Source: Zapu cadre declared liberation hero -Newsday Zimbabwe
FORMER Zapu cadre Elias Sikholiwe Njani Moyo has been declared a liberation war hero.
Moyo passed away on Saturday at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo at the age of 100.
Moyo’s liberation war hero status was conveyed to the family by Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu.
Mpofu wrote to the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Martin Rushwaya, advising him to facilitate logistics following conferment by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“He will be buried in Terelyne village under Chief Gwebu in Umzingwane. The family can be contacted through Matabeleland South provincial offices,” Mpofu wrote.
In a statement yesterday, the deceased’s family expressed gratitude to the government for recognising Moyo’s role before and after independence.
“Cde Njani was a fearless nationalist and an early organiser of the liberation struggle in southern Matabeleland,” the family said.
“His activism and defiance against colonial rule led to his arrest by the Smith regime and he was imprisoned for life without trial under the oppressive Law and Order Maintenance Act,” the statement read.
“Despite the physical and emotional toll of imprisonment, Njani never renounced the liberation cause.”
Born on January 15, 1925, in Sipaba village, Esigodini, Moyo was the last born.
All his older siblings are deceased.
He celebrated his 100th birthday on January 15 this year.
Moyo started his education at Mawabeni Primary School at the age of 13 and later did menial jobs while attending school at night in Bulawayo.
He was a prominent figure in Zimbabwe’s fight for independence and played a key role in community upliftment through business development after the liberation war.
His father, Njani “Sphokotsha” Nkolokazime, had four wives and his mother was Malimbitha Sibanda.
He is survived by his wife Constance Nkala, five children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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