By Desire Tshuma
HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa today laid to rest National Hero Ambassador Victor Matemadanda at the National Heroes Acre, describing him as a gallant liberation fighter, disciplined soldier, tireless commissar and diplomat who served Zimbabwe “until the very end.”
The burial drew senior government and Party leaders. They included First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, Vice Presidents Gen. Rtd Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Col. Rtd Dr Kembo Mohadi, Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Speaker Jacob Mudenda, Senate President Mabel Chinomona, service chiefs and members of the diplomatic corps.
In his eulogy, Mnangagwa recalled his last meeting with Matemadanda in April 2026 in Eswatini during King Mswati III’s 40th coronation. The ambassador hosted him, shared a meal, and “laughed and reminisced about the days of the struggle.” The President said he did not know it would be their “last handshake and the last wave goodbye.” Matemadanda died on 20 June 2026 at West End Hospital.
Born on 3 March 1960 in Gokwe, Matemadanda grew up in Mumbwa, Zambia. His family was among Zimbabweans displaced by colonial land seizures after the 1930 Land Apportionment Act. Mnangagwa said such families formed the “nucleus of our early stages of the revolution,” supporting ZANLA and ZIPRA cadres in exile.
Matemadanda left a stable life in Zambia to join the struggle. He supported refugees and fighters in Zambia and Mozambique, and handled transport of war materiel at northern entry points. In 1979 he was deployed to Takawira Sector, was wounded, evacuated to Mozambique, then returned to fight in Mudzi. At independence he served in ZANLA’s Commissariat Department, mobilizing voters for the 1980 elections.
After 1980 he joined the Zimbabwe National Army and later studied Personnel Management, Marketing, Automotive Engineering, Development Studies and International Relations. In civilian life he rose through ZANU PF to the Central Committee and Politburo as National Political Commissar. He served as Secretary-General of the War Veterans Association and Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, and was elected MP for Gokwe Central in 2018.
Mnangagwa praised his rejection of a “begging bowl syndrome” and his push for hard work, land use and productivity. As ambassador to Mozambique and Eswatini, Matemadanda also worked to protect liberation war shrines at Chimoio, Tembwe and Nyadzonya. “A nation that forgets its past cannot build its future,” the President said.
He used the occasion to honour the diaspora’s past and present contribution. He urged Zimbabweans abroad to keep supporting “development, industrialisation and modernisation.” He told youth and women to be “architects and active builders of our nation,” and linked national unity to Vision 2030, SADC Vision 2050, and Zimbabwe’s UN Security Council seat for 2027-2028.
“His life must remind us to serve our country with honour,” Mnangagwa said. He closed in Shona, Ndebele and English: “Fambai zvakanaka Gamba remaGamba. Lala ngokuthula Qhawe lama Qhawe. May your soul rest in eternal peace.”