Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Editor
VICE President Colonel (Retired) Kembo Mohadi has celebrated the continued preservation of the Josiah Magama Tongogara Memorial Site in Mozambique, a key aspect of the story of Zimbabwe’s independence.
Vice President Mohadi toured the memorial site, which was established by the Josiah Magama Tongogara Foundation with the support of the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Defence in 2012.
The Vice President was welcomed at Vilankulo International Airport by FRELIMO supporters, reflective of the relationship between ZANU PF and the Mozambique ruling party.
The memorial site comprises the cenotaph, a symbolic grave and memorial tree.
A health centre has also been set up in partnership with the Mozambique Government in honour of Cde Tongogara and it is set to be handed over to the community by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
After the tour, the Vice President shared some of his memories of General Tongo.
“My fondest memory is that he was a general. He used to bark orders to everyone. I remember when I used to work at Zimbabwe House (in Zambia) he used to come and give me assignments. He would say, young man, I want you to do A, B, C, D and I would do it. He was a man with the spirit of unity, wanting people to be united all the time. It is unfortunate that we lost him on the eve of our independence, he should have been there,” he said.
He celebrated the strides that have been made in preserving the site where the iconic liberation stalwart perished.
“I am happy that the place he lost his life is well preserved. You know the epitaph there Where we have got his short history there, the narrations. His symbolic grave and the tree that was planted in honour of him by a farmer are really good. I must give credit to Ana Mandima (National Museums and Monuments) and the rest for this good job that they have done. That is what we would want to see in each and every shrine that we have in the countries that we had our comrades interred.”
To Vice President Mohadi, General Tongo left a culture of love and unity.
“Unity, cooperation, and development. He stood for Zimbabwe, and he also stood for Africa. He stood for peace within Zimbabwe, the region and the entire continent.”
General Tongogara desired to see the country free and children freely playing in a world that was fair and black people emancipated.
The Josiah Magama Tongogara Memorial site epitomes the man who was General Tongo, who tragically died on the site, on December 26, 1979, as he drove from the Xai Xai camp bound for Chimoio.
General Tongo might be gone, but his values, hopes and aspirations for a free Zimbabwe live on.
