As the nation commemorates the 41st anniversary of the tragic and gruesome death of arguably the most principled, brave, and strategic leader to ever emerge from this country (together with, another towering hero Dumiso Dabengwa). Tongo died in a most suspicious road traffic accident in Mozambique, on December 26 1979, in an entourage that included the current Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri. Six days after the Lancaster House Agreement, which signalled the victory of the liberation fighters, Robert Mugabe on the Voice of Zimbabwe radio station, conveyed an “extremely sad message” to “all the fighting people of Zimbabwe”. Tendai Ruben Mbofana The 41-year-old Tongogara was dead, killed in a car accident in Mozambique. But, the ever-suffering masses of Zimbabwe cannot help wondering just how their lives could have been like, had an astute man like General Josiah Magama Tongogara been still alive today, and had been our leader. Of course, such a line of thinking would merely be based on conjecture, since what we know about this great man is largely based on information derived from others, rather than personal knowledge — which, in law, would be regarded as hearsay. However, we can confidently conclude that General Tongo (as he was affectionately known), was a no-nonsense person, who stood firm on high values of honesty, humility, and selfless love for fellow humankind. Who can ever forget the determined and very believable manner in which he articulated the mission of the liberation struggle — which was not targeted at any particular ethnic grouping, especially the settler white community, but primarily aimed at destroying all racial barriers and inequalities, and establish a truly democratic State, in which all citizens would be regarded as equal, and have an equal say in the country’s trajectory, and share equitably the national cake. He also made it abundantly clear that he was not fighting so as to gain any personal glory, wealth, and power, after Zimbabwe attained independence. Such are the true hallmarks of a leader well deserving to be entrusted with the helm of any nation, most particularly his own beloved Zimbabwe. Needless to say, as the Shona adage goes: “Munhu akanaka haararame, kunosara mhondi nevaroyi” — loosely translated means, “those who are upright and good do not live long, but we are left with murderers and witches”. Wow, that is why I love our local languages, as they possess meanings that sound so prophetic! Indeed, human beings have been known for their amazing propensity to morph, over the course of time, into characteristics that no one ever saw coming — whether from bad to good, or vice versa — but, in most cases, the attributes we currently know of a person, were likely detectable in their early years. The same applies to the crop of leaders we have — the most unfortunate, seemingly cursed. Clearly the complete opposite of the nature of General Tongo — whose only purpose in life appear to be to steal, kill, and destroy, glaringly evidenced by their insatiable thirst for looting the
