BULAWAYO – Tsholotsho North MP Zenzo Sibanda has died after contracting Covid-19, his party announced on Wednesday.
The Zanu PF legislator was admitted at a Bulawayo hospital and put on oxygen over the weekend after experiencing difficulties breathing, according to Matabeleland North provincial minister and Zanu PF chairman Richard Moyo.
“It is with great sadness that I can confirm we have lost Tsholotsho South MP Cde Zenzo Sibanda. He was a hardworking and humble leader who was well liked by his constituents,” Moyo said.
Former Tsholotsho North MP Professor Jonathan Moyo described Sibanda as a “decent leader”.
“He was a decent and humble community leader who cared for everyone. May his memory be a blessing and his soul dwell in the House of the Lord forever,” Prof Moyo said in a Twitter tribute.
Sibanda was born in Insiza district. A traditional healer, he moved to Tsholotsho and settled.
He was into his second term as MP.
Explaining how he won the constituency, Sibanda told journalists in 2018: “There is no way I was going to lose this seat as I’m literally an undertaker of Tsholotsho South constituency. I shoulder all the expenses for every family during a funeral wake in the constituency. I provide the coffin and transport to those who have lost their loved ones wherever they are, even those staying in South Africa.
“As long as one is born in Tsholotsho, I ensure they receive a decent burial. There is no corpse that leaves the Tsholotsho mortuary in a scorch cart; I stopped all that. This and many other social amenities programmes I have been running for years ensured I retain the seat.”
