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Zimbabwe National Army pallbearers carry a casket with the body of Cde Sigauke at the Manicaland Heroes Acre. – (Picture by Tinai Nyadzayo)

Manicaland Bureau
MANICALAND has once again been plunged into mourning following the death of yet another provincial heroine, barely a month after another hero was buried at the Manicaland Provincial Heroes Acre.

Mourners from across the province yesterday gathered at the Provincial Heroes Acre to bid farewell to heroine Cde Thandiwe Sigauke, who died on December 19 in South Africa after succumbing to ill-health.

She was 58. In a speech read on her behalf by the principal director in her office, Mr Luck Basopo, Minister of State for Manicaland Province Senator Monica Mutsvangwa described Cde Sigauke as a committed and dedicated cadre.

“Cde Sigauke’s untimely departure is a painful loss to us all in Manicaland and the nation at large. We should appreciate her vision of a free Zimbabwe, fountain of wisdom and sense of equality that made her become a staunch combatant who could not be moved by freak storms, but one who stood boldly against all odds,” she said.

Sen Mutsvangwa said Cde Sigauke, whose Chimurenga name was Perseverance Magamba, had unquestionable qualities and was very active during the liberation struggle. She said her active role made her adorable to the masses.

“Whilst it is a sombre moment, I urge the Sigauke family to draw solace and inspiration in Thandiwe’s enduring spirit and sense of equality. We should continue to be guided by her principles and ethics of dedication, hard work and selflessness,” she said.

Cde Sigauke was born in Chipinge and she is survived by five children. She left school to join the liberation struggle in 1975, where she underwent political training at Machazi Camp in Mozambique. Cde Sigauke was then appointed political commissar at Chabavava Youth Camp, where she also taught political orientation.

In 1977, she, along with other women, went for military training at Mudzindadzi Base Camp before going to Gondola Youth Camp in 1977, where she was a teacher and political commissar.

She was later deployed to Mavhudzi Camp, where she worked as a teacher between 1978 and 1981. Cde Sigauke went to Nyamapanda Border Post during demobilisation. She worked as a registrar supervisor in the President’s Office between 1982 and 1986 before joining the Ministry of Education as a teacher. Cde Sigauke taught in various schools until her retirement in 2007.