Zimbabwe’s Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister, Retired Air Marshal Perrance Shiri has died.
According to the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced Shiri’s death when he addressed the 342nd Ordinary Session of the Politburo today in Harare.
Mnangagwa is quoted as saying, “I am deeply saddened to inform the Nation of the death of the Minister of Agriculture, Air Chief Marshall Perrance Shiri, a long time friend and colleague. Cde Shiri was a true patriot, who devoted his life to the liberation, independence and service of his country.”
Mnangagwa did not disclose the cause of Shiri's death.
Shiri was one of the commanders of the North Korean-trained Five Brigade, which allegedly killed an estimated 20,000 people, mostly PF Zapu supporters, in Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces in the 1980s at the height of the conflict between the late Joshua Nkomo’s party and Zanu PF led by Robert Mugabe.
Shiri also helped President Emmerson Mnangagwa in toppling the late former President Robert Mugabe in 2017.