ADDRESS
BY
THE PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-
CHIEF OF THE ZIMBABWE DEFENCE FORCES
HIS EXCELLENCY, CDE. E. D. MNANGAGWA
AT THE BURIAL OF THE LATE NATIONAL HERO,
MAJOR GENERAL (RTD) RICHARD RUWODO
NATIONAL HEROES’ ACRE,
13 JULY 2026
The Bereaved Ruwodo and Chinyanga Families;
First Lady, Amai Dr. A. Mnangagwa;
Vice President and Second Secretary of ZANU PF,
Hon. Gen. (Rtd) Dr. C. D. G. N. Chiwenga;
Vice President and Second Secretary of ZANU PF,
Hon. Col. (Rtd) Dr. K. C. D. Mohadi;
Chairman of ZANU PF and Minister of Defence,
Hon. O. C. Z. Muchinguri-Kashiri;
Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province,
Hon. C. Tawengwa;
Honourable Ministers;
Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Adv. J. F. N. Mudenda;
President of the Senate, Hon. Amai. M. M. Chinomona;
The Chief Justice, Hon. E. Gwaunza;
President of the National Chiefs Council,
Hon. Sen. M. Khumalo;
Politburo and Central Committee Members;
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet,
Dr. M. Rushwaya;
Chairman of the Public Service Commission,
Dr. V. Hungwe;
Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces,
General E. Matatu;
Service Chiefs;
Your Excellences, Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Mayor of the City of Harare, His Worship,
Cllr. J. Mafume;
Veterans of the Liberation Struggle;
Senior Government Officials;
Fellow Mourners;
Comrades and Friends.
On behalf of the people and Government, our revolutionary mass Party, ZANU PF, and indeed on my own behalf, I express heartfelt condolences to the Ruwodo and Chinyanga families following the passing
on of Major General (Rtd) Richard Ruwodo. Our late
national hero, whose Chimurenga name was ‘Moshe
Pwititi’, passed on, on 7 July 2026 in Harare.
Our prayers and sympathies are with you during this solemn and difficult period. He was a gallant Son of the Soil who devoted his life to wholeheartedly serve our motherland, Zimbabwe, with unwavering patriotism, immense honour and professionalism. Throughout his long career in the military and public service, he exemplified unflinching loyalty as a patriotic commander, who fought in the armed liberation struggle.
Sadly, our nation continues to lose that stalwart generation of devoted freedom fighters. We remain grateful for the role they played for us to be where we are today. However, we are emboldened by the new crop of young heroes and heroines who are emerging and taking up the mantle to carry forward the ideals of the liberation struggle as we build our beloved motherland, Zimbabwe.
As we do so, we shall jealously defend, protect and promote our collective national interests and the rich values bequeathed to us by our forebearers as well as heroes and heroines, such as the late National Hero, Retired Major General, Ruwodo.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
Fellow Mourners;
Born on 14 March 1954 in Mutasa, Manicaland Province, the late General Officer received primary education at Mutasa School before proceeding to Highfields Secondary, here in Harare, between 1969 and 1972. On completion, he secured employment as a Salesman at Bata Shoe company in 1973 where he was elevated to a managerial post, in recognition of his hard work and leadership qualities.
The late National Hero, Major General (Rtd) Ruwodo, gave up his comfort and career prospects in industry to join the liberation struggle in 1975 as a ZANLA cadre.
“Cde Moshe Pwititi”, as he was known during the armed liberation struggle, received military training at Chimoio in Mozambique before deployment to the Party Headquarters in Maputo as Director Finance, working under the late National Hero, Cde Ernest Kadungure.
After the attainment of our country’s Independence in 1980, the late General Officer held various portfolios that contributed to building professionalism within the Zimbabwe National Army. He begun at the level of Deputy Chief Paymaster, later to be appointed as the first black Director of Zimbabwe National Army Pay and Records.
We remember and cherish his pivotal role in the integration process. The late General Officer helped tostrengthen good corporate governance, accountability, transparency, probity and overall human capital development, within the Zimbabwe National Army.
For his dedication, patriotism, selfless and exemplary service to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the nation at large, our late General Officer was awarded the Liberation Medal, Liberation Decoration Silver Medal, Independence Medal, Ten Years’ Service Medal, Long and Exemplary Service Medal, Mozambique Campaign Medal and, the Grand Officer of the Zimbabwe Order of Merit Award.
On his retirement in 2008, the late Major General (Rtd) Ruwodo was appointed Principal Director responsible for War Veterans in the then Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs. In that position, he consistently advocated for improved conditions and welfare of the veterans of our armed protracted liberation struggle.
Comrades and Friends;
Today, we also recognise and honour the late National Hero, Professor Herbert Mapfumo Chinyanga who passed on, in South Africa, on 2 July 2026 at the age of 86. He will be cremated in line with his wishes.
The life history of the late Professor Chinyanga is an epitaph of patriotism, integrity, humility, professional excellence and selfless service. He was a towering national and pioneering physician whose lifelong service helped to transform the specialisation of Anaesthesia, advanced medical education and strengthened Zimbabwe’s healthcare system.
