Zimbabwe will have a historic triple national hero burial for the first time ever to bury three senior government officials who died from Covid-19 last week.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to preside over the burials of Foreign Affairs Minister retired Lieutenant-General Sibusiso Busi  Moyo, former Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) boss, retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi and the late Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Joel Biggie Matiza set for interment at the National Heroes Acre in Harare Wednesday.

The burial of the three men, who succumbed to Covid-19 last week, will be the first of burying more than two national heroes at the same time.

Last week, Mnangagwa also presided over the double burial of Manicaland provincial minister and Ellen Gwaradzimba and former deputy minister Morton Malianga.

Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe announced the triple burial of Moyo, the Foreign Minister who died last Wednesday, Transport Minister Matiza and former Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Commissioner General, Zimondi who both died last Friday.

“They will all be buried on Wednesday at the National Heroes Acre. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, and all the containment measures will be adhered to. These include limited numbers at the Heroes Acre to curtail the spread of the pandemic,” Kazembe said.

The passing of the senior government officials after testing Covid-19 positive sparked national outrage following accusations by information ministry secretary Nick Mangwana that ‘some medical assassins’ were responsible for the deaths.

The triple national hero burial comes just six days after the double national hero burial of the late Minister of State For Manicaland Province Ellen Gwaradzimba and late nationalist and former deputy finance minister Morton Dizzy Paul Malianga.  

Three staff members were attacked by four gunmen in the evening of Monday when ELLA du Plessis High School in Khomasdal was attacked

Khomas regional police commander, commissioner Joseph Shikongo, who confirmed the incident, said police officers were taking statements from witnesses on Monday.

“We will work through tonight and tomorrow to pursue the men to make arrests,” Shikongo said.

The Principal Jakavaza Kavari on Monday evening said teachers were taking records as students paid their hostel fees in preparation for the school’s reopening on Tuesday.

Kavari said “Men with guns came into the hall when the teachers were collecting money an hour ago, and fired two shots as they demanded money. They also slapped three people, of which two are teachers and one an institutional worker,”

He said the gunmen stole three mobile phones from the teachers at the venue, while their only security guard was unaware of the events.

“We only have one security guard, who was at the gate when this happened. He only got to know what happened after the men drove off through the gate,” he said.

The school was established in 1956 by Richardene Kloppers in Windhoek.

Zimbabwe’s Tugwi-Makosi dam with a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic metres in Southern Masvingo, spilled for the first time on Saturday following continuous rains around the structure.

The historic event has spawned fears of flooding in Tugwi and Runde rivers downstream of the water amid concerns of increased water volumes.

The Tugwi-Makosi dam located at the confluence of Tugwi and Mukosi rivers along the border between Chivi and Masvingo districts has never hit 100 percent since its commissioning in May 2017. It remained at 72.4 percent in its first season of operation. 

The spilling of Zimbabwe’s largest interior water body signifies that the dam has amassed sufficient water for irrigation.  This aligns with plans by Zimbabwean government to create a perennial greenbelt in the Lowveld.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) tweeted: “For the first time since its commissioning in 2017, Tugwi-Mukosi is 100 percent full and spilling.”

Government and its development partners have been preparing for the worst after spilling of the dam amid reports that hundreds of families in southern Chivi, Chiredzi, Mwenezi and boundaries of Tugwi river might be severely impacted by the overflow.

ZINWA spokesperson Marjorie Munyonga affirms the impact of the ongoing spilling as it offers an opportunity to test the dam’s resilience.

“The spilling is also historic in that it has tested and confirmed the design capacity of the spillway and the dam structure,” Munyonga said.

“We are now able to test and confirm that the dam design is able to withstand its full capacity.”

She dismissed reports that at full capacity, Tugwi-Mukosi Dam was threatening to destroy the Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway.

Camps at Chingwizi and Chilonga Secondary School have been set up to provide temporary shelter for flood-stricken families. 

Tugwi-Mukosi was initially billed to irrigate 25,000ha but advances in irrigation technology saw the figure ramped up to more than 40,000ha.