FORMER Zimbabwean deputy ambassador to Tanzania in the
1980s, Stanley Chabvepi, died last week and was buried over the weekend at his
rural home in Mufuka village under Chief Marozva in Bikita. He was 68.
Chabvepi, who was now a project co-co-ordinator for Bikita
People Living with HIV and Aids, was a deputy diplomat during the late former
President Robert Mugabe’s era, before he was recalled. The reasons for his
recall remained unclear until his time of death.
He had a short stint as an English teacher at Gwindingwi
High School in Bikita in the 1990s before quitting to pursue a political
career. He later enrolled for the National Youth Service in a bid to penetrate
Zanu PF party structures.
He also contested the parliamentary seat for Bikita West as
a Zanu PF candidate and later as an independent several times, but lost to
retired Colonel Claudius Makova. He, however, became Zanu PF ward 11 councillor
for three successive terms until he lost to an MDC candidate in 2008.
In 2010, Chabvepi, who was now visually-impaired, made a
passionate plea for food aid from Charles Ray, the then United States
ambassador to Zimbabwe. Ray donated a grinding mill and food to Chabvepi and
other villagers. At the time of his death, he was surviving on meagre rentals
from the shops he inherited from his mother.
MDC Alliance district executive member Vincent Jaricha
described Chabvepi as a level-headed Zanu PF member who never participated in
the torture of opposition supporters during the 2008 presidential election
run-off campaign.
“Although he had his shortcomings, to us he was a
level-headed Zanu PF member who never took political differences personally. A
Zanu PF political base in ward 11 was established at Joseph Mude (current Chief
Marozva)’s homestead, a stone’s throw from his home, but he was not directly
involved,” Jaricha said.
Former Bikita West MP Heya Shoko (MDC) echoed similar
sentiments, saying although Chabvepi was directly involved in the 2001 Bikita
West by-election violence, he was a totally changed man in later years, who
could tolerate different political views.
Chabvepi was the only son to the late Zanu PF national
consultative assembly member Chinhamo Chabvepi.
Zanu PF Masvingo provincial spokesperson Ronald Ndava could
not be reached for comment. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment