Emilio Munemo
| Emilio Munemo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Emilio Munemo |
| Died | March 3, 2019 |
| Occupation |
|
| Children | Acie Lumumba and several others |
Emilio Munemo was a Zimbabwean military commander and a general known mostly for his role in the Gukurahundi. Munemo was the biological father of controversial politician Acie Lumumba even though Lumumba was raised by a different father and only got to know about Munemo as an adult in 2015.
Munemo died on 3 March 2019 at 64 after being ill for some time. He was declared a national hero. At the time of his death, he was the Director General Civil Military Relations at the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) headquarters.
Background
Munemo was born in Chivi.
Role In Gukurahundi
In 1982, Munemo commanded one of the three 5th Brigade battalions, initially stationed in Zvishavane, Midlands province. In December 1982, he was promoted from battalion commander to deputy commander of the 5th Brigade, then commanded by Perrance Shiri.
Munemo, in a 1996 interview, said in this new role he was mainly concerned with administration and logistics while Shiri was in charge of training and operations.
In April 1983, Munemo was promoted to commander of the 5th Brigade after the British Army invited the then Brigadier Shiri to attend a senior officers' course at Britain's famous Military Academy, Sandhurst.
After commanding the 5th Brigade, Munemo went to Nigeria for further studies.
From 1983 to 1984, the Zimbabwean 5th Brigade, was reported to be responsible for thousands of civilians killed and tortured.
