Former Vice President Phelekezela Report Mphoko (84) passed away in India yesterday. They declared him a national hero in recognition of his service to Zimbabwe before and after Independence.
President Mnangagwa, in his condolence message, described Cde Mphoko as a veteran of the liberation struggle who selflessly contributed to national development. Cde Mphoko was born on June 11, 1940, in Gwizane, Bubi District, Matabeleland North. He attended David Livingstone Memorial School in Ntabazinduna and Mzilikazi High School in Bulawayo.
Between 1959 and 1960, he studied cropping and animal husbandry at the Tsholotsho Agricultural Breeding and Experimental School. After school, he worked at Dunlop Rhodesia Ltd from 1962-63 as a workers’ representative in the molding section.
In 1963, authorities arrested Cde Mphoko for political violence after an altercation with a Rhodesian police officer. The court sentenced him to three years in jail, but he received bail pending a retrial.
That same year, he served as a delegate at the Cold Comfort Farm People’s Caretaker Council Congress. This congress established a Special Affairs Department and an external wing of ZAPU to plan and direct the armed struggle.
Under this program, ZAPU leader Cde Joshua Nkomo selected Cde Mphoko, along with Albert Nxele, Walter Mbambo, and Sam Dumaza Mpofu, for military training.
Cde Mphoko is survived by his wife Laurinda, a Mozambican national, and their three children: daughters Sikhumbuzo and Siduduzo, and son Siqokoqela.
