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Joseph Madzimure and Trust Freddy

National hero, Brigadier-General Charles Kaneta, who died on Saturday last week after collapsing at his farm, will be buried this Saturday.

He was 64.

Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe confirmed the burial arrangements.

“The late national hero will be buried on Saturday this week. We expect people to come in their numbers to bid farewell and pay their last respects,” said Minister Kazembe.

He urged those who will attend the burial to adhere to World Health Organisation (WHO) Covid-19 protocols.

“We are not yet out of the woods. People should adhere to WHO Covid-19 protocols,” Minister Kazembe said.

Brig-Gen Kaneta was the Director General Logistics at the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Headquarters.

He collapsed at his farm on Saturday and was rushed to Hauna District Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

After visiting the bereaved family yesterday, Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Philip Valerio Sibanda, described the national hero as a very patriotic soldier.

“He was a very patriotic officer and courageous in whatever he did. He was a smooth talker, but nobody mistook that smoothness for inability. He was soft spoken no matter how much you harassed him. 

“He was a good soldier and officer. God knows each one of us because he is our creator. I am urging family members of the late national hero to accept it because each one of us has a date. It hurts, but our time shall come,” said Gen Sibanda.

Brig-Gen Kaneta’s son, Tendai, said the national hero was a loving father.

“He was as soft as wool, but of course as a military man he wanted his children to be disciplined.

“We are in pain, it was just too sudden, nothing really hurts like talking to your father in the morning, then after a few minutes you receive a call informing you about his untimely death. It is really hard to accept,” he said.

Sister to Brig-Gen Kaneta, Senny, said the national hero was a family man.

“Even if you did something wrong, he would give you advice and the correct direction. He was a good teacher, we are in so much pain. He was out of the country; he only came back recently. However, we would like to thank God for giving us an opportunity to interact with him in his last days,” she said.

Family spokesperson and brother to the late national hero, Retired Colonel Patrick Kaneta, hailed President Mnangagwa and the Zanu-PF leadership for according his brother hero status.

“I would like to thank President Mnangagwa for according my brother national hero status. It is something that is worth celebrating because he worked for his nation for us to be liberated. He also worked tirelessly after Independence to develop our country.”

“We are grateful as a family for according our brother hero status,” he said.

Brig-Gen Kaneta’s Chimurenga name was Santana Tongai.

He joined the liberation struggle in 1975 in Mozambique at a young age.

He was a graduate of the Nanjing Military Academy in China, as well as a beneficiary of specialised military training in Syria.

He was a tough and brilliant military instructor through whose hands passed many cadres, including senior party officials such as the late national hero Cde Herbert Ushewokunze, the late Cde Crispen Mandizvidza and Dr Sydney Sekeramayi.

Following his attestation in 1981 into the integrated Zimbabwe National Army, Brig-Gen Kaneta had an illustrious military career, rising through the ranks to become a Brigadier-General. 

Today a funeral parade will be held at 1 Commando Barracks and tomorrow the body of the national hero will be flown to his rural home in Hauna, Mutasa District.

On Friday the body will lie in state at 1 Commando. 

Brig-Kaneta is survived by his wife Nancy, three children, two girls and a son.

Mourners are gathered at Number 7 Married Quarters, Cranborne West, Harare.