Perrance Shiri: Zimbabwe minister, self-proclaimed ‘Black Jesus’ dies

Zimbabweans have woken up to news that Agriculture Minister Perrance Shiri has died and while President Emmerson Mnangagwa confirmed the passing in a moving tribute to his colleague, it was the unsavoury reactions to Shiri’s death which stood out.

Prior to joining government in 2017, Shiri had served in the Zimbabwe Air Force for 25 years and is also the cousin of former President Robert Mugabe, whom he helped remove out of office after 30 years at the helm.

“Good Riddance”, said one social media user.

He died in the early hours of Wednesday, 29 July 2020, however many have been less than pleasant in their responses to his passing – citing his role in the army massacres, known as ‘Gukurahundi’.

Perrance Shiri and the dark history of Gukurahundi

As many as 30 000 people were killed between 1983 and 1987, by a brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) – as part of a crackdown on dissidents in Matabeleland North Province, a homeland of the Ndebele.

Thousands of Ndebele were detained by government forces and either marched to re-education camps or brutally executed.

Shiri was also reported to have organised farm invasions by war veterans in the late 1990s and has been accused by Zimbabwean opposition politicians of overseeing military assaults on illegal mineworkers in diamond mines east of the country.

‘Black Jesus’

Shiri infamously referred to himself as ‘Black Jesus’, reportedly because he “could determine your life like Jesus Christ. He could heal, raise the dead, whatever. So he claimed to be like that because he could say if you live or not”, said an anonymous source to the BBC.  

“I am deeply saddened to inform the Nation of the death of the Minister of Agriculture, Air Chief Marshall (rtd) 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 said in a statement.

Shiri’s deputy Vangelis Haritatos, also paid tribute to him and said he was an extremely hard worker and was dedicated to serving his nation.

However Zimbabwe’s former Higher Education Minister Jonathan Moyo said it was sad that victims of the massacre couldn’t receive justice.

“It’s tragic that Perence Shiri has departed without facing justice over the gukurahundi atrocities he committed in Matabeleland & Midlands provinces in the 1980s; nor telling the truth about those atrocities to help heal the nation. May God rest Shiri’s victims in eternal peace”, he said.

Ousting Mugabe

Shiri was part of the Zimbabwean Defence Forces which surrounded the home of then President Robert Mugabe in November 2017 and subsequently demanded his resignation. The army hasmaintained that his ousting was not a result of a military coup, however analysts have disputed this, citing the nature of the transition of power to Mnangagwa. Shiri subsequently took up a cabinet post under the new administration.