The Sunday Mail
Thousands of Zimbabweans are expected to throng the National Heroes’ Acre Sunday morning for the burial of Zanu-PF Politburo member Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Urayayi Sakupwanya (Rtd) who died in Harare last Tuesday.
Lieutenant Colonel Sakupwanya’s body arrived in the capital from his Rusape rural home late Saturday and lay in state at 1 (Zimbabwe) Commando Regiment.
Senior Minister of State Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo; Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi and Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial representative Enoch Porusingazi were among the officials who received the body.
According to a provisional programme, the body will leave the barracks at 7:30am for viewing at Stodart Hall in Mbare. Burial is expected to take place at 11 am. Thirty buses have already been secured to ferry mourners to the National Heroes’ Acre.
On the sidelines of a funeral parade on Friday before the body was flown to Rusape, Harare Provincial Affairs Minister Miriam Chikukwa urged Zimbabweans to throng the shrine to bid farewell to the nationalist.
A medical doctor, Lieutenant Colonel Sakupwanya died in Harare after a long illness.
He was born on May 14, 1939 and attended primary and secondary school in Bulawayo and Botswana, respectively.
In 1960, he joined the Youth League of the National Democratic Party (NDP) before it was banned. The following year, the nationalist joined the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu).
In 1963, he left for the Soviet Union where he studied medicine and was elected president of the Zimbabwe Students’ Union.
Lieutenant Colonel Sakupwanya was recalled to Zambia in 1971 upon completion of his studies and was redeployed to Uganda.
He was later appointed the party’s representative and took over from Ambassador Khaya Moyo and was recalled again to Lusaka to assist with the critical medical requirements after bombings by Rhodesian forces.
After independence in 1980, he was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army as a Major. He was also appointed Senior Medical Officer at 1 Medical Company before being posted to 1 (Zimbabwe) Commando Regiment.
He rose through the ranks to become Lieutenant Colonel on September 27 1982, the rank he held until he resigned from the force in 1983.
During his tenure, Lieutenant Colonel Sakupwanya was awarded Liberation, Independence and Long and Exemplary Service medals.
After retirement, he went into private practice before he was installed as Chief Sakupwanya.
He was Nyanga South Senator from 2005 to last year.
