In a classic boob, an advert by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe appearing to ‘celebrate’ the death of army boss the late Major General Godfrey Chanakira who was declared a national hero has gone viral.
In its condolences message published in The Herald today, the TSCZ signed off the advert ‘Makorokoto, Amhlope, Congratulations’ instead of concluding with a message of mourning.
The advert has left scores of people wondering if the institution is celebrating his death instead of mourning.
Chanakira, who succumbed to a heart ailment, was the permanent secretary in vice president Constantino Chiwenga’s office.
The Herald as since issued an apology which read:
“Reference is made to an advertisement by the Safety Traffic Council of Zimbabwe offering condolences on the passing of Major General Godfrey Chanakira which appeared in The Herald today.
“In signing off the advert, an error was made in which Makorokoto, Amhlope, Congratulations was printed on the condolence message. This is regrettable and unfortunate.
“We unreservedly apologise to the family of Maj Gen Chanakira, the Zimbabwe National Army, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe and the entire nation for the error,” the paper wrote.
It is believed that the controversial advert emanated from the public relations department where a personnel allegedly used a template and neglected to conduct due diligence.
The late Major-General died last month and was buried at the National Heroes Acre.
Mnangagwa made an embarrassing U-turn and accorded Chanakira a national hero status in a development that further exposed a rift between him and Chiwenga.
Mnangagwa’s initial decision came as a shock to the military command as well as the general populace since high ranking soldiers like Chanakira are normally accorded hero statuses.
Mnangagwa was irked that Chiwenga had jumped the gun by prematurely bestowing, ahead of him, the national hero status on the decorated former soldier when he went to pay his condolences to the family.
“His works, in service of his country, are there for all of us to see. He is a national hero. But we have internal processes in the party that we have to follow and a meeting will soon be held, that could be tomorrow or a day after, to see which honour is most consistent with his work,” Chiwenga said when he visited the family.
Hours later, deputy presidential spokesperson Regis Chikowore announced that Mnangagwa had directed that the late army general be accorded a State-assisted funeral.
Mnangagwa later buckled under internal pressure following murmurs of disapproval in the corridors of power and the military command, sources said.
