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Veteran nationalist, fearless freedom fighter and one of the founding members of ZANU, Cde Edgar “2-Boy” Zivanai Tekere died at Murambi Gardens Private Hospital in Mutare on 7 June 2011 at the age of 74 after a long battle with prostate cancer.
He was buried at the national Heroes Acre.

Born on 1 April 1937 in Nyang’ombe Village, Cde Edgar Zivanai Tekere did primary education, first in Nyang’ombe Village and later at St Faith’s Mission and did his secondary education at St Augustine’s Mission.

It was during his student days at St Faith’s Mission that Cde Tekere was nicknamed “2-Boy” because of his soccer exploits when he played like two people in one.

In 1955 Cde Tekere, or “Mukoma Edgar”, enrolled for teacher training at St Augustine’s Mission, but lost interest midstream in 1956.

He moved to Harare where he found work with a religious bookshop, SPCK, belonging to the Anglican Church as a shop assistant and rose to the position of costing clerk and by then Cde Tekere was already an active member of the Youth League.

He studied for a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (B. Com) Degree with the University of South Africa (UNISA) and a diploma in Marketing with the Institute of Marketing in the UK and later in life Cde Tekere was guest lecturer at a number of institutions of higher learning.

In 1955 Cde Tekere had become increasingly involved in politics while at St Augustine’s Mission and he journeyed from Penhalonga to the then Salisbury as a member of the Youth League advancing its political agenda.

When the ANC was banned in February 1959 by the colonial regime in an effort to suppress the spirit of nationalism and agitation for democracy by a restless urban black population, Cde Tekere played a part in the founding of the National Democratic Party (NDP) in 1960 which was banned in 1961 leading to the formation of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU).

He was the secretary of the Salisbury District Council which was chaired by Stanley Parirewa with Noel Mukono as its publicity secretary.

In 1964, Cde Tekere found himself heavily involved in preparations for the first ZANU Congress where he was elected deputy Secretary for Youth.

When ZANU was banned in August 1964, Cde Tekere was one of the leaders who were arrested by the regime and was taken to Salisbury Central Police Station before being transferred to Gwelo (Gweru) Prison where he joined other political activists who had been imprisoned there.

Cde Tekere was found in the company of ZANU leaders who were restricted at Wha Wha and was later transferred to Sikombela Restriction Area in Gokwe from where the Sikombela Declaration of 1965 was issued, authorising members in exile to prosecute the armed struggle in line with the resolution of the first ZANU Congress in Gweru.

The advent of the “detente” exercise resulted in the movement of political prisoners from Salisbury Maximum Security Prison where Cde Tekere and his colleagues remained focused on the prosecution of the armed struggle to Connemara Prison and Kwekwe Prison.

The signing of the Lusaka Unity Accord of 1974 by all political parties in Zimbabwe was followed by the release of the ZANU internal political leadership including Cde Tekere and His Excellency President Mugabe.

Following the decision of the party to send Cdes Robert Mugabe and Edgar Tekere to spearhead the armed struggle in Mozambique, the two crossed into Mozambique in 1975 with the assistance of the late Chief Rekayi Tangwena and Mbuya Tangwena (a spirit medium).

Cde Tekere underwent military training in Mozambique and outside in the European countries of former Yugoslavia arid Romania.

In 1978, he escaped an attempt on his life and he was kidnapped together with the late Cde Herbert Ushewokunze by a group of cadres who felt that the two, together with other comrades, were frustrating their strategy to assume leadership of the party and they were both freed from their kidnappers by a rescue team.

In 1976, Cde Tekere was part of the ZANU delegation which attended the Geneva Conference.

The party was reorganised at Chimoio following the collapsed Geneva talks where he was elected secretary general in 1977 and was part of the delegation which attended the Malta Conference later that year.

He was later sent to North Korea, one of the countries that strongly supported ZANU and the liberation struggle for Zimbabwe. In 1978, Cde Tekere was part of the ZANU (PF) delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Lusaka, Zambia and also later that year addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Cde Tekere was part of the ZANU (PF) delegation that attended the Lancaster House Conference in 1979.

At Independence in 1980, Cde Tekere is credited with extending the invitation to the late legendary reggae icon Bob Marley to perform at Rufaro Stadium during the historic celebrations.

In Government, Cde Tekere was appointed Minister of Manpower Planning and Development which was a newly created ministry that was tasked to look at the levels of manpower development in the country, inform Government about manpower gaps in the civil service and the strong skills base in the Diaspora.

In 1980, tragedy struck as his Government career plummeted when he was put on trial on allegations of killing a white farm manager, Gerald Adams and was acquitted of the murder charges on the grounds that he had acted in the interest of state security.

Cde Tekere was relieved of his duties as Minister of Manpower Planning and Development after expressing his views against Government policy in 1981.

He retained his post as ZANU (PF) Secretary General for sometime and later served as ZANU (PF)’s Manicaland provincial chairman until 1987.

Cde Tekere was expelled from the party in 1988 and later formed the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) to contest the 1990 Presidential election which he lost.

He disappeared from active politics for a while and re-emerged in 2005 when he expressed his desire to contest Senatorial elections on a ZANU (PF) ticket.

He was readmitted into ZANU (PF) in 2006.

Cde Tekere was a taskman, courageous, fearless and hardworking cadre who inspired many in the liberation struggle.

He was the key man in the day-to-day running of the party in Maputo, Mozambique, as secretary-general of the party.

He distinguished himself by his unwavering commitment to the tenets of the liberation struggle and remained a true revolutionary and patriot for the rest of his life.

At the time of his death, Cde Tekere was survived by his wife Pamela and daughter Maidei. — A Guide to the Heroes Acre