Source: VP Chiwenga hails Matabeleland South’s role in nation building – herald
Thupeyo Muleya
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has described Matabeleland South as a province that has played a pivotal role in Zimbabwe’s historical, political, and socio-economic architecture.
Speaking at Zezani Assembly Point, officially known as Juliet Assembly point in Beitbridge recently where he launched the Independence Flame roadshow, VP Chiwenga said Matabeleland South’s contribution to the liberation struggle and post-independence development remains unmatched.
He noted that the province produced national luminaries whose legacies continue to shape the country.
“Matabeleland South gave us Father Zimbabwe, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, a man whose vision and sacrifice laid the foundation of this nation,” VP Chiwenga said.
“It also gave us gallant sons like George Silundika, Cde Welshman Mabhena, Enos Nkala, Jason Ziyapapa Moyo, Calistas Dingiswayo Ndlovu, General Lookout Masuku, Naison Khutswekhaya Ndlovu, Major General Solomon Siziba, Colonel (Retired) Tshinga Dube and Brigadier Samuel Mpangana, and many others whose contributions are instrumental in both the armed struggle and post-independence political; landscape. May their souls continue to rest in eternal peace.
“The province is also home to our Vice President Honourable Colonel (Retired) Kembo Campbell Dugishi Mohadi. The province was not only the cradle of leadership, but also a theatre of sacrifice. The battles fought at Ratanyana, Zezani and Manama Mission in the late 1970s are etched in the collective memory of our nation”.
He said Zezani was one area where both ZANLA and ZIPRA forces operated during the liberation struggle and later became an Assembly Point during the ceasefire period in 1979, serving as a convergence point for ZIPRA and ZANLA.
“Under the Commonwealth Monitoring Force, freedom fighters assembled here, registered and surrendered their weapons as part of the transition from armed struggle to independence in 1980,” added VP Chiwenga.
He said it was at Zezani where ZANLA and ZIPRA forces converged to sow the seeds of the first integration that sowed the seed for amalgamating former combatants into the Zimbabwe National Army.
“That development was a testament to our capacity as a people to move from conflict to cohesion and from resistance to reconstruction. In that regard, Zezani remains one of the major symbolic sites of the liberation struggle in Matabeleland South Province,” said VP Chiwenga.
The Vice President added that beyond politics, the province remains key to Zimbabwe’s economic transformation, with strategic assets such as the Beitbridge Border Post, vast mineral resources, and a resilient agricultural sector.
He said the Second Republic recognises Matabeleland South’s historical weight and is committed to ensuring the province continues to benefit from devolution and national development programmes in line with the mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
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