By A Correspondent-Details have emerged following the death of Dr. Sydney Zukuzo Gata, the Executive Chairman of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), who passed away on Thursday evening at a private hospital in Harare after being admitted with chest pains earlier in the week.

Born in Mutema communal lands under Chief Mutema in Chipinge, Dr. Gata was a towering figure in Zimbabwe’s energy sector and a long-time ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He was also married to Hon. Angeline Gata, the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education and MP for Mutema–Musikavanhu.

Dr. Gata made history in 1981 when he became the first Black General Manager of the Electricity Supply Commission (ESC). He later led ZESA as CEO and board member during the 1980s and 1990s. He was reappointed as Executive Chairman in 2019—a period marked by deepening load-shedding, widespread power cuts, and continued decline in energy infrastructure despite significant investment pledges.

Though he held prestigious international roles—including Deputy Chair of the World Energy Council’s Studies Committee and advisory positions with the African Development Bank—critics argue his domestic legacy is overshadowed by his failure to stabilize Zimbabwe’s electricity supply.

Dr. Gata remained politically influential to the end, serving within a network of elites aligned with Mnangagwa’s administration, often accused of looting state resources under the guise of development