THE OPPOSITION Zapu party has described former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko, who died last week, as a humble person who kept a very low profile despite the immense role he played during the liberation struggle.
Mphoko died in India on Friday, aged 84. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared him a national hero.
His daughter Siduduzile announced through a Facebook post that her father suffered pulmonary embolism and was with wife Laurinda, his two daughters and grandson Daluthando when he died.
In its condolence message yesterday, Zapu said Mphoko was thrust into the limelight after his appointment to the high post of Vice-President in 2014.
“Just three years later, the former Vice-President was hounded out of office by the military coup that toppled former President (Robert) Mugabe’s regime. Mphoko retreated to his low profile and private civilian life,” party spokesperson Richard Gandari.
“Swiftly declared a national hero, the enigmatic life of Mphoko will continue to puzzle and confound questioning spirits. Nevertheless, his revolutionary contributions and service to his country will remain indelible.”
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Meanwhile, a former liberation war fighter based in South Africa, Chanda Chose, whose nom de guire was Sizwe Jacana, has expressed sadness for losing his Zipra colleague.
“I have fond memories of our time together at the Morogoro Training Camp in Tanzania, where we fought side-by-side against the Rhodesian Army.
“His legacy will live on in our hearts and I am grateful for the role he played in our country's struggle for independence,” Chose said.
Ibhetshu likaZulu secretary general Mbuso Fuzwayo said it was sad that Mphoko was the face of how the coup was a perpetuation of tribal politics.
“Mphoko’s suffering during the coup must not be downplayed. He suffered up to the end of his life, forced to play servitude to the throne to guarantee his welfare.
“His pension was made a privilege (while) his vice-presidency perks became an act of benevolence granted at the altar of political correctness,” he said.
Fuzwayo said Mphoko shall be a reminder of how the Constitution must protect the weak and vulnerable against the excesses of the powerful given the insatiable appetite for power.
“We are saddened by his death and his last days are a monument that everything is wrong with our politics of intolerance, insecurity and certainly marginalisation,” he said.
Mphoko was Zipra's chief of logistics during the liberation struggle deputised by retired Colonel Thomas Ngwenya.
He became one of the targets of the military-assisted coup when the Mugabe administration was ousted in November 2017.
Mphoko clashed with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s supporters who regarded him as a second Vice-President and would openly tell supporters in public forums that the two were equal.
Mnangagwa's loyalists viewed him as a strong ally of former First Lady Grace Mugabe.
His last public appearance since he was ousted was on the Anti-Sanctions Day in Bulawayo in October.
At some point during his tenure as Vice-President, Mphoko sparked controversy and criticism from Matabeleland when he claimed that Gukurahundi was a Western conspiracy.
He also attracted criticism when he refused a government house worth US$1 million and opted to stay at a local hotel in Harare for 500 days because he wanted a new house to be constructed for him.