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The fall of a gallant fighter Getrude Mthombeni
Elliot Pfebve
January 27, 2008

Her smiles still vivid in my thoughts and she used to call me Border, jokingly of course, as a pseudo name derived from the brutal ZANU(PF) madzibaba whom I contested with in June 2000 parliamentary election. Getrude was the finest woman politician I have ever met, mixing jokes and political stature. What then went wrong sister? I learnt with regret that she passed away on Saturday 19 January 2008 after a short illness.

We were the same age group yet she was privileged to have made a leadership impact earlier than me. I looked to her as my mentor, speaking to her one would hardly notice her feminine side, she was frank to the point that sometimes you would wish you would apply brakes on her behalf, yes that was her inner being that mattered. She was a tough woman and when I heard that she was contesting to be a Vice President of MDC, I was sure that it was going to be a tough contest. I had had the privilege of working with both women, Thoko and Getrude, I would be lying to say any one of them was taller in thought than the other, wonder why the delegates had a tough choice.
She was a simple woman who always preferred a bold head with a natural Ndebele traditional beauty. I have such poor Ndebele language vocabulary and she was more than willing to teach me basics, which I am, grateful for. As I was a National member, I had to travel through out Zimbabwe and this was to prove very helpful. Soon I was to find myself working for the party in Matebeleland and the people I met more often were Getrude Mthombeni and Steve Mudenda of Bulawayo and Matebeleland North respectively. I worked extensively with these politicians such that we had personal numbers of each other. It was not surprising to receive a call in the middle of the night from Getrude or Steve. They all sympathised with my situation in Bindura which was the HQ of the militia and a haven of brutality.

To those who have known Getrude we have been robbed of true cadre of the struggle in MDC. Her departure will be felt and the replacement difficult to find. I say to Getrude R.I.P. We salute you; we envy your political pathway.
Your death is not in vain we will continue the struggle where you left until victory. Such a loss tends to strengthen us knowing it very well that victory is on our side.

Aluta Continua, New Zimbabwe, new beginning.

"Politicians risk being irrelevant for advocating strategies out of their political capacity. This is not a game of loosely knitted words, it is about action and indeed shouldering surmountable risks. Politics is not a business; it is about building a viable national pride against all odds, bulldozing the obstacles along the way no matter what it takes"

Elliot Pfebve is a former MP candidate for Bindura and former National Executive member of MDC.

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