Story by Peter Chivhima
A funeral parade for the late Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Winnie Mandeya has been held at Manyame Air Force Base in Harare this Tuesday.
Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Mandeya was the first woman Base Adjutant, the first woman to attend a Command Staff Course outside Zimbabwe, the first woman appointed as Director of Civil Military Relations, the first woman Deputy Commandant at the Zimbabwe Staff College, the first female Air Commodore and later Air Vice Marshal in the Air Force of Zimbabwe.
Paying tribute to Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Mandeya at a funeral parade held at Manyame Air Force Base this Tuesday, Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda said the nation has lost a loyal and dedicated air officer.
“At the age of 15, she abandoned her studies and joined other cadres to fight for the liberation of Zimbabwe. What is striking about this decision that she made was that she had not even attained that age of majority at that time. Despite this, she felt compelled enough to sacrifice her life for Zimbabwe to attain independence. In addition, this decision defied the gender stereotype that only males could fight for their country.”
General Sibanda challenged members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to jealously guard the gains of the hard-won independence.
“The next challenge ahead is to consolidate the gains of our hard-won Independence by attaining high development standards and levels as envisaged by the President and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Comrade Dr ED Mnangagwa. To this end, we all have a responsibility to ensure that Zimbabwe attains an upper-middle income status, which will translate into the improvement of welfare of citizens and ourselves as members of the ZDF.”
To the family and friends, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Mandeya was a unifier.
“We have lost a family unifier and the void she left will be difficult to fill,” brother, Dr Eric Mandeya said.
Born on July 14, 1960, in Rusape, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Mandeya joined the liberation struggle in 1975 at the age of 15 and survived the Nyadzonya bombings.
After receiving military training in Nachingweya in 1976 in Tanzania, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Mandeya was deployed to Gaza Province, Mozambique, where she served in the medical corps.
While at Nyadzonya after the attack, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Mandeya participated in the construction of the Barracks along Nyadzonia River.
At ceasefire, the late AFZ senior officer remained with other Comrades in Mozambique and only came back to a new Zimbabwe in 1980, along with the last group of patients.
Cde Cabby Rujekorwehondo, as she was known during her post-independence military career, was distinguished by a series of firsts.
In 2022, President Emmerson Mnangagwa promoted her to Air Vice Marshal in recognition of her dedication and trailblazing service to the nation.
Meanwhile, mourners are gathered at 766 Hogerty Hill, Borrowdale, Harare.
Burial arrangements will be announced in due course.
