Fare Thee Well Dear Cde Mupamhanga

By Dr Masimba Mavaza

Today as I sit to write, my mind does not allow the free flow of words. I am unable to compile all my feelings into words. I feel too little even to write my heart out because I have assembled the audacity to write about the real-life hero and a gather. Whenever I sit and close my eyes for a second and think, I fail to comprehend the plight of a person who knows that death is standing in front of him, and yet he marches to protect those he has never seen or met. I think for a while whether I would be a brave heart to give even a single small toe for a stranger in my life? I would immediately deny saying, why should I? At times, we are reluctant to give a bottle of our blood, which is utterly harmless.
Retired Deputy Chief Secretary was good administrator and the best operative ever to grace our land.

Today I write with tears warming my chicks I say Fare Thee Well comrade Justin Mupamhanga. He was a valiant soldier and a leader of leaders. My mind goes to the famous words of William Shakespeare a great English author he said
“Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.”

Rest in Peace my leader Honourable Justin Mupamhanga. When I worked briefly under him, he taught me courage and to believe in my dreams to Pursue it no matter what. He was strict and his strictness created tough officers in the economic field and in any department he touched.
Cde Mupamhanga was a diplomatic person. He demonstrated his diplomatic sprawls when he was in the United Kingdom where he served as an LO and Advisor Minister.

As I roll my mind back I find this question presenting itself
“Then what is this brave heart made of? Is his blood-red or multi coloured as our flag? Is it blood flowing through his veins or just the immense cacoethes to live for others and die for others? Had his mother fed him milk or the hysteria to live and die for the country? How large is the heart of those mothers who surrendered their kids for the sake of the country and smile pompously? It is true; that Justin Mupamhanga is not dead; he has become immortal. I guess the country smiles the heroes become commemorated.

It is effortless to sit and write about him or praise him on special occasions, but please close your eyes and empathize with this soldier’s conditions. Imagine the thoughts he might have felt before he surrendered to the immitigable death. The soothing lap of the mother, the amorous embrace of a lover, the subtle kiss of a baby, and what might not have he desired for the last time. But the dedication and the devotion towards his motherland and love for the fellow beings was so strong that he bravely embraced death.  Presume his quandary in the thickest of the forests fighting for you and me. Didn’t his blood boil in ovens of Chiredzi? Envision his difficulty in the scorching, arid sweltering heat of Zimbabwean forests standing under the relentless sun to protect us.

Mupamhanga sacrificed all for Zimbabwe. My heart bleeds when I hear that Mupamhanga lost the battle with diabetes and high blood pressure. Cde Mupamhanga hugged death to give us sweet and peaceful sleep at night and give us a life filled with bliss and affluence.

Friends let us value his sacrifice. Let us commiserate with his emotions. Let us live with unity and affection. The country we live in is a magnificent land. Our land’s mud is prolific not because of the soil but because of the blood of the unsung, brave, and sacrificing heroes. Let us kiss this land and spread love.

Justin Mupamhanga was the former Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet who was also the Kuvimba Mining House board chairman
Justin Mupamhanga will be remembered as a transformative leader who demonstrated extraordinary dedication, wisdom, and passion during his time in all offices he worked in.

All those who liked and disliked him agree that throughout his tenure,  Mupamhanga shaped their mission and inspired everyone around him.
Cde Justin Mupamhanga touched the lives of many, not only within the government but also in the broader community, leaving an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him.
His memory will remain a source of inspiration for years to come.

Justin Mupamhanga is the father to the current Deputy Minister of Youth and legislator for Mt Darwin South Kudakwashe Mupamhanga.
Kuda got his political astute from his father as he showed that apples will fall not far from the tree.
Today we mourn in honor of and in tribute to a father to all a member of the greatest generation which sacrificed all to free us from the bondage. Mupamhanga never talked about his service in the military. But we knew that he had served in the liberation struggle during Chimurenga 2.

Because of his dedication to duty the late Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Cde Justin Mupamhanga, has been declared a National Hero.
This was announced by Acting President Dr Constantino Chiwenga through a statement on Tuesday.
Vice President Chiwenga said “In recognition of his distinguished role in the struggle for Independence and in the development of our nation, especially in laying the foundations and growing the agriculture and energy sectors, His Excellency President Dr ED Mnangagwa, in consultation with the Politburo, has directed that he be accorded National Hero status.”
The nation must take solace from the knowledge that the President declared him a national hero.
Cde Mupamhanga was illustrious son of the soil.”
“In recognition of his distinguished role in the struggle for Independence and in the development of the nation, especially in laying the foundations and growing the agriculture and energy sectors, Dr Chiwenga said President ED Mnangagwa, in consultation with the Politburo, has directed that he be accorded National Hero status.”

Cde Mupamhanga was a veteran of the Liberation Struggle, having joined the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) in 1975.
The late Cde Mupamhanga later played a critical role in driving the implementation of government programmes as the Deputy Chief Secretary responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation in the Office of the President.
He later held important positions in the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and ZANLA commissariat and education departments.
After Independence, he began his civil service career in the Government in 1983 in the Economics Division of the President’s Department, and he rose through the ranks, occupying critical Government and ministerial positions, amongst other duties.

The nation has lost but the heavens have gained.
Cde Kudakwashe and all the family left behind we can only say be comforted in the Lord.
Cde Justin Fare thee well until we meet again