Ex-information minister Christopher Mushohwe dies aged 69

HARARE – Former information minister Christopher Chindoti Mushohwe died on Monday aged 69, officials said.

Government spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana announced Mushohwe’s death on Twitter.

He wrote: “We have lost former minister of information Dr Chris Mushohwe. May His Soul Rest In Peace.”

Mushohwe was the executive director of government scholarships at the time of his death.

Previously, he held several ministerial posts such as Information and resident minister for Manicaland.

In a condolence message, President Mnangagwa said Mushohwe  was a trustworthy civil servant.

“A longtime Civil Servant, and later a holder of key ministerial portfolios under the First Republic, Dr Mushohwe held very sensitive positions in Government, including serving as personal staff to our late President Robert Mugabe with whom he worked closely for many years as Director of State Residences. Such placements called for total trust, integrity and loyalty, attributes which Dr Mushohwe exuded and glowed in abundance, ” he said.

His elevation to the level of Minister of Government in charge of key ministries like Transport, and Information and Publicity, reflected not just personal growth, but the profound faith Government reposed in him, said President Mnangagwa.

Mushohwe was instrumental in setting up an educational programme for senior war veterans in Government, which was run from Zimbabwe House, said President Mnangagwa.

Later, he played a pivotal role in ensuring greater access to education for able, yet disadvantaged Zimbabweans, through the Presidential Scholarship Programme which educated thousands.

President Mnangagwa said Zanu PF lost ‘a loyal cadre whose rich and perceptive contributions will be sorely missed’.

“On behalf of the ruling Party, ZANU PF, Government, our Nation, my Family and on my behalf, I wish to express my deepest, heartfelt condolences to the Mushohwe Family, especially to Mrs Mushohwe and the children, on this their saddest loss. As they go through the painful motions of grief, may they find solace in the knowledge that our Nation shares in their pain and bereavement, “said President Mnangagwa.