Cde Dzino, a national hero

EDITOR — Allow me to pay homage to Wilfred Mhanda aka Dzinashe Machingura (Cde Dzino), a true hero of the people. I was disappointed that not much was said about this man in the press. He is a man who spent the later years of his life in pursuit of his ideals no matter how futile. Of course, his liberation struggle credentials are not in doubt. True heroes are known by the goodness of their hearts and their deeds. Cde Dzino is a hero.

He is a man who earned his national hero status through his immense contributions to the war that won us the independence we enjoy and that cannot be undone by ZANU-PF denying him a place at the National Heroes Acre. It is not where one is buried that determines their hero status; it is the values they embody and are remembered for.

The Zimbabwe he leaves behind is certainly not the one he fought for. He strongly believed in peace, democracy and good governance which are the pillars on which the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform, an organisation he helped to found was anchored. Cde Dzino was not just any man. For him to have the courage to voice his disapproval of his fellow war comrades is an act that should be applauded.

As blogger, Takura Zhangazha, succinctly puts it in his tribute: ‘Cde Dzino lived the values and principles of the liberation struggle by being like the rest of us. There were no sirens in his wake, nor were there uniformed forces to clear the way for him. There was just us, the ordinary people, sometimes knowing, sometimes not knowing, that among us walks a legend of the liberation struggle.’
Go well son of the soil.

Farai Rugare