Late National Hero Absolom Sikhosana’s Children Fail to Travel for Dad’s Burial

The late former Zanu PF Youth League boss Absolom Sikhosana will tomorrow be laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre in the absence of his two South African-based children who could not travel due to Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
Reverend Imon Ndlovu a family spokesperson said they had initially proposed to have their late relative buried at Lady Cemetery to allow easy access to the gravesite for his two children who are holed up in South Africa. Following assurances by the Government that the children will be allowed access to the national shrine, the family accepted that he be buried at the National Heroes Acre.

Today, a memorial service for the late Sikhosana will be held at White City Stadium in the country’s second biggest city of Bulawayo. Before the memorial service at White City slated for 11am-2pm, the body of the late Sikhosana will this morning be flown to his farm in Inyathi.
An official from the office of Aaron Nhepera, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, William Changwara announced the arrangements to the late Sikhosana’s family.
He said Government had organised vehicles for 12 of the late national hero’s relatives and three buses to ferry 96 mourners to the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
In line with the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown regulations, each bus will ferry a total of 32 mourners in the pursuit of observing social distancing.
The late Sikhosana’s body will be flown to Harare at 3PM today for burial at the national shrine the following morning, Changwara said.
Initially, the family of the late former Youth League boss who died aged 71 at United Bulawayo Hospitals last Friday, had proposed that he be buried at Lady Cemetery in the city of Kings to allow his South African-based children easy access to his gravesite.
“On the earlier plan to bury him here in Bulawayo, my superiors said it was no longer possible because of the works that Cde Sikhosana did. They said it is only befitting that he be buried at the national shrine with his comrades,” said Changwara, while delivering the position of the Government to the family.
The late Sikhosana was born on 26 October 1949 in Matobo District under Chief Masuku in Matabeleland South Province.
He attended Nduna Primary School from 1956 to mid-1958 and latter moved to White Water Primary School for Standard One to Three between 1958 and 1960.
He then attended Lozikeyi Primary in Bulawayo for Standard Four to Six from 1961 to 1964.
In 1965 he moved to Mzilikazi Secondary School, then Mgandane, for his Form One to Four and in 1969 he attained a certificate in salesmanship from Rapid Results College and a Diploma in Public Relations from Ruskin College in the United Kingdom.
He worked as a Tally Clerk for the Bulawayo Clothing Factory (Charter Clothing) from 1970 to 1975. Between 1976 and 1977 the late Sikhosana was elected regional organiser for the Rhodesian Clothing and Garment Workers Union. His movement from Charter Clothing to trade unionism was orchestrated by the political leadership to fill the gap left by the detention of the late nationalist Enos Mdlongwa.
Sikhosana left the country for Zambia in 1977 via Botswana to join the armed struggle and was trained at Camp of General Training (CGT) as an infantry cadre.
After demobilisation in 1982, he joined the Bulawayo Municipal Workers Union and became the organising secretary.
Sikhosana was seconded to the Public Service International Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the year 1982.
In 1983 he was elected national secretary general for the Zapu youth wing. Between 1987 and 1989 Sikhosana was instrumental in uniting the structures of the two liberation parties – Zapu and Zanu – after the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987.
He was elected youth publicity and information secretary for the united Zanu-PF at the inaugural Youth Conference in 1989. Sikhosana later became the national deputy secretary for the Zanu-PF Youth League deputising the late national hero Chief Air Marshall Josiah Tungamirai.
Between 2000 and 2014, he served as Zanu-PF national secretary for youth affairs. In 2014, he became deputy secretary in the Department of Implementation of Indigenisation Policy in the Politburo.
In October 2019 he was appointed acting chairman for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, a position he held until the time of his death.
The late national hero is survived by wife Jelina Dube-Sikhosana, five children and six grandchildren.
Mourners are gathered at his home, Number 3115, Nkulumane 5 in Bulawayo.

State Media
Additional Reporting: Zwnews