Zipra Outraged As Members Denied Heroes Status

SW Radio Africa (London)

17 May 2011

The Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) is threatening to go ahead and bury its dead members at a provincial heroes acre without seeking permission, as it says it is fed up with ZANU PF refusing to grant hero status to its members who fought in the liberation struggle.

Although the conferring of hero status should be a national issue, ZANU PF has over the years made Heroes Acre a place where only its members are buried, much to the anger of many Zimbabweans. In addition to ZIPRA, the MDC and ZAPU have also attacked Robert Mugabe’s party over the issue.

ZIPRA says four of its members who died in recent weeks have been denied hero status, despite fighting in the struggle. In the past few weeks it lost four members – Themba Khanye, Sikhethabahle Mahlangu, Robert Mlalazi and Stanley Donga – who all participated in the liberation war but the government refused to declare them heroes.

The organisation says next time they will simply bury the deceased at the Nkulumane Provincial Heroes’ Acre, without seeking government consent.

On Monday ZIPRA’s Andrew Ndlovu told NewsDay; “As a Zimbabwean patriot who has rights, I feel next time one of us dies, we will go ahead and dig a grave for them at the Nkulumane Heroes’ Acre. We deserve to be there.

“We cannot beg to be there. We want to see who will arrest us for burying each other,” he said.

Another ZIPRA official said that in the case of Khanye, they went to the war vets provincial offices in Entumbane and were referred to Nkulumane, where his heroism was rejected. They then ended up burying him in Luveve.

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