Zimpapers Logo

Acting President Joice Mujuru addresses mourners at the burial of national hero Cde Stanley Urayayi Sakupwanya at the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare yesterday

Address by the Acting President Honourable Vice President J. T. R. Mujuru on the occassion of the hero’s burial of Cde Stanley Urayayi Sakupwanya, National Heroes’ Acre, Harare July 6, 2014

IN the last very few days, a dark cloud hung over our heads as the nation was plunged into mourning, following the passing on of yet another veteran nationalist and freedom fighter, Cde Stanley Urayayi Sakupwanya. He died on Tuesday last week at Parirenyatwa hospital. I say yet another hard blow and tragic loss to the nation, because only last month we were here at this sacred national shrine, to bid farewell to the doyen of Zimbabwean journalism, the late Cde Nathan Marwirakuwa Shamuyarira.
Today, we are gathered here to lay to rest Cde Sakupwanya, a great-foot soldier of the liberation struggle, and veteran politician. Those of us who were privileged to work closely with him, know how much he dedicated his entire life not only to liberate this country, but also, how much he deployed his medical skills and knowledge to serving the nation in various capacities until the time of his illness, up to his passing on. This he did through the army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and afterwards in retirement as a medical doctor and politician.

He was a man on a revolutionary mission to free his people from colonial bondage. He was a man with determination to demonstrate that as Africans and as Zimbabweans in particular, we are our own liberators. His death, therefore, has robbed us in Zanu PF, the nation at large, and indeed his family, of a strong character and personality, a true revolutionary and father figure. The gap that he leaves in our midst will be difficult to fill, and the fond memories we have of him will be difficult to erase. Comrades and friends, while on the one hand we mourn his passing on, on the other hand, we have been given an opportunity to celebrate his revolutionary life which he bequeaths to us as a rich legacy for posterity.

His good deeds and disciplined life will continue to remind and inspire present and future generations that the sacrifices our veterans of the liberation struggle, both living and those who have passed on, made and continue to make, brought about the freedom that we enjoy today. Indeed, that freedom did not come on a silver platter; and indeed, this we must never forget. We must all totally commit ourselves to a continuous process of guarding jealously that Independence, so that our country will forever be politically and economically free.

It is that freedom that you and I should bring through unity of purpose. Lives were lost, limbs were broken, innocent blood was shed, all for the sake of liberating this country. No price was too big to pay, not even with their own lives, if that is what it would cost them to liberate their country from our erstwhile colonisers. As we gather here today, and any other time that we come to this National Heroes Acre, let us give ourselves time to reflect on the long and difficult road that our comrades walked to Independence and the challenge they leave us with, that is the challenge to defend and safeguard that Independence. All that these gallant sons and daughters ask of us, is that at least, we do not betray them and all that they fought for, through our own acts of omission or commission.

Comrades and friends, in Cde Sakupwanya, the nation has lost a great man, a brave man, a great nationalist and a courageous freedom fighter, whose ambition from a very tender age was to become a medical doctor. He joined nationalist politics through the Youth League which was the youth wing of Zapu, before skipping the border into neighbouring Botswana and then Zambia to join the liberation struggle.

As a man on a revolutionary mission, he was destined to lead and play useful roles during the course of the liberation struggle. His leadership skills were tested in the Soviet Union where he studied medicine. The Zimbabwean students who were there with him pursuing different studies may recall how Cde Sakupwanya was held in high esteem by his peers. As chairman of the Zimbabwe students, he became renowned for his leadership responsibilities.

He led other Zimbabwean students by example, a very strict disciplinarian who brooked no nonsense. He kept inspiring and challenging his colleges to always bear in mind that they were a people set apart on a mission to fight the enemy back home. They were fully aware that the Soviet Union was not their home, and that they had been sent there by their Party to study in the various disciplines, whose knowledge and skills so-acquired would one day be deployed back home in an Independent Zimbabwe.
I hope our children in Diaspora do hear this message. I hope that they will always know why they are studying out there, not forgetting that Zimbabwe is always Zimbabwe and is always home, hence we must all play our part to build our home, our country Zimbabwe.

