• PALLBEARERS carry the casket for the late freedom fighter Peter Matoka during the requiem mass at the New Apostolic Church in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by CLEVER ZULU

By CATHERINE NYIRENDA??-
PRESIDENT Michael Sata has declared today as national mourning for the late freedom fighter and academician Peter Matoka.
Dr Matoka died on Friday at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after an illness and will be put to rest today.
Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska announced this in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday.??Dr Matoka would be put to rest in Chief Kanongesha’s chiefdom in Mwinilunga District in North-Western Province.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Guy Scott has said Zambia appreciates the role freedom?fighters, including the late Peter Matoka, played to liberate the country from colonial rule and their contribution to develop the country.
Dr Scott said it was unfortunate that 50 years after independence, most freedom fighters had advanced in age with some passing on to meet their Creator.??The Vice-President said this during the requiem mass for Dr Matoka, 84, held at New Apostolic Church in Lusaka yesterday.
“Despite their demise and some of them passing on, we wish to acknowledge their contribution and we are mindful of the efforts the group made to the liberation struggle,” Dr Scott said.
During the service, the late Dr Matoka’s widow, Grace, said the former freedom fighter and academician would remain the lover of her life and that she would remember him as her teacher, mentor and her best friend.
Ms Matoka said her 57 years of marriage to the late Dr Matoka were characterised by joy and that the two shared many happy moments that she would never forget.?“The children, grandchildren and I will forever miss you,” she said in bidding farewell to her husband.
Anthony Matoka, the eldest son, said he and his siblings would remember their father for always advising them to be courageous in all their endeavours.
“Even in the face of adversity, dad would advise us to be courageous as we had the ‘blood’ of the lion in our veins,” he said in his eulogy.??After the church service, the body of the late Dr Matoka was flown to Mwinilunga ahead of burial today.
Dr Matoka is survived by a wife Grace, children and several grandchildren.??Besides being a freedom fighter, Dr Matoka was an academician, and served in various Government portfolios, with his first appointment in 1964 as minister of Information and Postal Services.??He also served as Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.