HARARE – Brigadier General (retired) Elasto Madzingira who died on August 7 this year and was declared a national hero will be buried on Wednesday at the national shrine, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has said.
In a statement, the Ministry said Brig-Gen (Rtd) Madzingira’s body was airlifted to Gomba Village, Chief Nyaningwe in Chivi district, Masvingo province on Monday to allow friends and relatives and the provincial leadership to pay their last respects.
It was expected back at the Charles Gumbo (formerly I Commando) Barracks on Tuesday afternoon before being taken to the family residence to lie in State awaiting burial at the National Heroes Acre on Wednesday.
Mourners are gathered at 11 Iffley Road, Greendale, Harare and members of the public are invited to go and give a befitting send-off to the national hero.
Gates at the national shrine will be opened at 6 AM and mourners are expected to be seated by 7 AM.
Brig-Gen Madzingira died at his home in Greendale on August 7 after a short illness. He was 65.
He was born on August 4, 1959 in Gomba village, the sixth in a family of eleven children.
He attended Mukotosi and Jaka Primary Schools and Fletcher High School in Gweru between 1972 and 1977 winning a Word University scholarship to any university of his choice in Commonwealth countries.
The late Brig-Gen (Rtd) Madzingira decided to enroll for a Degree in Pharmacy at the then University of Rhodesia but cut short his studies when he joined his two brothers to join the liberation struggle in Mozambique, where he assumed the role of medical training officer for troop medics.
He returned to Zimbabwe at independence in 1980 and was later sent to study mechanical engineering at the Zagreb University in Yugoslavia towards the end of the same year.
On completing his studies, Brig-Gen (Rtd) Madzingira was attested into the Airforce of Zimbabwe in 1985 and promoted to Squadron Leader two years later, Wing Commander in 1989 and Group Captain in 1992.
With his qualifications and expertise, he worked in Finance and rose to become the Director of Finance at the time of his retirement.
He had suffered serious injuries in 1992 that left him wheelchair-bound and resulting in his early retirement on medical grounds.
The late Madzingira was transferred to the Zimbabwe National Army and promoted to Brig-Gen on retirement. New Ziana
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