The country’s traditional leadership was plunged into mourning following last week’s passing on of Chief Sinamagonde of Lusulu in Binga.
He was 78.
Born Sinyenyi Muchwayile, Chief Sinamagonde died while being hospitalised at St Luke’s Hospital in Lupane after suffering a stroke- a week earlier while at his homestead.
“His death shocked us all. He had been complaining about his feet and chest for a long time but was not sick. On Sunday morning he was sitting on a stool outside his bedroom hut when he suddenly went numb like a person who had suffered a stroke. They called me and when I arrived, I tried to talk to him but he wouldn’t respond. It was painful to see him just staring at people without saying anything,” family spokesperson Robert Muzamba told the state media.
His death brings to an end a 37-year reign of the late Chief after assuming the chieftainship barely three years since Zimbabwe’s attainment of Independence from colonial rule.
Bigboy Mumpande, his son described Chief Sinamagonde as a unifier, and source of strength.
“His death shocked us. He woke up in the morning and sat outside on a stool as he was preparing to wash his face. Suddenly he went numb and couldn’t say a word,” narrated the late chief’s son.
According to Mumpande, the late chief had previously complained about painful feet- a problem attributable to his pre-1980 arrest when he was incarcerated for supporting African fighters during the liberation struggle.
He reportedly spent five years while in detention at Khami, Chikurubhi and Whawha prisons as the colonial regime heightened its resistance to the fight for Uhuru in the then Southern Rhodesia.
The late chief, who is set to be buried today at his homestead in Lusulu, is survived by four wives, 16 children and 71 grandchildren.
Zwnews/state media
