The ManicaPost
Ray Bande in HONDE VALLEY
THE people of Honde Valley in particular and Manicaland Province in general are humbled by the national hero status bestowed upon one of their own, Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Nokuthula Matsikenyere has said.
Speaking during the memorial service held in honour of the late national hero, Brigadier General Charles Kaneta at his rural home in Munyuku Village in Honde Valley today, Honourable Matsikenyere applauded His Excellency, President Mnangagwa and the Second Republic for the befitting national hero status bestowed upon the late decorated soldier.
“We really want to thank President Mnangagwa and Government for the befitting national hero status bestowed upon the late Brigadier General Charles Kaneta. No doubt, Brigadier General Kaneta deserves to be laid to rest at the national shrine because of the selfless sacrifice he made in his lifetime for his country. Today, the people of Honde Valley and Manicaland in general feel honoured because one of their own has been given the highest honour of national hero status. We really want to show our appreciation for that,” she said.
Cde Matsikenyere consoled the Kaneta family, particularly the late hero’s widow, saying the sad loss is not theirs alone, but the whole nation.
President Mnangagwa said Brigadier General Kaneta’s death came as a shock as he did not show any signs of ill-health and was on a routine visit to his rural home in Honde Valley when he died.
He said Brigadier General Kaneta’s death is a great loss to the nation, and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, whose crop of wartime field commanders is gradually being whittled down.
Brigadier General Kaneta, whose Chimurenga name was Santana Tongai, joined the liberation struggle in 1975 in Mozambique at the age of 17.
He later became a graduate of the Nanjing Military Academy in China, as well as a beneficiary of specialised military training in Syria.
