RlP our heroLiberation war veteran and diplomat Ambassador Thomas Bvuma diesAMBASSADOR Thomas Bvuma, a veteran diplomat, liberation struggle cadre and author of the ‘Chimurenga II Armed Struggle’, has died.
Born and educated in Manicaland, Ambassador Bvuma attended St Augustine’s School in Penhalonga before enrolling at the then University of Rhodesia. He joined the liberation struggle in 1976 while in his second year of university studies, leaving the country to cross into Mozambique where he arrived at Doroi Refugee Camp that same year.
He later moved to Chimoio Military Base for politico-military training and was subsequently selected for advanced ideological instruction at the Chitepo Ideological College.
Recognising the need to prepare manpower for post-independence nation-building, the ZANU leadership, through President Emmerson Mnangagwa, identified Ambassador Bvuma as one of the cadres to pursue further education. He was sent to Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo in 1977 to resume his studies at the height of the growing momentum of the Second Chimurenga.
After Independence, he served in the Office of the President and Cabinet as Chief Press Officer before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Ambassador Bvuma later represented Zimbabwe in Brazil, where he played a key role in diplomatic efforts to counter Western-imposed sanctions following the land reform programme. One of the major successes of his tenure was securing the “More Food for Africa” cooperation programme, which saw Brazil supply modern agricultural equipment to Zimbabwe, easing the impact of economic sanctions and supporting farming productivity.
He would later serve as Vice-Chairman of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, his final public appointment.
Beyond diplomacy and public service, Ambassador Bvuma was one of the few published authors to document the liberation struggle from an insider’s perspective. Last year, the Institute of African Knowledge/Museum of African Liberation launched his historical work The Chosen Generation. This came in addition to his earlier published poetry collection, The Tale That Turns.
