MARTIN MAWAYA
MBERENGWA-Hundreds of mourners thronged Mberengwa to pay their last respects to the late ZANU PF Central Committee member and MP, Ben Mataga who died on February 16, 2024, in Zvishavane.
He was 84.
Mataga was declared a provincial hero and was laid to rest yesterday (Friday) at his homestead in Mberengwa with full military honors.
The liberation icon was remembered as a dedicated, loyal cadre of ZANU-PF, development practitioner and a brave, selfless freedom fighter with unquestionable liberation war credentials.
Addressing mourners, Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister, Owen Ncube said the late hero was selfless and a liberator.
He said the former ZANU PF central committee member joined the liberation struggle in 1977 leaving behind his profession to fight against the brutality and racial discrimination perpetrated by the white minority leadership.
“Joining the war of liberation needed fearless, committed, selfless and patriotic cadres who were ready to pay the supreme sacrifice for our independence,” he said.
Ncube added that Mataga was among the youth who trained at Nzou and Mapaye bases in Mozambique and operated in Chivi, Mwenezi and Mberengwa districts.
Mataga was born in Chipedza Village under Chief Mataga in Mberengwa.
He did his education at Zvishava and Msume Schools before proceeding to acquire a teaching certificate.
The liberation war hero trained as a special teacher for the blind at Waddlove Institute where he acquired a Diploma in Agriculture through Central African Correspondence College.
Thereafter, Mataga worked as a teacher at various schools in Mberengwa from 1960 to 1977.
The veteran politician started his political journey in 1963 when he joined the Zanu Youth Wing in the then politically conscious stronghold of Old Highfields, Harare.
After independence Mataga was elected Member of Parliament for Mberengwa West Constituency from 1985 to 1990.
The former MP rose through the ranks to become the Midlands Province Political commissar for more than 20 years, a member of National Consultative Assembly and Central committee member, a position he held until the time of his death.
He is survived by his wife Spelile Siziba, 8 children and 24 grandchildren.
