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Patrick Chitumba, [email protected] 

THE late national hero and Midlands State University (MSU) founding Vice Chancellor, Professor Ngwabi Bhebe was yesterday given an emotional send-off during two funeral services in Gweru and at his farm in Chiwundura.

Speakers described him as one of the key pillars of Zimbabwe’s vaunted higher education system. 

Prof Bhebe, who died last week on Friday aged 81, was declared a national hero in recognition of his outstanding role as a distinguished academic, a great teacher, and a committed nationalist.

 Following his astute leadership as the founding Vice-Chancellor, MSU is now at the forefront of transforming higher education into a catalyst for national development, by generating durable solutions in line with Vision 2030.

 Amid the tears, there was much celebration of the academic’s life.

 The first service was held at Lutheran Church in Gweru with the Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Owen Ncube leading the proceedings.

 Prof Bhebe’s daughter, Mrs Eve Madziva said she felt highly honoured to take to the podium to pay her last respects to her father.

“I would like to thank the Lutheran Church members for standing by our father until now when we are preparing to lay him to rest. From the first day I arrived to mourn my father, speaker after speaker described our father as a good man,” she said.

“I am told that a good man leaves behind an inheritance for his children and I have an inheritance from my father. The inheritance he left for us is his great conviction in academics and nothing can take that away.”

Mrs Madziva said the academia has been enriched and empowered through publications written by Prof Bhebe.

“He was a scholar and his name is on many books meaning generations to come will benefit from his work. This inheritance can’t be damaged by anything and will be there forever,” she said.

 Gweru Central Congregation (Lutheran church) chairperson, Mr Tinevimbo Gumbo said Prof Bhebe was a gift sent from heaven to open the minds of the people in all spheres of the economy.

 “We thank God for the gift of Prof Bhebe. I am reminded of the book of John 14 vs 3, which reads, ‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also,’” he said.

“We had a great time of worshipping the Lord before he was called home. This verse gives us hope that we will continue with the good works he left behind.”

Mr Gumbo said Prof Bhebe the church lost a gallant son of the Cross. Mr Elkana Shoko who worked with Prof Bhebe at MSU also described the late national hero as a great leader.

“I worked with him at MSU and I feel highly honoured because I was working close to him and he was an advisor to many,” he said.

After the Gweru service, there was another one at his farm at Block 14 Umsungwe in Chiwundura.

The academic’s funeral brought life to the usually sleepy Umsungwe area with mourners pouring in on foot, in buses, and in their cars to pay their last respects to him.

 His brother, Dr Philip Bhebe commended the Government for honouring his sibling with a national hero status.

“First I want to thank the Government for this honour bestowed on my brother and our family because my brother was an academic and a politician in his own right. One scholar called Plato said, ‘One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors,’” he said.

“Prof Bhebe didn’t want to be led by inferiors and that is why he was in politics and participated in it.”

Dr Bhebe described his brother as a peaceful person who shunned violence.

Prof Bhebe was the founding Vice Chancellor of MSU at its inception in 2009 with only 400 students. Today, the university has grown to become one of the biggest in Zimbabwe in terms of enrolment, with over 20 000 students at several campuses across the country.

Born in Mberengwa on August 15, 1942, Prof Bhebe was a distinguished scholar who obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Geography from the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in 1967.  He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Imperial History from the University of London in 1972.

A historian par excellence, Prof Bhebe’s academic employment dates back to 1974 when he lectured in history at Faurah Bay College in Sierra Leone, and later at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS) as well as at the University of Zimbabwe from 1982. 

He served as a Professor of History at the University of Zimbabwe from 1988 to 1999, and also as an external examiner at the universities of Botswana, Malawi and Zambia. Prof Bhebe was a researcher who published several books as well as articles in internationally refereed journals. 

In this area, he received numerous academic honours and awards. Prof Bhebe also presented papers at international conferences.

With regards to administrative experiences, Prof Bhebe was a seasoned university administrator who went through the mill, serving as chairperson of the University of Zimbabwe’s History Department from 1989 to 1992, as well as of the Research Board from 1984 to 1991. 

He also served as Senior Proctor and ultimately Pro Vice Chancellor of the same university from 1992 to 1995. 

In 1999, Prof Bhebe was appointed the first Vice Chancellor of MSU, an institution, which has risen to dizzy heights under his ingenious leadership. 

He made a sterling contribution to the development of higher education both nationally and internationally and also had a remarkable track record in community service. Today there will be a memorial service in his honour at MSU’s main campus in Gweru.