THE late former freedom fighter and Zimbabwe National Army senior officer, Retired Colonel Harold Mtandwa Chirenda, who died last Wednesday, has been declared a national hero.
STAFF REPORTER
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo confirmed the development yesterday and said Chirenda will be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre tomorrow.
“We accepted the recommendation by the (Zanu PF) Bulawayo province that he be declared a national hero,” he said.
Chirenda, whose pseudonym was Elliot Masengo, died on January 1 at United Bulawayo Hospitals after a long illness. He was 69.
The late freedom fighter went for military training in Algeria and held several positions in Zipra such as deputy personnel chief and a member of the Zipra High Command together with the late General Lookout Masuku and Retired Brigadier General Ambrose Mutinhiri, among others.
He was one of the first Zipra military trainers at Morogoro Camp which opened in 1968.
At independence in 1980, he was attested into the army and served until retirement in 1995. Mourners are gathered at 22 Briton Road, Paddonhurst, in Bulawayo.
