The Sunday Mail
As part of our series in the run-up to the 12th anniversary of the death of Vice-President Dr Simon Muzenda on September 20, our Reporter Tendai Chara spoke to Cde Lovemore Matuke, the Gutu Central legislator in the National Assembly and former Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chairman. Cde Matuke co-ordinated Dr Muzenda’s various developmental projects as his personal field officer for 14 years.
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I worked closely with the late Vice-President from the time I was an ordinary card carrying member to the time I became the chairman of the Zanu-PF District Co-ordinating Committee.
During those 14 years, Dr Muzenda entrusted me with the various developmental projects that he initiated and ran in Gutu.
I consider myself very lucky since I had the rare opportunity of working closely with the man who was blessed with special leadership qualities and had the interests of the people at heart.
On September 20, 2003, Masvingo province and the nation at large lost a great leader and a unifier.
A selfless and generous man, Dr Muzenda invested much of his income in the community. At one time, Dr Muzenda was using his own money to pay academic fees for as many as 38 students in primary, secondary and university levels.
The bulk of what he worked for went to the community. Apart from owning two rural grocery shops, Dr Muzenda only had a service station at Gutu, Mupandawana. The grocery shops at Zvahera Business Centre were built with the community in mind. In this humble enterprise, Dr Muzenda’s aim was not to make a profit but to help the community.
I remember how difficult it was to convince Dr Muzenda to acquire the Paradise Park Motel, which he bought in his last days. He saw no need to build a vast business empire when the masses suffered. When he finally agreed to purchase the hotel, there lay another challenge. After advising him on the need to trim the inherited permanent hotel staff from 38 to just seven, Dr Muzenda quizzed: “What good would be the business if it becomes responsible for job loses?”
Furthermore, an irrigation scheme was also introduced in the village.
I remember after one farming season, the Grain Marketing Board delayed in buying maize from the people. Agitated, Dr Muzenda took it upon himself to buy maize from some of the desperate villagers and later sold it to the GMB to recover his money.
Dr Muzenda despised corruption, hence the name Soul of the Nation.
He is one of the few people who paid former white farmers for the improvements they had made to the farms before being listed for compulsory acquisition by the Government under the Fast-Track Land Redistribution Programme. The late Vice-President promptly paid for the developments.
I know some people might think that Dr Muzenda lacked a business acumen or made such decisions because he was not an educated man. The truth of the matter is that Dr Muzenda’s reasoning capacity was far better off than that of some of our professors. In actual fact, some of the professors learnt a lot from him. He was an educated man in his own right, not in terms of certificates or degrees, but in terms of being wise.
He was a highly intelligent man and the majority of the people who might consider themselves intelligent actually learnt a lot of things from him.
Today, we see that most of the people in our midst who occupy leadership positions no longer care about the concerns of the general people.
Gone are the days when leaders strive for an equal share equally with those who support them into power.
Unlike Dr Muzenda, they are self-centred, greedy and selfish. Because of his concern for the lives of the masses, the late Vice President was the brainchild of the Gutu Mission Nursing Centre.
Dr Muzenda also immensely contributed to the construction of the Mutero Mission Hospital and the Dambaru, Magombedze and Zvavahera clinics.
Leading by example, He would often engage himself in manual work as he helped the community construct the medical centres. In that process he related to people of all ages and treated those from various backgrounds equally.
His simple approach to life endeared him to many people. Always cracking jokes, Dr Muzenda could easily mix and mingle with virtually everyone from diverse backgrounds. He had a sharp memory. Once a person interacted with him, Dr Muzenda would not forget that person and would easily remember that person’s name and totem the next time they met.
Although he was a Roman Catholic, he had great respect for traditional values and would occasionally take part in local traditional functions.
At such functions, Dr Muzenda, who was a good dancer and would exhibit his dancing skills and narrate poems.
Although he was 80-years-old and I was 38 at the time of his death, he would often consult me on various issues ranging from politics and even family issues.
Most of us are where we are today because of his patience, generosity and kind heart
◆ Interview and transcription by The Sunday Mail.
