Death of a ZIPRA veteran: The forgotten colonel and Zimbabwe’s military divide

The Zimbabwe National Army is mourning Colonel (Retired) Patron Khutshwekhaya, who died on May 1, 2026, at United Bulawayo Hospitals at age 75. Yet the official condolences from Lieutenant-General Asher Walter Tapfumaneyi cannot mask a stark reality: Khutshwekhaya, a former ZIPRA cadre who fought for independence, retired as a colonel while many of his ZANLA contemporaries rose to become generals. His death is a mirror held up to a military command structure still divided along ethnic and political li��� ;