Dumiso Dabengwa, a Zimbabwean politician and a former spy chief for freedom fighters in the war against white-minority rule, has died aged 79.
Nicknamed the “Black Russian” - as he had trained in the then-Soviet Union, Dabengwa died in Kenya on his return from India where he had gone for medical treatment, according to the New Zimbabwe news site.
He was a member of the Zapu, one of the two groups that fought for independence. Robert Mugabe’s Zanu went on to win Zimbabwe’s first election in 1980 - and not long afterwards his government charged Dabengwa with treason after the discovery of an arms cache. Mr Mugabe, then prime minster, accused Zapu leaders of planning a revolt.
At the same time, Mr Mugabe deployed a brigade of North Korean-trained troops to the southern Matabeleland province, in an operation nicknamed Gukurahundi in which thousands of civilians were killed - the darkest chapter of Zimbabwe’s post-independence history.
Dabengwa was acquitted of treason but was imprisoned for years after that without trial. He was later appointed home affairs minister by Mr Mugabe after a peace and unity pact saw Zanu and Zapu merge into Zanu-PF.
Dabengwa left Zanu-PF to revive and lead Zapu in 2008, supporting key opposition leaders in successive elections.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was Mr Mugabe’s spymaster during the time of Gukurahundi, has tweeted that Dabengwa made a huge contribution to Zimbabwe as a liberation fighter and minister.
I am very sorry to hear of the passing of Comrade Dumiso Dabengwa. I had huge respect for Dumiso and his contribution to Zimbabwe: As a liberation fighter, a long standing Minister of Home Affairs & as a man. My deepest condolences are with his friends and family at this sad time
As one of the last surviving nationalist leaders, his death is a remainder of the passing of an era and of the generation that fought to liberate Zimbabwe.
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