FORMER VP Mphoko Buried At Family Plot In Bulawayo

By Dr Masimba Mavaza

Former Zimbabwean Vice President Phelekezela Report Mphoko was buried at his Douglasdale home plot in Bulawayo on Sunday, ZIMBABWE NEWS reported.

Vice President Mphoko, a former senior ZIPRA commander during the Liberation Struggle, died on December 6, 2024, in India, where he was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
Mphoko’s casket, draped in the national flag, was displayed as family, friends, relatives, and dignitaries gathered to pay their last respects.
Among the notable officials were Judith Ncube, Minister of State for Bulawayo Province; Richard Moyo, Minister of State for Matabeleland North Province; and Sithembiso Nyoni, Minister of Environment, Climate, and Wildlife, among others.

Although Mphoko was declared a national hero by
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU PF and was supposed to be buried at Heroes Acre in Harare, his family said he expressed a wish to be buried at his home.

Recently, another late former ZIPRA commander, Tshinga Dube, had a similar wish, although the government overrode it and buried him at Heroes Acre in Harare. Dube had wanted to be buried at Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo.
Similarly, the late former ZIPRA intelligence supremo Dumiso Dabengwa was buried at his rural home area of EManxeleni in Ntabazinduna, outside Bulawayo.

Dabengwa had told his family that he did not want any government officials at his funeral, and thus Mnangagwa and others did not attend.
Several other former nationalists, including ex-ZAPU stalwart Cephas Msipa, also chose not to be buried at Heroes Acre.

Former ZAPU political heavyweight Welshman Mabhena, before he died, openly said he did not want to be buried at Heroes Acre.
Even the late former president Robert Mugabe, who resigned in November 2017, is buried at his rural Zvimba home in Mashonaland West province, as it is said that he instructed his family that he didn’t want to be buried at Heroes Acre.

Zimbabwe’s independence came about through suffering and supreme sacrifice by patriotic sons and daughters who waged a long and arduous struggle against the colonial regime.
Our independence was won on the battlefield in 16 years of bitter war of liberation, which resulted in tens of thousands of our people perishing.
The National Heroes Acre, our revered shrine, is the pride of the people of Zimbabwe. It is a symbol of bravery and selflessness for those whose remains are laid to rest there. Towering and selflessness for those remains are laid to rest there.

Despite the importance of the Hero’s Acre Zimbabwe is bound by the wishes of the hero’s family. If they express the view that they do not want to be buried at the hero’s acre the government is bound by that willingness.
Tens of thousands of our gallant fighters sacrificed their lives to free Zimbabwe. In honour of these fallen heroes, the Government built shrines across the country where declared heroes are interred. All heroes’ acres are administered by the Department of Museums and National Monuments.

Conferment of hero status is a great honour in recognition of these gallant sons and daughters of Zimbabwe. The heroes are classified in three categories and generally reflect the departed hero’s or heroine’s contribution to the nation. The status is determined by the State on a case by case basis.