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Chronicle Reporter

WAR veterans have described the late Cde John Munodawafa Gwitira as an outstanding freedom fighter who contributed immensely to the liberation of Zimbabwe.

Cde Gwitira (73), whose pseudo name was Gundingwi Kenneth, died at Murambi Garden Clinic in Mutare after being unwell for some time.

He is credited for being one of the commanders to train freedom fighters at Mgagao Training Camp in Tanzania.

At Mgagao Training Camp he is said to have worked with Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga and the late national hero Perrence Shiri among others.

Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) chairman Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa who received the news of the death of Cde Gwitira while in Bulawayo attending the ZITF,  said Cde Gwitira was one of the joint military commanders to train guerillas at Mgagao Camp in Tanzania. 

“As the chairman of the ZNLWVA, we are shocked and saddened at the passing on of one of our outstanding historical cadres Cde Gwitira.

His name was Gundingwi Kenneth during the war and was one of the pilot guerillas to be trained. He trained in the Indian sub-continent and came back to become one of the commanders at Mgagao Camp in Tanzania,” said Cde Mutsvangwa.

“This group of Mgagao Camp cadres changed the history of Zimbabwe, they are the ones who became the backbone of the Zimbabwe Army, the state apparatus as we know it today.” 

He said through the determination of freedom fighters like Cde Gwitira, the country managed to defeat the Smith regime.

Cde Mutsvangwa said through guerilla tactics, the enemy was easily defeated as freedom fighters would easily blend with ordinary people.

“Eventually when they (freedom fighters) fired the gun the Rhodesians could not identify who the enemy was because the enemy had become part and parcel of the people. So the Mgagao cadres took the lessons from the northeast and developed our own theory of guerilla warfare which was very crucial when the big numbers of young cadres began to leave the country in 1974 and 1975 following Mozambique’s Independence,” he said.

Cde Mutsvangwa said Cde Gwitira among other commanders used the technical skills they received and blended it with their personal experiences to wage the liberation war.

He said at Mgagao Training Camp both Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) and Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) forces resolved to deliver an Independent Zimbabwe which is cherished today.

“This is what we owe to that crop of Mgagao guerillas and some of them later became remarkable commanders of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

These commanders include the likes of VP Chiwenga and the late Perrence Shiri among others. They are a product of the Mgagao School of Guerilla Training and Kenneth Gwindingwi was one of the camp commanders at that particular time,” said Cde Mutsvangwa.

He said Mgagao decisions contributed to what Zimbabwe is today.

“So, in the formation of the Zimbabwean state this is a very crucial period.

The decision about who was to become the future leaders of Zimbabwe was made by the guerillas outside of the Rhodesian political system, outside of the western political influence courtesy of the young cadres who were at Mgagao Camp,” he said.

– @nqotshili.