Zimpapers Logo

Daniel Kachere Herald Reporter
Controversial war veteran Cde Wilfred Mhanda, whose nom de guerre was Dzinashe Machingura succumbed to colon cancer at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals on Wednesday. He was 64. According to family spokesperson Mr Munyaradzi Mhanda, Cde Mhanda was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent chemotherapy for about six months.

“After the six months of chemotherapy, a test was done by medical doctors and the cancer had cleared,” he said.
Munyaradzi said after being treated of cancer Cde Mhanda also battled other ailments that included inflammation of leg joints and swelling of the stomach which doctors associated with excess fluids in his body.

He said the family had been making frantic efforts to get him hospitalised at West End Clinic, but were unable to get him admitted as the place was full.
“As a family, we decided to take him to Parirenyatwa Hospital to get the fluids removed from his body, but we were too late,” Munyaradzi said.

Cde Mhanda was a member of the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform which had a different agenda from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association until the time of his death.

He wrote a book entitled “Dzino — Memories of a Freedom Fighter”, which was described as a self-serving narrative of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle that failed to illuminate in a broader perspective the intricate dynamics within Zanla and Zipra liberation movements.

In the book, Cde Mhanda portrays President Mugabe as an opportunist and not in tune with military matters, while the late liberation icon Josiah Tongogara was cast as ruthless.

He also made claims that he was the brains behind the WAMPOA ideological college which churned out such cadres as Sobusa Gula Ndebele and Happison Muchechetere.

But the truth was that WAMPOA was the brainchild of David Todhlana (Chrispen Mataire) who also came up with the name WAMPOA which is derived from a similar college in the then Soviet Union where Todhlana had his military training together with the late General Solomon Mujuru.