Our liberation struggle needed young men and women of Cde Sakupwanya’s character and revolutionary disposition; political cadres who were straight forward, trustworthy and morally forthright. The struggle needed cadres who knew and believed in the mission they set out to accomplish; cadres like Cde Sakupwanya who subordinated themselves to the Party leadership, during those days in exile in Zambia, Uganda and back home after Independence. He never got tired of work, and no assignment was too big or too small. He executed all his assignments in equal measure.

That is why he was such a dependable cadre who could be trusted to represent both his Party and the country at many levels. That is how he managed to represent his party in the Soviet Union, in Uganda and elsewhere as the face of the external wing of Zapu canvassing for moral and material support for the armed struggle. As a medical doctor, he saved many people’s lives during the liberation struggle.

This he did especially in Zambia, where his services were needed most in the refugee camps. These refugee camps were easy targets for the Rhodesians, as they rained their bombs on them, maiming many defenceless men, women and children.

For the greater part of his assignment during the armed struggle, Dr Sakupwanya’s greater time was devoted to treating wounded freedom fighters brought back to Zambia from the warfront. Following the assassination of Cde Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo in a bomb blast in Lusaka in 1976, Cde Sakupwanya had the daunting task of putting together his severed body parts into one.

That was the true love and spirit of a comrade, a spirit that we must continue to nurture and inculcate among ourselves and generations to come.
Back home, history will record Cde Sakupwanya as both a medical doctor and skillful diplomat who played a remarkable role in the daunting exercise to integrate Zanla, Zipra, and the Rhodesian combatants into a unified national army. When he retired from the army, he sought to concentrate on his calling as a medical doctor in civilian life. His political acumen and foresight were brought to bear in the discussions that culminated in the Unity Accord of 1987 between Zanu-PF and PF-Zapu, which gave birth to the present day Zanu-PF.

Naturally, Dr Sakupwanya became an active member of the Party Zanu-PF, rising through its ranks to the positions of Central Committee Member and later on, member of the Politburo responsible for the Welfare of the Disabled and People Living With Disabilities. This he did until the time of his death. When duty called, no shoe was too big or too small for him to wear. That was Cde Sakupwanya for you. Soon after retirement from the army, he assumed leadership roles both as a traditional leader as Chief Sakupwanya, and as a legislator representing Nyanga South as Senator.

Not once after Independence did he ever get to the rooftop and shout about neither his liberation credentials nor his positions in the Party, always humble and respectful to the leadership of the Party, obedience was his key word.

That is the discipline we talk about in Zanu-PF. We are servants of the people and not elected or appointed to be served, and this, we must always remember. As leaders, both young and old, let us emulate the life of this national hero and comrade-in-arms, who throughout his life, led by example. His achievements and liberation honours that were bestowed on him, were earned through hard work, dedication to duty and to his calling as a medical doctor.

Cde Sakupwanya remained very modest, the unsung hero. There are many like him, men and women who moved our struggle and made great sacrifices for our Independence, but who have moved on in life without attracting attention to themselves or going about beating their chests that that they liberated this country. We salute them. We recognise their immense contributions and self-sacrifices. Government has not forgotten them, and neither has the Party Zanu-PF.

We, as a Government, are working hard to turn around the fortunes of this country, so that they too can be taken care of, and so that the needs of their children can also be taken care of. We are together with them during these difficult moments of our history. In conclusion allow me to say to Cde Sakupwanya, well done, Son of the Soil. You played your part during the days of your life on earth. You have left a legacy for us to follow and emulate a legacy of principles, discipline and unwavering revolutionary spirit. These principles we endeavour to embrace and commit ourselves to carry on with the task of safeguarding the political gains we have made.

The economic gains we are making may not be coming as quickly as some of us may wish, but we remain mindful that the interests of the country and that of our fellow countrymen and women, come first before our own.

This, we must always do, because we are a unique people governed by a unique culture, discipline, religious beliefs and political environment, characterised by an unforgettable history. As we salute you, Cde Sakupwanya, we promise to continue to uphold these principles that bound us during the war, and should bind us even more.
We therefore, wish you to Rest in Peace.

Fambai zvakanaka Mwana Wevhu.

Fambai zvakanaka comrade.

Hamba Kahle Qhawe lethu.

Go well Son of the Soil.

I thank you.