Cde Siziba died at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare aged 76.
He was a Harare-based businessman and was one of the
pioneers of the establishment of cellular phone services in Zimbabwe.
In a letter to the Chief Secretary in the Office of the
President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya, Zanu PF Secretary-General Dr Obert
Mpofu yesterday confirmed President Mnangagwa’s conferment of the status on Cde
Siziba.
“His Excellency, the President and First Secretary of ZANU
PF, Cde ED Mnangagwa has conferred Liberation War Hero status to the late Cde
Chemist David Siziba who died on 09 March 2024 and will be buried at Glen
Forest Cemetery, Goromonzi.
“His family can be contacted through our Matabeleland South
Provincial office. I shall be most grateful if you would make the usual payment
of benefits to his family. He is from Matabeleland South Province.”
Born on June 30, 1947 in the Insiza, Filabusi, Matabeleland
South, Siziba did his primary and secondary schooling at the Brethren-in-Christ
Church School after which he went to Fletcher High School in Gweru for his Advanced Level studies.
In 1971, while studying for an agricultural degree at the
University of Rhodesia, he became a student activist which made him unable to
complete his degree programme.
He secured a Commonwealth scholarship to go to the
University of Bombay and obtained a BSc degree in Electronics Engineering.
During his time in India, his political resolve and
activism grew. Cde Siziba proceeded to the United Kingdom where he joined the
staff of the ZAPU office.
He worked as a deputy engineer for the BBC in 1977 and
several other London establishments.
In 1978, Cde Siziba left the UK for Zambia to join the
liberation struggle and was part of a 25-member team sent for training as an
intelligence expert in Russia alongside Cdes Bernard Ncube, Ivathi Ndlovu,
Patrick Mlilo, Martin Jabulani Shatin, Mxolisi Ncube, Obert Ndlovu, S Ndlovu,
and Mandlenkosi Ncube.
He was then posted to Lusaka at the ZAPU headquarters where
he served with Cdes Jeremy Brickhill, (Advocate) Nkiwane, Frazer Nyathi, Sam
Madondo, Victor Mlambo, King Nebart Madida, Swazini Ndlovu and TG Sibindi.
Cde Siziba was then posted to the National Security
Organisation (NSO) wing of ZAPU, responsible for external intelligence
operations, where he worked closely with the late Russian-trained intelligence
supremo and national hero, Cde Dumiso Dabengwa, under Father Zimbabwe the late
Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo.
After the historic Lancaster House ceasefire and
transitional talks in London at the end of the liberation war, Cde Siziba
returned home with the ZAPU delegation.
He then joined Government in 1980 working under the late
national hero George Silundika who was then Minister of Roads, Post and
Telecommunications as an assistant secretary
Thereafter, he worked in the Ministry of Industry and
Technology, having risen through the ranks to become under-secretary, then
Deputy Permanent Secretary, the rank at which he left Government after eight
years.
After leaving Government service, Siziba became an
industrialist and established his own bicycle manufacturing company, Norton
Cycles. He also ventured into the food sector being one of the first corn
flakes manufacturers.
Cde Siziba is celebrated as one of the pioneers of black
empowerment and entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe.
He became an active driver of black empowerment, becoming
leader of the Indigenous Business Development Centre (IBDC) which he co-founded
in 1991 with Ben Mucheche, Leo Mugabe and Strive Masiyiwa.
In 1996, Siziba founded Cosmos Cellular as one of three
companies that were service providers to the newly established NetOne, a state
owned national mobile telecommunications company. Chronicle
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