Herald Reporters
The body of Special Disability Advisor in the Office of the President, former Health Minister and decorated war veteran, Retired Brigadier-General Dr Felix Muchemwa, who died of cancer on Monday in Egypt, is expected in the country on Friday.
This comes as zanu-pf yesterday also sent a condolence message to the Muchemwa family following the death of Rtd Brig-Gen Muchemwa.
Family spokesperson Colonel (Dr) Luke Muchemwa said they were saddened by the death of Rtd Brig-Gen Muchemwa.
Col Muchemwa said he was encouraged by his brother to join the army after admiring the good deeds he had done for the nation.
“At the moment, the arrangements are not yet final but we are expecting the arrival of his body three days from now. He contributed immensely to the liberation struggle and as a family we will accept whatever status he is accorded.
“We are mourning as it is a great loss to the family. He was a hard working person and a role model who has left a void difficult to fill.
“We have pushed for assistance from Government so that the funeral proceeds without hiccups. The army and the war veterans have also assisted us,” he said.
Rtd Brig-Gen Muchemwa’s close friend Retired Major Thunder Njekete, said their friendship dated back to 1977 in the liberation struggle where his friend spent sleepless nights treating wounded cadres.
He then chronicled the lighter moments they shared including Rtd Brig-Gen Muchemwa’s wedding and the birth of his children.
“We first met at Chimoio Headquarters in 1977. He is the doctor who treated me after l was injured in the war of the liberation struggle. During the struggle, he headed the army’s medical department and l headed the pharmaceutical department. After independence, we replicated to head the same departments after he had called me.
“zanu-pf Secretary for Information and Publicity Cde Simon Khaya Moyo said the party and the country had lost a committed cadre.
“zanu-pf has learnt with shock and dismay, the untimely death of Retired Brigadier-General Felix Muchemwa. He was also a former Minister of Health and recently Health Advisor to His Excellency President RG Mugabe,” he said.
Cde Khaya Moyo said Rtd Brig-Gen Muchemwa was a man of purpose, very principled, a distinguished medical doctor and an exceptional cadre of the revolution.
“He was a deep thinker, a gifted analyst, a party stalwart and a committed cadre of the struggle for the freedom of Zimbabwe. He was in the battle field during the liberation struggle and treated thousands of wounded freedom fighters.
“His distinguished service pre-and post-independence speaks volumes of a selfless leader who has left a legacy of admirable service to his country,” he said.
Cde Khaya Moyo said the party had lost an unflinching servant and Zimbabwe was poorer with his absence.
“He will be remembered for his heroic deeds everlastingly. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” he said.
Last year, Rtd Brig-Gen Muchemwa wrote a book titled “The Struggle for Land in Zimbabwe 1890 to 2010,” which was a forensic diagnosis of land ownership.
The book was published by Heritage Publishing House and edited by Dr Rino Zhuwarara and the late Alexander Kanengoni.
Born in Mhondoro-Ngezi on April 22, 1945 in a family of four boys and three girls, Rtd Brig-Gen Muchemwa attended St Michaels Primary School and Kutama Mission before going to Fletcher High School.
Good at identifying exceptional talent, the Rhodesian government quickly snapped the young Muchemwa by awarding him a full scholarship at Fletcher High School and thereafter enrolled at the University of Rhodesia in 1967.
The contagion effect of the volatile political milieu at the then University of Rhodesia was to soon catch up with the young Muchemwa, who in 1969 was elected president of the Students’ Representative Council in which capacity he led a series of students’ demonstrations against the white establishment.
The Rhodesian system expelled him from the university and he became a banned individual in Salisbury, forcing him to leave Zimbabwe to further his studies in England in 1970.
In 1973, he qualified with an MBChB at Birmingham University and immediately obtained an FRCs (Glas) (Part One) in May 1975.
He later joined the prestigious Birmingham Department of Anatomy as a lecturer and researcher, leading him to an MSc (Anatomy) at the end of 1976 after which he proceeded to join the surgical rotation within the Birmingham area in January 1977.
Given such a rich professional and personal history, it was thus least expected of Dr Muchemwa to abandon the seemingly comfortable life in England for the rugged and uncertain future of makeshift camps in Mozambique.
He, together with Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi and the late Dr Herbert Ushehwekunze, were among the first qualified medical doctors to join the struggle.
Brig-Gen Muchemwa is survived by three children and one grandchild.