Born on 26 July 1939 in the then Gwelo, now Gweru, the late National Hero, Professor Chinyanga received primary education at Daramombe Mission between 1946 and 1952, before proceeding to Goromonzi Government School between 1953 and 1957. He demonstrated exceptional academic ability from an early age.
During this period, a limited number of young people from the black majority, were allowed to access university education by the settler colonial administration. Fortunately, the young Herbert had the chance to enrol at the then University of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, now University of Zimbabwe, to study Physics, Chemistry and Zoology.
His top of the class grades earned him a prestigious World Health Organization Scholarship in 1960 to study medicine at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem where he obtained a Master of Science in Physiology and a Doctor of Medicine. He briefly worked in Ghana as a lecturer.
In 1973, he moved to Canada and trained as a specialist in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. Through diligence and professional excellence, he qualified as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in 1978, later completing further fellowship training in Pain Management. He joined the University of Toronto and the internationally acclaimed Hospital for Sick Children, where he earned international recognition as an accomplished clinician, researcher and educator.
After Independence, the late Professor Chinyanga made a bold and defining decision that would forever shape Zimbabwe’s medical history. He voluntarily left behind the prestige and opportunities of the developed world to come home to serve his country.
Our late National Hero, Professor Chinyanga, is a patriot and selfless cadre, who believed that knowledge, expertise and experience acquired, belonged first and foremost to our motherland, Zimbabwe. He held the view that an independent and sovereign nation had a duty to build its own capabilities in specialist medicine, rather than remain dependent on expatriate expertise.
In 1986, the late National Hero, Professor Chinyanga established Zimbabwe’s first postgraduate programmes for the Diploma and Master of Medicine in Anaesthetics at the University of Zimbabwe. Through these programmes, he transformed a new specialty into one of Zimbabwe’s strongest medical disciplines. This ensured safer surgery procedures, stronger intensive care services and improved patient outcomes for Zimbabweans.
Beyond his area of speciality, the late Professor Chinyanga served as Chairman of the Department of Anaesthetics and later as Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences.
He played pivotal roles in establishing the School of Medicine at the National University of Science and Technology as well as the School of Medicine at Midlands State University. He provided grounded leadership and guidance to Zimbabwe’s pioneering open-heart surgery programme.
During his illustrious career, our National Hero, Professor Chinyanga also served as President of the Zimbabwe Anaesthetic Association as well as Chairman and Editor of the Central African Journal of Medicine and member of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. He was a member of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe and the Research Council of Zimbabwe. In 2007, the University of Zimbabwe conferred him the distinguished title of Professor Emeritus, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to higher education and national development.
In 2025, the Zimbabwe Anaesthetic Association honoured him as the Father of Anaesthesia in our country.
This was an acknowledgment that the specialty he pioneered, continues to save lives through the crop of specialists he nurtured and trained.
The late National Hero, Professor Chinyanga retired from active service in December 2024. We shall forever remember him and honour his contributions to humanity in the field of medicine, which spanned for close to forty years of uninterrupted service in our beloved motherland, Zimbabwe.
Fellow Mourners, Comrades and Friends;
The lives of our two gallant sons, the late Major General (Rtd) Ruwodo and Professor Chinyanga provide rich repository of service, from which the nation will learn about national sacrifice, professionalism, hard work and love for our motherland.
I call upon all Zimbabweans across all fields of specialisations, in both the private and public sectors to emulate their exemplary service.
Intellectuals are challenged to turn ideas, scientific thought and practice into tangible products and services that transform the lives of our people. Similarly, the ongoing knowledge driven revolution under the Second Republic, must see us create local solutions to address gaps in the various sectors of the economy.
Under my Administration, all areas of specialisation, fields of work and professions, remain critical asserts and tools, at the nation’s disposal, that must be appropriately organized for building, modernising and industrialising our nation. Through our own collective efforts, the future of our country is bright and Vision 2030 is becoming a reality for the prosperity of all our peoples. This was the desire of our Founding Fathers, along with many of our forebears, freedom fighters, as well as heroes and heroines of the armed liberation struggle.
Let us all play our part to keep the flames of independence, freedom, sovereignty, development and prosperity, burning brighter and brighter.
On its part my Government, will accelerate the implementation of people-centred decisions and resolutions, focused on lifting many out of poverty into a better quality of life.
Finally, to the late National Heroes, Major General (Rtd) Richard Ruwodo and Professor Emeritus Chinyanga we say, go well fellow patriots. We thank you for the examples, you have left for us, of consistent and persistent service to our great motherland, Zimbabwe.
You did your part and showed the way. Today, the nation, from Plumtree to Mutare and Chirundu to Beitbridge salutes you for your impeccable records of dedicated professionalism and hard-work in the Army and Medical field.
Fambai zvakanaka vana vevhu.
Hambani kahle bantwana bomhlabathi.
Lalani ngokuthula maQhawe ethu.
Zorarai murugare Magamba edu.
Go well Sons of the Soil.
Go well our Heroes.
May your souls rest in eternal peace.
God bless you all.
God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank you.