HARARE – The late ambassador Trudy Stevenson was a very passionate patriot whose interests were about Zimbabwe, MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa said yesterday.
Chamisa told the Daily News his party has lost a founding member who was a brave heroine.
A memorial service was held for Stevenson at Wayward Catholic Church in Mount Pleasant yesterday morning.
Government officials, close family and friends were in attendance.
Stevenson was reportedly found dead at her residence in Dakar, Senegal, last week.
The late ambassador was a founding member of the MDC and was appointed ambassador to Senegal and The Gambia in 2009 during the Government of National Unity (GNU) representing the MDC led by Welshman Ncube.
In an interview after the service, Chamisa said despite the sad loss, the fight for democracy continues.
“She has been a comrade for a long time, she was a founding member within the MDC. We formed the party together in 1999, she was actually in the Harare province, and she was the secretary for information and publicity,” he said.
“She translated race, tribe, or mere political colour to be able to save her country. But for us it also fortifies to know the MDC has become a permanent home to very credible and consummate citizens, who can save the country. For her to be a diplomat of note from the MDC is something that we appreciate
“It’s a pity she has passed on before we have achieved what we aimed for, but the struggle continues.”
During the service, former MP Jessie Majome said her relationship with Stevenson dates back to the early 90s when they were law students at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ).
The late ambassador’s son Alexander Graham Stevenson said his mother was a teacher who was passionate about educating the girl child.
In a speech read on his behalf, Foreign Affairs minister, Sibusiso Moyo said the late ambassador effectively represented Zimbabwe in Senegal.
He noted that at the time of her death, Stevenson was now the treasurer of the African ambassadors group.
