The late Retired Colonel Tshinga Judge Dube, a decorated independence war veteran and former Makokoba Member of Parliament, will be remembered as a rare voice of reason, willing to speak truth to power in Zanu PF that has increasingly become defined by sycophancy, analysts and politicians have said.
Dube passed away on Thursday evening at the age of 83 due to kidney failure.
The former war vets minister, who had been hospitalised at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo, leaves behind a legacy which analysts said was marked by his ‘unwavering stance’ on political and social issues within Zanu PF, where loyalty and obedience often overshadow honesty and critical discourse.
In interviews with CITE, analysts said Dube’s death leaves a void not only in Zanu PF but in Zimbabwe’s political landscape, as the country continues to grapple with issues of governance, democracy and national unity.
Known for his outspoken nature, Dube was one of the few within Zanu PF who dared to challenge the party’s leadership when it strayed from its founding ideals.
His bluntness and refusal to engage in the bootlicking culture that has permeated the party earned him the respect of both allies and opponents.
As political commentator Mxolisi Ncube put it, Dube’s demise is particularly significant at a time when “the party seems to be hellbent on changing the constitution to give its failing president yet another term in state power.”
“It is unfortunate too, that one of the people considered able to stand against some of the exigencies of Zanu PF from within has demised at a time when the party seems to be hellbent on changing the constitution to give its failing president yet another term in state power.
Ncube further emphasised that Dube’s passing silences a critical voice that had sought to preserve the values of the Unity Accord, which was meant to unite Zimbabweans and lead the country towards prosperity.
“It is just unfortunate that Dube dies at a time when his voice, and those like him, have been drowned in the avalanche of criminal and selfish voices that dominate Zanu PF,” Ncube added.
With his demise, Zanu becomes more and more as it was before the little change that came before the Unity Accord and therefore, remains likely to drive Zimbabwe further down the abyss
Political analyst, Bernard Magugu, echoed similar sentiments, lamenting that Dube was one of the few who could critique Zanu PF without fear.
“Dube was man who could critique Zanu without fear, such that you would think he was a member of the opposition. Anywhere that was displaying both ZPRA and ZAPU DNA. I wonder why he remained in Zanu when others left!” Magugu said.
Magugu believes that Zanu PF will quickly lose its direction without Dube’s steady hand, with the party now dominated by “directionless bootlickers who cannot raise a finger and point where there is a crack on the wall.”
Despite his loyalty to the ideals of the Unity Accord and his deep ties with the liberation struggle, Dube’s death raises questions about why he remained within Zanu PF, even as others, like the late Thenjiwe Lesabe and Dumiso Dabengwa, chose to break away.
ZAPU Secretary-General Mthulisi Hanana, in reflecting on Dube’s contributions, noted that no one could take away a “simple fact that Dube was a man of the people, that’s why he was able to fraternise with different people of society and live with them peacefully.”
“Dube was a benefactor to Highlanders, it shows he had a good heart and was able to live with people. You can’t take away again he was a man that stood on his own principles, he could not be swayed and could not bootlicker necessarily with what we see from most of our erstwhile comrades who were in ZAPU that have gone to Zanu PF,” Hanana said.
The ZAPU SG highlighted that when Dube was asked about the issue of succession, “a taboo topic under the Robert Mugabe regime,” he was clear the topic must be discussed within the ruling party.
“This was after everyone else had endorsed Mugabe to rule until he died. Remember recently Dube spoke out against the ED 2030 mantra, saying it was an ill advised move and must not be done,” Hanana said.
“This is testament to the person and individual that Dube was.”
However, the ZAPU SG said Dube’s departure from Zanu PF would have signalled a greater commitment to the struggle for democratisation.
“As ZAPU, we also feel there is more that Dube could have become and done for instance when we pulled out of Zanu PF,” Hanana said.
“It would have meant a whole deal for him to pull out together with those who had decided to leave Zanu PF owing to its murderous vampire approach to politics, corruption but he remained behind and for that we feel hard done by as a party.”
Hanana said: “Dube should have left considering his seniority and personal relations that he had with Thenjiwe Lesabe and Dumiso Dabengwa, people that were very close to him. We feel that he betrayed the struggle for democratisation at that point.”
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Walter Mzembi, who served in cabinet alongside Dube, described him as a principled and protective figure, noting that Dube was one of the few “forthright and principled cadres” he knew in Zanu PF.
“We served in Cabinet together for a brief stint , shared the same building Tourism House , with his long time project , Zimbabwe Defence Industries ( ZDI) which had a lease from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), so we regularly met and he had taken a protective role over my often under siege political life , counselling me and urging me to remain courageous and principled,” he said.
Mzembi praised Dube for his courage in calling out the Zanu PF leadership when it faltered, most recently criticising the “ED 2030” mantra, which he described as “misleading the President.”
“One of the few forthright and principled cadres I got to know inside Zanu PF , a rare quality in an organisation where whipping has created zealots like the 2030 mantra group which he recently criticised for misleading the President . Called a spade a spade . A true patriot and revolutionary to the end,” he said
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart, although from a different political party, also paid tribute to Dube’s patriotism and dedication to his country.
“There is no doubt he was a patriot who loved his nation Zimbabwe and his home city, Bulawayo,” Coltart said, extending his condolences to Dube’s family, friends, and political colleagues.
Dube fought in the 1970s liberation war and joined the Zimbabwe National Army after independence in 1980.
He retired with the rank of colonel and became CEO of the state-owned arms manufacturer and procuring entity for the armed forces, the Zimbabwe Defence Industries, for 22 years.
Dube sat on several parastatal boards and was a board member of the National Railways of Zimbabwe at the time of his death.
