President Mnangagwa will this morning preside over the burial of former Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) High Command member and pioneer liberation fighter, General Makhethi Ndebele, known by his nom de guerre Jack Mpofu, at the National Heroes’ Acre.
Cde Ndebele d!ed last Saturday at his home in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, at the age of 82.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe yesterday told The Herald that mourners were expected to be seated at the national shrine by 7am.
“The President, like always, will preside over the burial at the (National) Heroes Acre tomorrow (today). Mourners are expected to be seated by 7am and we expect them to come in their numbers to give a befitting send-off to an illustrious son of the soil who sacrificed his life for the achievement of the freedom we enjoy today” he said.
Cde Mpofu is revered for being one of the pioneer combatants to join the armed struggle and was in 1967 among the first 200 cadres to join the war of liberation.
Rising through the ranks, he became a military instructor and trained thousands of guerrilla fighters.
Yesterday morning, mourners gathered at Cde Ndebele’s rural home to bid him farewell before his remains were taken to his Cowdray Park home for a brief memorial service.
The body was then flown to Harare.
Addressing mourners at Mzila Village, Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Dr Evelyn Ndlovu, who was represented by the acting director in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Mr Zachariah Jusa, commended Cde Ndebele for sacrificing his life to liberate the country.
“The reason why Cde Ndebele together with other liberation stalwarts decided to leave the country to train in Russia and other countries was because of the land.
“ The war did not end there as there were economic sanctions, which were imposed on us by the West after we embarked on the land reform programme,” she said.
“We have lost 24 years because of sanctions. Let us unite just like our freedom fighters who managed to liberate the country because they were united.”
Speaking at the same occasion, Zanu-PF Matabeleland South Women’s League chairperson Cde Sindisiwe Nleya thanked President Mnangagwa for conferring Cde Ndebele with the national hero status.
“As a province in general and Tshitshi villagers in particular we feel greatly appreciated and want to salute President Mnangagwa,” she said.
Meanwhile, Cde Ndebele’s body was seen off at Joshua Mqabuko International Airport by Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith NcubeMinister Ncube, service chiefs, and the Zanu PF leadership in Bulawayo.
Five buses were availed to ferry mourners to the capital city for the burial.
The late national hero’s young brother Mr Stanley Ndebele said his brother was a fierce fighter during the war of independence from colonial rule.
“My brother walked with a limp from a leg injury that he suffered during the liberation independence. He would tell us that one of his comrades stepped on an explosive device that exploded and injured them.
“Unfortunately, one of the commanders in that unit died after that explosion from a bomb that had been planted by the white settlers,” he said.
Mr Ndebele described his late brother as an intelligent man who tried to assist people whenever he could.
“The huge number of mourners who are here to pay their last respects is proof that he was a good man who was loved by family and community from Plumtree and here in Cowdray Park,” he said.
Cde Ndebele’s daughter, Susan described her father as a candid person who never minced his words.
“I am very grateful for the national hero status that has been conferred on my father. His exploits in the liberation war were well known and he has left a huge void in our hearts,” she said.
“He was a person who loved to speak the truth even if it would hurt you. He loved people and always wanted to offer help.”
Cde Ndebele was part of the first 200 guerrilla fighters to join the armed struggle after Zapu and Zanu successfully lobbied the Organisation of African Unity to train its members in preparation for the armed struggle in 1967.
He trained at Morogoro, Tanzania, under the command of Albert Nxele, with Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Russia, Cde Ambrose Mutinhiri, as the chief of staff.
Cde Mpofu was present when ZIPRA Commander Gen Nikita Mangena was killed in a landmine explosion following an ambush by Rhodesian forces near Deka Drum in the Zambezi Valley on June 28, 1978. He also suffered an injury he would carry for the rest of his life.
Cde Ndebele was born on June 6, 1942, under Chief Tshitshi’s area in Mangwe District in Matabeleland South Province. He was involved in military operations in areas including Victoria Falls in 1972.
Some of the members who were part of the operation included the late Roger Matshimini Ncube and now Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mazinyane.
