit of those dreams remain. “May his vision get clearer as it reincarnates amongst thousands of the younger generation.”
Zapu youth chairperson Brian Ncube said Dabengwa was a fearless fighter and leader, who was never intimidated by anyone to abandon his principles.
“He didn’t like the word ‘afraid’ used on him. I remember at one of the meetings I had the liberty to attend during his time, he interjected during one Bulawayo member’s submission by saying, “Angizange ngathi ngiyesaba, ngithe mina kangifuni (I didn’t say I am scared, but I said I don’t want),” Ncube said.
“This was post 2017 Robert Mugabe coup, after Zanu PF made a number of attempts to lure the late Zapu president Dabengwa back to Zanu PF.
“They promised him the vice-presidency and he told them point-blank that he was not a member of Zanu PF, but a leader of a free and independent political outfit, which they must engage for him to listen to them, not individually.”
Ncube said Dabengwa always encouraged the youth to take over from leaders and carry on the torch for the nation.
Mlondolozi Ndlovu, a Harare-based journalist and law student, said Dabengwa continuously agitated for a democratically free and independent Zimbabwe.
“He endorsed MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa as the presidential candidate for the 2018 elections,” he said.
Zapu’s virtual celebrations that started on May 17 ended yesterday. The Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation started similar celebration yesterday, which will run until June 1.
Dabengwa died on May 23 in Kenya on his way back home from India, where he had gone for treatment for a liver-related ailment.
He was declared a national hero, but was buried at his Ntabazinduna home after his relatives said the former Zipra intelligence supremo did not want to be buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
Zapu and the Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation launched a week-long virtual celebration of the national hero with citizens invited to post comments on Zapu’s social media platforms on Facebook and Twitter.
Former Zipra cadre Ian John Moyo, whose wartime name was Gabazi Khumalo, said Dabengwa was one of the most feared men by the Rhodesian forces.
“When Dabengwa led Zapu out of Mugabe`s Zanu PF, my dreams of a genuinely free Zimbabwe were rekindled after the cowardly Gukurahundi genocide,” Moyo said in a post on the Zapu Facebook page.
“I believed, and still believe, that it is better to die having declared one’s opposition to tyranny.
“Like Dabengwa did, I felt it was also noble for me to denounce the state injustices, state capture with all its evils such as torture and the physical elimination of all political opponents, abusing the state machinery to usurp all the economic resources for the benefit of so few.
“As Zapu members and other patriots count 12 months after Dabengwa`s departure, may his dream shared by those who perished in pursuit of those dreams remain.
“May his vision get clearer as it reincarnates amongst thousands of the younger generation.”
Zapu youth chairperson Brian Ncube said Dabengwa was a fearless fighter and leader, who was never intimidated by anyone to abandon his principles.
“He didn’t like the word ‘afraid’ used on him. I remember at one of the meetings I had the liberty to attend during his time, he interjected during one Bulawayo member’s submission by saying, “Angizange ngathi ngiyesaba, ngithe mina kangifuni (I didn’t say I am scared, but I said I don’t want),” Ncube said.
“This was post 2017 Robert Mugabe coup, after Zanu PF made a number of attempts to lure the late Zapu president Dabengwa back to Zanu PF.
“They promised him the vice-presidency and he told them point-blank that he was not a member of Zanu PF, but a leader of a free and independent political outfit, which they must engage for him to listen to them, not individually.”
Ncube said Dabengwa always encouraged the youth to take over from leaders and carry on the torch for the nation.
Mlondolozi Ndlovu, a Harare-based journalist and law student, said Dabengwa continuously agitated for a democratically free and independent Zimbabwe.
“He endorsed MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa as the presidential candidate for the 2018 elections,” he said.
Zapu’s virtual celebrations that started on May 17 ended yesterday. The Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation started similar celebration yesterday, which will run until June 1.
