Zvinavashe burial to mark milestone in MDC, ZANU-PF relations

Zvinavashe will be the first national hero to be buried at the shrine after ZANU-PF and the two factions of the MDC agreed to form an inclusive government. The MDC leaders’ presence will signify the thawing of relations between the rival parties.
In the past, the MDC has boycotted ceremonies at the national shrine arguing they were ZANU-PF functions.
But with the inclusive government in place, there seems to be a change of heart.
Although no official comment could be obtained from the MDC-T, high ranking officials within the party said they would attend in the spirit of upholding the values of the power-sharing agreement that led to the consummation of the inclusive government.
“We are going to attend the funeral and the burial,” said an MDC-T insider. “The reason why we have not been attending (heroes’ burials) before was because we were not in government and ZANU-PF had been treating the issue as a party thing. Now that we are in an inclusive government, it would be in bad taste not to attend general Zvinavashe’s funeral and burial wherever it is.”
MDC-T spokesperson and Minister of Information, Communication and Technology Nelson Chamisa on Tuesday sent a condolence message to the Zvinavashe family saying: “The MDC conveys its most sincere condolences to the Zvinavashe family and the people of Zimbabwe at the untimely death of retired army general Vitalis Zvinavashe. The retired army-general is a distinguished son of Zimbabwe who has selflessly and honestly dedicated his life to the service of his country as a freedom fighter, a service chief and a legislator. The MDC hopes that his dedication, selflessness, conviction and patriotism will engender the same spirit in all of us at a time when we have resolved, despite our political differences, to have common purpose and vision to save Zimbabwe. As a freedom fighter, the retired army general wished for freedom for the people of Zimbabwe; freedom to pursue their dreams in an atmosphere bereft of fear and repression; the same values which the people of this great country continue to cherish and respect.”
Zvinavashe, 66, died at Manyame Air Force Base Hospital on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer and was declared a national hero yesterday.
His body will be taken to his home in the politically volatile province of Masvingo today, then to Mucheke stadium on Friday before being flown to one of the military bases in Harare where it will lie in state.
He will be buried at the national shrine on Saturday.
Also known as Sheba Gava or Fox, Zvinavashe,  succumbed to cancer upon his return from Cuba.
A politician and military strategist, Zvinavashe had recently become a rabid critic of the government and ZANU-PF accusing his party of not being transparent about the real challenges bedeviling the shattered economy and the political environment.
He however, courted the ire of regional and international leaders in 2002 when he declared that the armed forces would not salute anyone without liberation war credentials in apparent reference to the now Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Zvinavashe was once tipped to takeover as Vice President from Simon Muzenda who died in 2003 but that position was later to be reserved for a woman.
Born in 1943 in the Gutu district of Masvingo and one of Zimbabwe’s nationalists to join the struggle in its early years when he crossed the border to Zambia in 1967, the former general trained as a soldier at Chunya Camp, Tanzania and was deployed to Zambia the same year.
He was elected a member of the Zimbabwe African National Union Liberation Army (ZANLA) Military Council and Commander of the Botswana-Zambia Border in 1970 and two years later appointed a member of the High Command and provincial secretary of the Malawi-Mozambique-Zimbabwe Front until 1974.
Zvinavashe held two posts in 1976; the ZANLA deputy chief of military security and intelligence and acting provincial commander of Tete Province. He was subsequently elected a member of the then ruling ZANU-PF’s central committee as deputy chief of National Security and Intelligence.
He held that position until the ceasefire agreement declared to start on December 29 1979 and after the Lancaster House negotiations.
In 1980, the late army chief worked in the Prime Minister’s Department before he was appointed a member of the Joint High Command with the mandate to oversee the integration of the three armies, ZANLA, ZIPRA and the Rhodesian Forces into one army, the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA).
He was attested into the ZNA as Brigadier General on December 1 1980 after he was appointed Commander of 3 Brigade.
In 1981 he was promoted to Major General and Chief of Staff at ZNA Headquarters taking over command from retired general Solomon Mujuru on June 1 1992 as Lieutenant-General.
He became the first Commander of the Defence Forces as a General after a Constitutional Amendment on July 1 1994.
He boasts the following awards; Liberation Decoration (gold), Independence Medal, 10 years Service medal, Exemplary Service medal and Mozambique Campaign medal. He was credited with his efforts to institutionalise the African Union’s Central Mechanism Conflict Prevention, Resolution and Management.
He was conferred with the Honorary Doctorate of Letters Degree on August 2003 after the University of Zimbabwe carefully scrutinised his role in freeing Zimbabwe from the colonial shackles of Ian Douglas Smith.
He added yet another medal to his military career when on August 15 2006, President Robert Mugabe conferred upon him the Grand Commander of the Zimbabwe Order of Merit.