By Brighton Chiseva
The late Judea Zion Christian Church Bishop Dr Ofiro Mawewe, who died two weeks ago, has been declared a provincial liberation war hero.
Dr Mawewe passed on at Noraz Clinic due to diabetes related ailment, and his family declared two weeks of morning. The burial is set for Saturday March 30, 2024.
In a statement seen by TellZim News, addressed to the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya, and signed by Zanu PF Secretary for Administration Obert Mpofu, the government will make burial arrangements and pay benefits to his family.
“His Excellency the President and First Secretary of Zanu PF Cde Dr.E.D Mnangagwa has conferred a Liberation Hero status to the late Cde Ofiro Mawewe who died on 16 March and will be buried at Matekwe Village, Chief Ndanga, Zaka. The family can be contacted through our Masvingo Provincial office.
“I shall be most grateful if you would make the usual arrangements for his burial and payment of benefits to his family,” reads the statement.
His son Oriah Mawewe confirmed the latest development and thanked President Mnangagwa for the recognition and declaration of a liberation war hero status to his father saying he was indeed a hero, who apart from being a faith leader, rolled out many programmes towards the development of the communities he served.
“We were called from the Minister of State’s office and were told that President Mnangagwa had declared Dr Mawewe a liberation war hero. We were elated by the news as a family and church because we know he deserved the recognition,” said Oriah.
He went on to say they were not worried about material benefits associated with the recognition but the mere fact that the President honored the late Bishop was enough for them as a family.
“Our happiness is not from the material things that may be associated with the recognition, but the mere fact that the President recognized the work that our late father did before and after Independence, until his time of death is enough for us. “We feel proud to be his sons and we promise the President that as his family, we will continue with his work just like he did following our grandfather’s death,” he said.
The conferment of hero status for the late Bishop could be attributed to his work because apart from being just a religious leader, he was a philanthropist, educationist, and Pan-Africanist who contributed to the development of education, promotion of indigenous churches as well as supporting the liberation struggle.
His contributions to the liberation struggle included leading the church and the family during his father’s various detentions and incarceration by the Rhodesian government where he assisted his mother in taking care of the liberation fighters in the absence of his father as the family had become a target of the Smith regime for supporting the war.
Bishop Ofiro would pray for the liberation fighters and the release of his father and other indigenous church leaders. Upon the release of his father, Dr Ofiro continued assisting the liberation war fighters by providing them with food and clothing, as well as conveying prophetic messages from his father to the liberation war fighters
He was also credited for influencing his father’s followers to support the liberation struggle that bore the Independence of Zimbabwe.
A writer who authored books on the history of indigenous churches, Bishop Mawewe was also a supporter and beneficiary of the land reform programme where he was allocated with number 17 Dawlish Farm in Manjirenji where he established two mission schools; a primary and a secondary.
At the time of his death, Dr Ofiro was said to be working on plans to establish a hospital and a vocational training center at the farm.
Bishop Ofiro was born on 17 June 1952 in Ndanga where he grew up. As a boy, he grew up during the liberation struggle and served as a war collaborator of distinct nature.
As the only son to his father Late Rev Saul Maguta Mawewe and founder of the church, Bishop Mawewe took the reins of the church in 1979 following his father’s death.
The church was founded in 1938 and as such the family became a target of the colonial regime as Dr Ofiro helped his father to support the revolution.
Mawewe is credited for growing the Judea ZCC congregation from half a million to 1, 5 million followers during the 44 years he was leading the church and established branches all around Zimbabwe and abroad in countries like Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, the UK, Australia, Poland among others.
