FINAL QUEST FOR NATIONAL STATUS MISSED
FINAL QUEST FOR NATIONAL STATUS MISSED
The family of Ambassador Report Phelekezela Mphoko missed an opportunity for Commander Mphoko to be etched in the history of Zimbabwe as a national leader and hero.
Looking at Commander Report’s history, it is littered with several missed opportunities to make him a truly national hero. He was a delegate at the People’s Caretaker Council meeting held at Cold Comfort in Salisbury in 1963.
This meeting was significant, as ZAPU made three key decisions that would change the shape of politics in Rhodesia forever. At the meeting, ZAPU chose to operate under the People’s Caretaker Council and stop creating new parties each time the Rhodesian government banned political parties. Secondly, the meeting resolved to expel the “gang of”four”—Leopold Takawira, Robert Mugabe, Enos Nkala, and Ndabaningi Sithole—who had sought to topple ZAPU President Joshua Nkomo.
Furthermore, they resolved to take up arms and fight the Rhodesian government. Amongst the first group sent for training were young Report Mphoko and Ambassador Mutinhiri.
In 1965, Commander Report was present when ZIPRA was formed, and he was given the responsibility of handling logistics. He is renowned for being among the commanders of the joint ZIPRA/Mkonto weSizwe Battalion that fought the Wankie Battle, working alongside Intelligence Supremo Dumiso Dabengwa and Chris Hani.
Commander Report remained a senior commander within ZIPRA forces and, in 1975, became part of the Zimbabwe People’s Army, a joint force between ZIPRA and ZANLA. After the collapse of ZIPA, instead of returning to Zambia, where ZAPU/ZIPRA was based, he remained in Mozambique, where ZAPU appointed him as an envoy. If he had returned to Zambia, he would have remained in the ZIPRA military ranks or even risen through the ranks after the death of General Nikita Mangena.
After independence in 1980, Commander Report joined the President’s Department and later the Foreign Affairs Department, where he served as an ambassador to various countries, including key allies Russia and South Africa.
One would only imagine where he would have ended if he had joined the Zimbabwe National Army in 1980; that’s another opportunity missed to be a very senior-ranking military officer.
Commander Mphoko returned to Zimbabwean politics in the run-up to the 2014 ZANU PF Conference, where the position of Vice President was vacant following the death of John Nkomo in 2013. A meeting held by former ZAPU and ZIPRA senior members, chaired by former ZAPU Secretary-General Cde Cephas Msipa, saw Commander Mphoko emerge as the favorite to succeed John Landa Nkomo as Vice President. Other contenders included Simon Khaya Moyo, Brigadier General Mutinhiri, Cde Naison Kutshekaya Ndlovu, and Colonel Tshinga Dube. At the ZANU PF Conference in December 2014, Commander Mphoko was appointed Vice President, marking the culmination of a long and arduous journey in the struggle.
In 2017, following the firing of Vice President Mnangagwa, Commander Mphoko became the sole Vice President. After President Mugabe’s resignation, as the only Vice President, Commander Report Mphoko was supposed to have assumed the presidency, but he did not make a claim to it. During the operation, several ministers, including Kasukuwere, Jonathan Moyo, and Muzembi, fled the country, while others, like Chombo, were arrested. However, it appears that everyone simply forgot about Vice President Mphoko. Others close to Mugabe, including Defence Minister Cde Sekeramayi, were seen as part of the negotiations, but Commander Report was nowhere to be found.
In the run-up to the 2023 elections, Commander Report Mphoko appeared at several ZANU PF rallies to support President Mnangagwa, but his appearances were never significant and failed to capture the attention of the media. If the likes of Kasukuwere or Jonathan Moyo had appeared, it would have made headlines, even on the international scene.
Commander Mphoko passed away in India, and President Mnangagwa declared him a national hero upon announcing his death. This marked the final opportunity for Commander Mphoko to rise to the status he deserved, but his family rejected the National Heroes Acre burial. Commander Mphoko was laid to rest in a low-key ceremony at his plot just outside Bulawayo. It seems that Commander Mphoko will indeed be forgotten forever.
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