By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa is silent on the hero status of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga top ally Major-General (Retired) Clever Shadreck Chiramba.

Chiramba died of Covid-19 on Sunday and the government has said nothing about his hero status.

Major-General (Rtd) Chiramba was Chiwenga’s top ally pre and post-independence.

“It was with great shock and pain that I received the news of the untimely death on Sunday morning of Major-General (Rtd) Clever Shadreck Chiramba at Parirenyatwa Hospital after succumbing to Covid-19 related complications,” Chiwenga told state media Wednesday.

“His passing on leaves a deep void that will be difficult to bridge both within the Chiramba family and among those of his comrades he served with during the liberation struggle as well as among former colleagues in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

“I knew him well personally from the days of the liberation struggle and as a senior officer in the Zimbabwe National Army.”