National Hero and former Cabinet minister Dr Christopher Mushohwe will be buried today at the National Heroes Acre where President Mnangagwa is expected to preside over the burial.
In a statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage said the former Cabinet minister who died on Monday aged 69 after a long illness will be buried today.
Burial proceedings will start at 10am.
Yesterday, hundreds of villagers in the Chindoti area in Marange near Mutare braved the rains to bid farewell to Cde Mushohwe who was described by many as an education icon.
His body was flown to Chindoti Village in Marange yesterday before being transported back to the capital where he will be buried.
Addressing mourners during yesterday’s funeral parade, Zanu PF Secretary for Finance Cde Patrick Chinamasa described Cde Mushohwe as a development-oriented leader.
Cde Chinamasa, who accompanied the body to and from Marange together with Mrs Penelope Batsirai, wife of the national hero, said Cde Mushohwe was only stopped from working for the development of the country and his home area when he fell sick.
“Cde Mushohwe was a development-oriented leader, whose passion for issues relating to infrastructural development remains unquestionable. Each time he talked to me, his issues had something to do with improving the state of affairs not only here in Marange but the whole nation. He only stopped working for the development of the country and his beloved home area of Marange when he fell sick.
“I also knew Cde Mushohwe as a God-fearing person who always talked about developments at his church — United Methodist Church (UMC). In fact, each time we visited his home you would hear that pastor so and so has just left the place,” said Cde Chinamasa.
A representative of the UMC, Reverend Preston Majoni thanked the national hero for the role he played in helping the church.
“As a church, we feel the huge gap that has been left by Cde Mushohwe’s passing on. He helped us in many ways including the provision of accommodation or houses for our pastors. He was a strong devotee of the church who will be sorely missed,” he said.
Speaker after speaker among the relatives, fellow ruling Zanu PF party cadres and neighbours commended Cde Mushohwe for initiating numerous developmental projects in Marange community in particular and the nation at large.
Cde Mushohwe’s illustrious career in public service started in 1981 when he was employed as an assistant accountant at the then Dairy Marketing Board (now Dairibord). He then left to take up the position of principal executive officer (Comptroller of the Prime Minister’s household) on October 1, 1981.
In 1982 he was tasked by the late former President Mugabe to co-ordinate Government’s study programme up to 1990 and continued to play the same role until 2018.
Dr Mushohwe is survived by his wife Penelope Batsirai and eight children Prince, Primrose, Princess, Trevor, Tanya, Anesu, Shawn, Prayer and several grandchildren. – TheHerald
