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Hon Chitsa laid to rest
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC)
March
06, 2012
President Tsvangirai has said the MDC and Zimbabwe have lost a dedicated
and determined heroine, Senator Enna Chitsa whom he said was unshaken
even in her fight against an unrepentant regime. She was 66.
Speaking at
the Assemblies of God Church in Luveve, Bulawayo on Monday shortly
before the burial of the Masotsha Ndlovu Senator at Lady Stanley
cemetery, President Tsvangirai said it was because of the wisdom
of the likes of the late Mai Chitsa that leaders of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the MDC got guidance.
He said personally,
he had lost a responsible leader who was determined to see change
in Zimbabwe. "The people's struggle of this country
will not be written without the mention of people like Enna Chitsa.
She represented that crop of leaders that was very principled and
determined even, against all odds, to see that this country achieves
democratic change," he said, while addressing thousands of
mourners gathered for the burial.
President Tvangirai
said he was at a great loss as members of his team continued to
die. "In this struggle, I am at a bigger loss because every
time a cadre passes away, I lose those soldiers who have backed
me from the beginning to the end. The generation that saw it worthy
that change was necessary in this country is the generation that
is passing away.
"I hope
the party and those who are alive today will not let these people
down, the struggle of the people will continue until the goal of
democratic change is achieved," he said.
He said that
in his days as the Secretary General of ZCTU, he had been controlled
by the likes of Mai Chitsa, who were his elders.
"We have
lost a pioneer in the struggle for change. We must remain united
and promote those values that all our departed leaders like Chitsa,
Gombami, Sibanda, Matongo and many others upheld," he said.
Hon. Thokozani
Khupe, the MDC Vice President said she knew Mai Chitsa since 1992
and they had worked together since then. "We have come a long
way together. We were together at the first congress of the ZCTU
Women's Advisory Council. At that congress, Hon. Paurina Mpariwa
was elected the chairperson and Mai Chitsa was elected the vice
chairperson, while I was voted the Secretary General. At the general
council of the ZCTU of 1995, she was voted 3rd vice president,"
she said.
She said when
the MDC was formed in 1999; Senator Chitsa was appointed the interim
vice chairperson of the party. She encouraged the senator's
children to celebrate the life of their mother and to grieve with
hope.
"In the
Bible, we hear the story of Abraham. When he was told to sacrifice
his child, he could have asked why me? But he did not, so today,
Patience, Victoria, Nicodemus, celebrate the life of your mother
because she is a heroine. The Lord knows why," Hon Khupe said.
Hon. Lovemore
Moyo, the National Chairperson said Hon. Chitsa was a mother who
had love and was a unifying force. He said that he had never heard
of her being involved in any conflicts in the province and at national
level.
The Women's
Assembly chairperson, Hon Theresa Makone was at a loss of words.
"Here, I have lost a strong pillar of support. Those that
know me know that I have my own shortfalls but Senator Chitsa, as
my deputy, made up for those to make me look whole," she said.
"I have
done everything because of her. I do not know what I am going to
do. I do not trust myself to make decisions that are made by a leader
without Enna Chitsa," she said.
Hon Makone also
said that Mai Chitsa had been ill for some time and the Women's
Assembly management committee had visited her and spent time with
her and she had indicated that she was recuperating. Mai Chitsa
breathed her last on Friday at her Luveve home.
"We saw
her when she was ill as the management committee and two weeks ago,
she said she was ready for work. It was such a shock to hear that
she was gone. This woman was strong, she was resolute, she was a
Christian and she was a servant leader. She was everything you want
to see in a leader and I hope we all have learnt something from
her that you can be firm with a smile; you can lead against all
adversities with a smile but with strength.
"I know
she was at peace with her God because she served him well while
she lived. She lived by her faith. I cry that I am missing a friend,
a leader, an advisor and a mother but I also know that I am mourning
a child of God," said Hon. Makone.
Mrs Sibusisiwe
Masara, the Women's Assembly Secretary General said the Women's
Assembly is bleeding as they had lost an advisor, leader of astuteness
and a Christian. "Mrs Chitsa worked tirelessly to ensure that
women participation is raised in the MDC. We are at pains to accept
this loss but we know what our mother and fellow colleague stood
for.
"She was,
is and will always be our heroine As the Women's Assembly,
we shall ensure what she stood for is fulfilled. She was a woman
of peace and we need her strength to take us through. May her soul
rest in peace," she said.
Other colleagues
from the ZCTU who were present said Mai Chitsa was a dedicated woman
who fought for a better life for the workers and thus the majority
of Zimbabweans.
Senator Enna
Chitsa was born on 14 April 1946 in Chivi, Masvingo province and
passed away at her Luveve home in Bulawayo on 2 March 2012.
Senator Chitsa
did her primary education at Mtshedi Primary School in Bulawayo
before going to St Augustine's Mission in Penhalonga, Mutare
for her high school. One of the pioneer leaders of the MDC, she
was the vice chairperson of the ZCTU Women Advisory Council before
she was elected the substantive vice chairperson of the Women's
Assembly at the Congress of 2006 and re-elected in 2011.
In 2008, she
was elected Senator for Masotsha-Ndlovu Constituency. The Senatorial
constituency covers Pumula and Magwegwe.
She is survived
by three children - Victoria, Patience and Nicodemus.
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