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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
PROMINENT Bulawayo doctor, Dr Muriel Selma Fallala who died last week in a car accident has been declared a liberation heroine in recognition of her contributions in the country’s medical sector for nearly 40 years.

She was 69 years old.

Dr Fallala will be buried today at Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo.
The cemetery is reserved for luminaries of the city.

In her honour, Galen House will be temporarily closed from 8AM until 1PM today to allow staff members to attend her burial service.

The funeral service will be held at Amphitheatre in Bulawayo from 9AM.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube confirmed that Dr Fallala has been declared a liberation heroine.

“I contacted our administrator (Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration Dr Obert Mpofu) in Harare today and he confirmed that Dr Fallala has been conferred with a liberation heroine status,” said Minister Ncube.

She said the status was befitting considering her illustrious career.

“It’s good that as a country we recognise the role that was played by different people in the development of the country. Dr Fallala will be remembered for caring and nurturing a lot of people not just in Bulawayo but countrywide as she worked at Mpilo Central Hospital at some point before joining the private sector. Mpilo Central Hospital is a referral hospital and it attends to patients that come from Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North, so that alone shows she was a person who provided medical service to a lot of people regardless of where they came from,” she said.

“We honour people of her calibre wayengumuntu olobuntu and she was compassionate about everyone. As a province, we are humbled and grateful for the recognition that has been bestowed on her. As a province we want to express our gratitude to the Government and Zanu-PF members and ordinary citizens who saw it fit to lobby for her recognition.”

She said for Dr Fallala being a doctor was not just a profession but a calling.

“We want to express our appreciation to her family, her colleagues, nurses and all the support staff that made her enjoy her work. Indeed, she was one of those doctors who took her profession as a calling. She did not just take her job only as a business but it was a way of saving lives. We are grateful to her family, institutions that she worked, individuals she assisted,” she said.

Galen House administrator Ms Nothando Dube yesterday confirmed that the medical facility will be temporarily closed to allow staff members to attend her burial service.

“In honour of the late Dr Muriel Selma Fallala, Galen House will temporarily close on Wednesday 10th of November 2021 from 9AM-1PM. The procession will pass through Galen House at 8.30AM before proceeding to the Amphitheatre for the funeral service. This has been necessitated by the fact all staff members want to pay last respects to the doctor,” said Ms Dube.

Dr Fallala had a long career which started at Mpilo Central Hospital in 1981 before she was appointed an obstetrician and gynecologist at the same hospital in 1983 and served until 1989.

She then moved to the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council where she served as medical officer for the southern region from 1989 until 1992.

In 1992 she joined Galen House as a general practitioner and in 2014 she did further studies to become a specialist family practitioner.

She joined the National University of Science and Technology in 2018 and was part of several medical professional bodies including Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA), College of Primary Care Physicians of Zimbabwe, World Organisation of Family Doctors.

She was also a councillor at Gwanda State University. — @nqotshili