UZ lecturer Chivaura dies Dr Vimbai Gukwe Chivaura
Dr Vimbai Gukwe Chivaura

Dr Vimbai Gukwe Chivaura

Lovemore Mataire Harare Bureau
PROMINENT academic and University of Zimbabwe senior lecturer in the English Department,Vimbai Gukwe Chivaura, has died. He was 64. The Chairperson of the UZ English Department, Ruby Magosvongwe, who is also a family friend, said Chivaura died early yesterday morning at the Avenues Clinic in Harare where he had been diagnosed with liver cancer.

“It’s with sadness that we learnt of Chivaura’s death early morning. It’s a very sad loss to us,” said Magosvongwe. Chivaura is survived by his wife Sophia and four children. Mourners are gathered at number 48 Blackburn Close, Emerald Hill in Harare.

“I was his student; he was a vivacious lecturer who had his own unconventional approach to teaching. His approach was unique and true to life as he did not focus on theory but emphasised application,” Magosvongwe said. Chivaura’s younger brother Vengai said he was likely to be buried at his rural home in Mhondoro on Thursday.

Chivaura joined the Faculty of Arts as a research fellow in 1983 and was formally appointed lecturer in the Department of English in 1986. His appointment together with other African lecturers like Thorel Tsomondo, Rino Zhuwarara, Ranga Zinyemba, Musaemura Zimumya, Ngugi wa Thiongo and Kimani Gecau saw the radical transformation of the Department of English into what it has become today.

They assisted the Faculty of Arts to create and establish the Department of Theatre Arts which Chivaura chaired between 1994 and 1999. He mentored numerous students and academics during his tenure.

As part of community service, Chivaura was also a part-time lecturer at the Zimbabwe Staff College, National Defence College, Zimbabwe Film and Television School for Southern Africa, Trust Academy, Harare Polytechnic, Speciss College and the University of Zimbabwe Evening School.

An Afrocentricist, Chivaura was passionate about African Pride or Zvavanhu as evidenced by his co-hosting of the programmes with Professor Sheunesu Mpepereki, Tafataona Mahoso, and Prof Claude Mararike. Chivaura published the Human Factor Development Book series together with Prof Mararike.

Colleagues hailed him as a man endowed with unmistaken comradeship, artistic creativity, clarity of vision as well as enriching experience that he shared with colleagues and students. He was due for retirement from the University of Zimbabwe in mid-December this year.

Zimbabwe Film and Television School for Southern Africa director Zhuwarara, who was a close friend of Chivaura, said the academic world and Zimbabwe had lost a national voice in relation to nation-building.

“Chivaura played a key role in the transformation of the department of English so that it became more African centred as opposed to the colonial syllabus it used to host. He was also a key player in the production of broadcasting content as he was deeply involved in hosting certain programmes as Nhaka Yedu and Zvavanhu. Such programmes helped in raising awareness of issues that mattered to the country,” Zhuwarara said.

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