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President mourns Cde Coltrane Chimurenga

19 May, 2019 - 00:05 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Senior Reporter

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has described the late leader of the December 12 Movement Randolph Simms, also known as Cde Coltrane Chimurenga, as a pan-Africanist who stood steadfast by Zimbabwe in fighting against colonialism and illegal sanctions.

Cde Chimurenga, who died in the United States on Tuesday, was a firebrand pan-Africanist and civil rights activist.

In his condolence message to Cde Chimurenga’s family and pan-Africanist community, President Mnangagwa described the late as a dedicated son of the soil.

“I have learnt with the deepest sorrow the passing on of a revolutionary cadre, Cde Coltrane Chimurenga,” said President Mnangagwa.

“Cde Chimurenga was a dedicated pan-Africanist and son of the soil whose love for Zimbabwe will remain etched in the annals of Zimbabwe’s history.

“He steadfastly stood by Zimbabwe during colonialism and after independence as we fought the illegal sanctions regime.”

His dedication and love for Zimbabwe, said the President, saw him adopting Chimurenga as his surname in solidarity with Zimbabwe’s war of liberation from colonialism.

President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe took solace and great pride in the decision by Cde Chimurenga, before his death, that his ashes be interred at Great Zimbabwe.

Added the President: “On behalf of myself, my family and the people of Zimbabwe, I extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, the December 12 Movement and the Pan Africanist Community.

“The world, Zimbabwe in particular, will be a poorer place without Cde Chimurenga, a steadfast and relentless fighter against hegemony. May his revolutionary soul rest in eternal peace.

Through his well-documented works, Cde Chimurenga became Zimbabwe’s de-facto global ambassador against sanctions and neo-imperialism.

He stood for the country at global forums such as the annual United Nations General Assembly, where he, together with other brave members from the December 12 Movement, vociferously stamped Zimbabwe’s right to self-determination and called for the removal of the illegal sanctions.

In several encounters, he outclassed and outmanouvred his enemies.

He is fondly remembered for staging many well-subscribed pro-Zimbabwe marches in New York, which dimmed rival and treacherous efforts by the likes of Pastor Evan Mawarire to discredit the country.

Cde Chimurenga considered Zimbabwe his second home.

He made numerous trips to Zimbabwe, where he even declared his undying love to own a piece of land.

He attended the December 2017 Zanu-PF Extraordinary Congress that ushered in President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the First Secretary of the party.

The December 12 Movement also sent a high-powered delegation in April this year to explore investment opportunities in tourism and energy sectors.

Born Randolph Simms, Cde Coltrane Chimurenga grew up in California, USA.

He was given the name Cde Coltrane Chimurenga by the late Zimbabwean diplomat, Cde Tirivavi Kangai, when they met at San Francisco State University.

During the 1960s, in the height of the Black Power Movement, Cde Chimurenga organised the College for Struggle protests in Oakland, California.

He taught at San Francisco State University, which had developed the first Black Studies Programme in the United States.

He was also a key organiser of the West Coast African Liberation Day Rally in May 1972.

While continuing with his civil rights work, Cde Chimurenga obtained a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University.

Cde Chimurenga was a member of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and the chief organiser of its defence committee.

In that capacity, he travelled throughout the US, garnering support against government repression.

In the 1980s, Cde Chimurenga moved to the East Coast where he helped organise the New African Freedom Fighters (NAFF).

NAFF created a defence committee for the comrades who were arrested for campaigning for the release of civil rights political prisoner Assata Shakur from her imprisonment in New Jersey.

During that time, Cde Chimurenga began working closely with a group of black revolutionaries called the Sunrise Collective.

Their work centered on defending political prisoners as well as organising the black community to resist government repression.

This brought the Sunrise Collective under intense surveillance from the FBI’s counter-intelligence unit.

The massive surveillance led to their arrest in 1984 by 500 law enforcement agents in a case which came to be known as the New York 8+ Against Fascist Terrorism.

It was a political trial which exposed the illegal surveillance of political activists by the US government and led to its defeat at trial.

Following the NY8+ legal victory, Cde Chimurenga co-founded the Black Men’s Movement Against Crack with Abubadika Sonny Carson and Viola Plummer.

In 1987, they formed the December 12th Movement (DTM) in response to the increased murders and attacks on black people across the New York State by the police and white supremacists.

The DTM organised protests against continued racist attacks called ‘Days of Outrage’, which brought the New York City to a standstill.

Cde Chimurenga was the Field Marshal, while Cde Viola Plummer was the chairperson.

The DTM took their case against the abuse of political prisoners to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in 1989.

To facilitate its work, the movement formed an international secretariat to conduct its international engagements.

Cde Chimurenga was the secretariat’s General Secretary.

It was in that capacity that he met then Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister, Cde Nathan Shamuyarira, and began the dialogue which led to the DTM attending Zimbabwe’s National Heroes Day in 1994.

It was the first of many visits made to Zimbabwe.

Under the leadership of Cdes Plummer and Chimurenga, the DTM formed a fraternal relationship with Zanu-PF.

Its members annually attended party congresses/conferences, monitored national elections, encouraged tourism and brought in medical supplies.

The DTM fought against the passage of ZDERA and continues to fight for its repeal. Cde Chimurenga was a true patriot of Zimbabwe.

His dying wish was to be buried in the Southern African country.

He had already purchased his ticket and was planning to leave for his final trip to Zimbabwe when he unexpectedly joined the ancestors.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

Ends

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