Siphosami Malunga, the son of the late Zimbabwean Hero, Sydney, has visited the graves of popular struggle heroes at the National Heroes Acre. Writing on Facebook, Malunga said:
In a few days, it will be 31 years since my father, Sydney Malunga died. He was 54 years old at the time of his death. The passage of time seems so unreal because I myself turn 54 in a couple of months. So much has happened since.
So I went to visit his final resting place to “check-in.” I’m in awe of how much these great heroes packed into their short courageously selfless lives. Jailed in his twenties, released at 39 to go and negotiate independece in Lancaster and back in jail at 40 and then immediately a frontline defender of post independent democracy and the rights and dignity of the common person, my father was a larger than life character.
When I get the opportunity- which is not often- I never just visit only him, so I stopped by Mdala Josh, and mama MaFuyane’s resting places and also Commander Nikita, JZ, Edward Ndlovu, baba TG Silundika and others. I’m unashamedly a child of Zapu and Zipra. But I also always visit Commander Tongo’s grave. Well, somehow I feel rejuvenated and inspired after “talking” to all these heroes.
The Graves he posed with include those of:
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- June 28, 1978: Rodgers Alfred Nikita Mangena died in a landmine explosion in Zambia while commanding ZIPRA forces during a military operation.
- December 26, 1979: General Josiah Magama Tongogara perished in a car accident in Mozambique while traveling to inform ZANLA commanders about ceasefire arrangements following the Lancaster House Agreement; the circumstances remain debated, with some suggesting assassination.
- October 8, 1982: Tarcisius Malan George Silundika died of natural causes, due to illness, in Zimbabwe after independence.
- September 21, 1984: Josiah Mushore Chinamano died of natural causes, due to illness, in Zimbabwe after a notable career as a nationalist leader.
- August 28, 1994: Sidney D. Malunga died in a car accident in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, with some accounts suggesting mysterious circumstances possibly linked to political motives.
- July 1, 1999: Dr. Joshua Moaruko Nyongolo Nkomo died in a hospital in Harare due to natural causes, including prostate cancer, after a long political career.
- August 3, 2003: Cde Johanna Nkomo passed away due to natural causes in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
