Former liberation war veteran and Zanu-PF Politburo member George Rutanhire died of renal failure yesterday at Karanda Hospital in Mt Darwin.
Minister of State for Mashonaland Central Province Advocate Martin Dinha said
On behalf of Mashonaland Central, I wish to convey my deepest condolences and sorrow to the Rutanhire family and the whole family of Zimbabwe over the untimely death of this gallant son of the soil.
His heroism ad selfless dedication to the liberation of Zimbabwe is illustrious. At one point, he and his wife saved me from imminent death after some people had conspired to poison me at a function in Mt Darwin. I am hurt by Cde Rutanhire’s death.
Last year Rutanhire made headlines for the wrong reasons after he claimed that former Vice-President Joice Mujuru was promiscuous during the liberation struggle. In an attempt to discredit Mujuru, Rutanhire claimed that Mujuru was not a trained fighter and that she used her sexuality to rise through the ranks. He also rubbished the popular legend that Mujuru had single-handedly brought down an enemy helicopter alleging that the person who actually did this was her boyfriend.
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