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sons Cde Andrew Sikajaya Muntanga.
Burial proceedings started early yesterday morning with people from all provinces converging at Stodart Hall in Mbare for body viewing led by President Mugabe.

Youths clad in Zanu-PF regalia came in their numbers to Stodart Hall and joined the Mbare Chimurenga choir in belting out revolutionary songs.
Vice President Joice Mujuru, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and senior Government officials were in attendance to pay their last respects to the veteran nationalist.

In his speech, the Head of State and Government and Commander-In-Chief of the Zimba-bwe Defence Forces President Mugabe, challenged the nation to emulate Cde Muntanga’s legacy.
Cde Muntanga died at a medical centre in Victoria Falls last week.
President Mugabe said the gap he left would be difficult to fill.

ANDREW SIKAJAYA MUNTANGA

“This legendary freedom fighter from Binga is gone. Siamazuba Bigman, as he was affectionately known in his home area, is no more.
“His passing on leaves a deep chasm very difficult to fill for his family, his home district (Binga), his province (Matabeleland North), his party Zanu-PF and I dare say, indeed, the nation as a whole. He was in many respects truly a man of the people.”

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He challenged Zimbabweans to celebrate and emulate the life of Cde Muntanga whom he described as a principled revolutionary who dedicated his whole life for the liberation of the country.
“A revolutionary has no gaps . . . Unoda nyika yako nezvese zvainoreva here? Unoramba wakaimirira nokuti vavengi vanoramba varipo. Gwara unoramba unaro wakati tasa waka-ritevera. That is the path of a revolutionary. It is always a straight path. Temptations do come, temptations go,” he said.

The President said Cde Muntanga played a crucial role during the struggle for independence.
“Cde Mutanga was not deterred by this and continued to mobilise the Tonga people to rise up against the white settlers

“The Smith-regime banned him from ente-ring Binga for fear of his tremendous influence among the Tonga people. He had become a force to reckon with.”
He said as a result of mobilisation skills in Binga, successive political campaigns among the Tonga people were a resounding success.

Cde Mutanga was instrumental in mobilising the Tonga people to support and join the armed struggle under Zapu.

President Mugabe said Binga was very strategic in the prosecution of the liberation war and it was crucial that the Tonga people were well politicised, a role Cde Muntanga successfully played.
“He was able to establish underground cell units to help him carry out these assignments, which had been given to him by his party.
“But as he was registering these successes in Binga, the enemy was watching his every move leading to his banning from Binga, his subsequent arrest in Hwange and detention at Hwahwa in 1972,” President Mugabe said.

Cde Muntanga’s release was short-lived as he was thrown in Khami Prison after he attempted to flee the country through Botswana to join the liberation struggle in Zambia.
On his release from jail in 1974, he went to London where he joined other nationalists and mobilised material resources for freedom fighters in Zambia.
“In 1975, Zapu redeployed Cde Muntanga to Lusaka, Zambia, where he served as deputy commandant under the late Cde Stephen Nkomo at the works camp, which was responsible for Zipra’s manpower development and logistics.

“Among his responsibilities was the heavy burden of ensuring that supplies got through to the rear bases of Zipra forces along the Zambezi River on the Zambian side,” narrated President Mugabe.
Cde Muntanga joined the ranks of the Zipra Revolutionary Council and was a member of the Zapu delegation to the Lancaster House talks on Zimbabwe’s independence in London in 1979.
“At the conclusion of those talks, Cde Muntanga was chosen as a member of the advance party to come to Zimbabwe and prepare for the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo’s homecoming as well as the establishment of assembly points for Zipra forces in Matabeleland North province, including Bulawayo. He was assisted in this task by other Comrades such as John Mabhena, Roy Tshuma, Vote Moyo and Richard

Ndlovu, among others,” President Mugabe said.
As the country prepared for the 1980 elections, Cde Muntanga was drafted into PF-Zapu’s election directorate with a specific responsibility of mobilising support for the party in Matabeleland North province.
The 1980 elections saw him become the first MP for Binga for five years.

He served the constituency again from 1995 to 2000 before he retired from politics because of a heart problem.
“Following the Unity Accord of 1987 between Zanu-PF and PF Zapu, Cde Muntanga was a member of the task force that spearheaded the restructuring of the new party, Zanu-PF in Matabeleland North province. He was elected provincial secretary for the commissariat in Matabeleland North province, a position he held until 2000 when poor health compelled him to step down,” President Mugabe said.

He added: “I have gone to great lengths to chronicle the life history of Cde Muntanga just to demonstrate that he more than deserved to be declared a national hero because his positive contributions during the liberation struggle speak eloquently for themselves.”
He said Cde Muntanga “was a man with a mission and vision for the Tonga people and the country as a whole.”

“He stuck to his principles and never wavered, never prevaricated, but remained forthright and resolute in fulfilling the aims and objectives of the liberation struggle,” President Mugabe said.
He said the late national hero was a God fearing man who loved his people more than himself.
War veteran and former Senator, Cde Mandy Chimene, who worked closely with Cde Muntanga, described him as true Tonga who was proud of who he was, his area and wanted his home area to develop.

“I know him from 1985 when I was still working in Hwange. I was transferred to Binga where I was an intelligence officer in charge there from 1987-90.
“I worked with him as a Member of Parliament and would walk up to 90 km on assignment. He didn’t care whether there was transport, allowances or food.
“He was a dedicated revolutionary and many of us will never match him. He was so cultural, he was a proud Tonga man.

“During integration of Zanu- PF and PF Zapu he played a very crucial role in uniting people of Binga, telling them how important it was for the nation to be united. He convinced them to accept unity. He deserved to be buried here with the rest of other heroes,” she said.

Zanu-PF secretary for education Cde Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described Cde Muntanga as a pillar of unity and development in his area.
He made sure there were schools and other social services in the area.

“This is a sad loss not only to his family but the nation at large. I worked with him during trials and tribulations. He was a fearless and dedicated cadre who was ready to serve his people.
“In Binga in the 1980s there was just one primary school and no secondary school, but to date there are countless schools there. Cde Muntanga was very instrumental in making sure that Zanu-PF remained in power during his era as Member of Parliament there. We never lost a seat until his retirement,” he said.

Zanu-PF secretary for legal affairs, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, said Cde Muntanga was a hard worker, unifier and a proud Tonga who became an icon for his people.
“I knew Muntanga after independence, he was an icon for the Tonga people. He was respected so much by his people.

“Soon after independence Binga was so remote with poor road networks but he managed to develop the area into what it is today.”
Cde Muntanga was very instrumental in uniting the Tonga people to the rest of the nation after the civil unrest that happened in the 1980s.

Zanu PF national chairman Cde Simon Khaya Moyo and Cde Obert Mpofu also echoed the same sentiments about the late national hero describing him as a pillar of unity in independent Zimbabwe after the 1980s disturbances.

Matabeleland North provincial Governor and Resident Minister, Cde Sithokozile Mathuthu, described the late hero as a hard worker, unifier, dedicated and fearless leader who never took grudges.
Cde Muntanga is survived wife Reginah, six children and seven grand children.