Former Education Minister and Mashonaland East Governor Cde Aeneas Chigwedere, who succumbed to Covid-19 on January 22, was buried yesterday at his farm in Marondera.
Soon after his death, President and First Secretary of Zanu
PF, Cde Mnangagwa, conferred a Liberation Hero Status on the late historian and
educationist.
His burial yesterday was conducted under strict Covid-19
protocols. Cde Chigwedere’s son Casper described his father as a strong man.
“He had a very strong character and he was controversial,”
he said. “He had an independent mind, he was not a yes man. You could easily
feel his presence when he arrived. He was a great follower of his favourite
subject of History.
“We shall guard his legacy. We tried by all means to give
him whatever was needed, but unfortunately he died. He left a legacy which
shall be used by the whole country and the entire world.”
Mashonaland East Provincial Development Coordinator Mr
Tavabarira Kutamahufa, who also attended the burial, said Cde Chigwedere was a
great politician.
“The late Chigwedere was a father, a historian, a teacher
and above all a great politician,” he said.
“While he was in Goromonzi, he contributed much in the
liberation struggle because at that place he moulded many liberation war
fighters.
“He was one of the headmasters at one of the greatest
schools which is a testimony of his good leadership. He participated in the
Third Chimurenga, that is why we are laying him to rest as a Provincial Hero.
“He left a legacy which can not be thrown away since the
books he wrote will remain forever. At local government level, we have lost a
substantive headman and we say rest in peace.”
Cde Chigwedere was born in Wedza on November 25, 1939 and
became a teacher in 1965 and later a headmaster before rising to Regional
Education Director. He became Wedza legislator in 1995 and Senator in 2008.
Cde Chigwedere was Education Minister from 2001 to 2008
before he was appointed Mashonaland East governor and resident minister from
2008 to 2013.
He was also known for his historical lessons on ZTV where
he chronicled the history of several tribes and families in Zimbabwe. Herald
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