President to preside over National Hero Rtd Brig Gen Mpabanga burial

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will today preside over the burial of the late decorated military officer and National Hero, Brigadier-General (Retired) Samuel Mpabanga at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.

The late senior military officer died in Gwanda last week aged 69, leaving behind a legacy of loyalty and dedication to national service carved out over years from days of the liberation struggle and long service after independence.

A sombre atmosphere gripped Khumalo Barracks in Bulawayo yesterday where scores of mourners gathered to pay their last respects to the late National Hero.

Family members, liberation war comrades, members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, senior Government officials, senior Zanu-PF officials and members of the public thronged the barracks, singing liberation songs and offering prayers as they paid their last respects.

Earlier, a mass led by the Roman Catholic Church was held at Doves Funeral Parlour in Bulawayo, where speakers described the late Brig-Gen Mpabanga as a disciplined cadre, a patriot and a man of peace who dedicated his life to serving the nation with distinction.

Following the church service, the hero’s body was transferred to Khumalo Barracks and airlifted to Charles Gumbo Barracks in Harare where it lay in state ahead of today’s burial.

During the farewell funeral service, liberation war comrades recalled how Brig-Gen Mpabanga answered the call to join the armed struggle in 1976 after mobilisation by the late Cde Jane Ngwenya and went on for military training at Mlungushi Camp in Zambia.

A former colleague, Retired Colonel Marshal Mpofu, said the late hero was among the young men and women who sacrificed their youth for the country’s independence.

Family members said Brig-Gen Mpabanga came from a family of freedom fighters, with several siblings and cousins crossing the border to join the liberation struggle, some of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice.

After Independence, the late Retired Brig Gen Mpabanga joined the Zimbabwe National Army, where he served for more than four decades, rising through the ranks with distinction before retiring on August 31, 2022.

His younger brother, Cde Lot Mpabanga, described him as a mentor and a pillar of strength within the family.

“We have lost a great man and for me, I have lost a mentor. He was peaceful, disciplined and principled. Even as children, he promoted unity and respect,” he said.

Brig-Gen Mpabanga died at Gwanda Provincial Hospital on Monday last week after a long illness. President Mnangagwa conferred Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mpabanga with the National Hero status on Saturday.

The late Brig- Gen Mpabanga was the elder brother to the late Major General (Rtd) Sikhulile Simpson Mpabanga Nyathi, who died in 2022.

The late Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mpabanga, whose Chimurenga name was Moffat Nkomo, was born on August 31, 1956 in Gwanda and attended Mapate Primary School and Beitbridge Primary School from 1963 to 1970, before proceeding to Manama Mission (1971 to 1972) and Matobo Secondary School from 1973 to 1974.

He crossed the border to join the liberation struggle as a ZPRA cadre in 1977 and briefly stayed at Mapate before crossing Shashe River with his colleagues headed to Selibe Phikwe in Botswana.

The late Brig-Gen (Rtd) stayed at Selibe Phikwe Prison for three months with his uncle, the late Raphel Mpabanga, Martin Kukubele and the late Sibusiso Mpabanga.

He started military training late 1977 at Mulungushi under the Zambian army, with attachments from ZPRA who included the late Cephas Khupe and the late Gedi Dube.

From 1978 to 1979, he went for further military training in Odessa, Russia, formerly the Soviet Union.

The late senior army officer joined the Zimbabwe National Army on July 12, 1980 and retired from active service on August 31, 2022.

He also served as a defence attachee at the country’s Embassy in Zambia between 2016 and 2022.While in Zambia, he oversaw the management and upkeep of liberation war shrines where scores of Zimbabwe’s heroes and heroines are buried.

The late national hero is survived by wife and three children.