Relatively unknown ZANU-PF National Consultative member and Misheck Velaphi Ncube has been declared a National Hero.

Ncube died on Tuesday at the United Bulawayo Hospitals where he had been admitted with a diabetes-related ailment.

ZANU PF Secretary for Administration Obert Mpofu made the announcement to the family on Saturday evening.

He was one of the pioneer guerrillas under the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra).

Zanu-PF Bulawayo province applied for the national hero status and the party politburo acceded to the call.

Ncube joined the liberation struggle in the early 1960s.

He is among the first ‘Group of 12’ to undertake military training in Egypt in 1962.

In 1966, he and his colleagues took advantage of the political instability in the Congo where they raided the Congolese rebels, poisoned them before looting their weapons.

His mission led to the first smuggling of weapons into Southern Rhodesia.

He also served a jail term for his activities at Grey Prison, now known as Bulawayo Prison.