Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Josiah Tungamirai (8 October 194825 August 2005), born Thomas Mberikwazvo,MDC MPs break boycott for Tungamirai burial
''GoZimbabwe.com''. Retrieved on 1 April 2007. was a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an military officer and politician. He was commander of the Air Force and later served as Minister of State for Indigenization and Empowerment in President Robert Mugabe's government before his death in 2005.

Early years and education

Tungamirai was born into a peasant family as Thomas Mberikwazvo on 8 October 1948 in Gutu, Masvingo Province, in what was then

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. He received his primary education at the Mutero Mission in Gutu from 1957 to 1964. His secondary education was completed at the Chikwingwizha Seminary. Tungamirai went up to Salisbury Polytechnic and he completed his studies in Physics and Mathematics in 1970., ''Mathaba News Network''. Retrieved on 1 April 2007. The Mother of his oldest child Thomas Tungamirai, was Juliette James. Juliette was of Mozambique & Scottish héritage, à freedom fighter, who died in the war for indépendance.

Military career

Tungamirai served in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) during the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

. He remained loyal to Mugabe during the Nhari and Vashandi inter-factional strife within ZANLA, and was among the ZANLA officials who escaped Zambia, following the Zambian government's arrest of senior ZANU officials after the assassination of Herbert Chitepo. Towards the end of the war, he served as ZANLA Political Commissar. In 1979 Tungamirai was part of the Patriotic Front delegation which was a party to the Lancaster House Agreement. When Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, Tungamirai became a major general in the newly formed Zimbabwe National Army and was appointed to the Zimbabwe Joint High Command. He was involved in the work to integrate the formerly belligerent Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army as well as the Rhodesian Army. In 1982 Tungamirai was transferred to the Air Force of Zimbabwe to fill the post of Chief of Staff. At that time he was redesignated an air vice-marshal. Tungamirai qualified as a pilot in October 1984. Tungamirai went on to reach the rank of

air chief marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

and serve as the commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe.Air Force of Zimbabwe
, ''Zimbabwe Ministry of Defence''. Retrieved on 1 April 2007. In 1992 Tungamirai was replaced by Perrance Shiri as Air Force commander.

Political career

In early 2004, Tungamirai was elected to parliament from Gutu North in a by-election. He was soon afterwards appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of State for Indigenisation and Empowerment on 9 February 2004. He was put on the

United States sanctions United States government sanctions are financial and trade restrictions imposed against individuals, entities, and jurisdictions whose actions contradict U.S. foreign policy or national security goals. Financial sanctions are primarily administ ...

list in 2003 and remained on the list until his death.Blocking property of persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe
/ref>

Death

Following what anonymous members of Tungamirai's family said were problems with rejection of a kidney transplant carried out several years previously,
, ''New Zimbabwe''. Retrieved on 1 April 2007. Tungamirai was flown to a South African hospital for emergency treatment. He died there on 25 August 2005.
, ''New Zimbabwe''. Retrieved on 1 April 2007. After Tungamirai's death, his widow Pamela Tungamirai claimed that he had been poisoned.

References

External links

– 7 June 1996 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tungamirai, Josiah 1948 births 2005 deaths People from Masvingo Province Air Force of Zimbabwe air marshals Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army personnel Government ministers of Zimbabwe Harare Polytechnic alumni Kidney transplant recipients