Prof Ndlovu body airlifted for Harare burial The late national hero Prof Callistus Ndlovu’s widow Angeline and family pay their last respects at a memorial service held in Bulawayo yesterday. — Picture by Fortune Muzarabani

Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
THE body of the late national hero and former Cabinet Minister, Professor Callistus Dingiswayo Ndlovu, yesterday arrived in Harare from Bulawayo ahead of burial at the National Heroes’ Acre today.

Prof Ndlovu (83) who was also Zanu-PF’s Bulawayo provincial chairman and Central Committee member, collapsed and died on Wednesday last week in South Africa where he was being treated for pancreatic cancer.

A funeral service was held at the Large City Hall in Bulawayo, where party members, service chiefs, family, friends and Bulawayo residents gathered to pay their last respects to the national hero.

Zanu-PF secretary for administration Dr Obert Mpofu described Prof Ndlovu as an educated, disciplined family man who had an understanding of what true liberation was.

“We’re gathered here in honour of our stalwart, gallant, educated, disciplined hero and a family man.

This was our comrade who had a vision of understanding of what true liberation meant. I say so because as early as 1970, he was already in the United States of America and learnt the true meaning of democracy.

“He used this grounding as a political tool to understand what Zimbabwe yearned for, which is socio-economic development,” said Dr Mpofu.

He said Prof Ndlovu became the mantle for discipline and consistent leadership for Bulawayo province.

“Prof Ndlovu was a par excellence in leadership and Bulawayo province could not have maintained its stability to this point without his leadership. He stood firm during the onslaught of the MDC formation.

Many at that time who were in the fold of Zanu-PF deserted the party but he stood steadfast in the midst of this opposition.

“I recall on that fateful day at White City Stadium when things could have changed the course of the country but his leadership in the province maintained calmness and focus,” said Dr Mpofu.

Zanu-PF national deputy political commissar Cde Omega Hungwe described Prof Ndlovu as one of the most straight forward and truthful chairpersons in the country.

“Prof Ndlovu had no time to sugar coat anything that he felt was wrong. He was the most truthful chairperson in the country. He would tell the national leadership the truth about what was happening in his province no matter how bad it was.

“He would not even hesitate to ask for help when there were problems in his province. He has left a legacy of togetherness,” said Cde Hungwe.

The party’s national spokesperson Cde Simon Khaya Moyo said Prof Ndlovu was a unifier who valued peace and development.

“Prof Ndlovu wanted to work with everyone regardless of where they came from. Let us remain united and continue in the path that Prof Ndlovu walked on during his lifetime.

“We thank him for a life well lived and as we mourn together with his family, let us be peace loving people,” he said.

Historians, Pathisa Nyathi and Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu, who is also a retired journalist and war veteran, described Prof Ndlovu as a highly educated man who enlightened Zimbabweans on the importance of education.

His children and grandchildren said Prof Ndlovu was a good leader who valued his culture and loved his language even when he lived in New York. They thanked the Government for supporting their family during their loss.

The service was also attended by Bulawayo provincial minister Cde Judith Ncube, Central Committee member Cde Tshinga Dube, deputy secretary for women affairs and Politburo member Cde Angeline Masuku, Members of Parliament, war veterans and members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Prof Ndlovu was born on February 9, 1936 in Plumtree, where he did his primary and secondary education. He joined the National Democratic Party in 1960. He subsequently trained as a teacher, enrolling for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Pius XII University College in Lesotho where he became involved with Zapu in 1963 as chairman of the party’s residents and students branches.

Prof Ndlovu also studied at the University of South Africa, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1965 majoring in History, Economics and Political Science. Back in Zimbabwe, he taught at Empandeni High School, Mafakela Government School and Mpopoma High School.

While teaching at Mpopoma in 1966, he was detained by the Rhodesian regime which felt that his influence among African teachers was not good for the regime which accused him of promoting the objectives of Zapu guerrillas.

Prof Ndlovu was released after 90 days and left the country in 1967 for New York University where he did his Masters and PhD studies.

During the course of his studies at New York University, Prof Ndlovu became very much involved with Zapu, and became the party’s chairman in North America from 1967 to 1971.

After independence, Prof Ndlovu was a Central Committee member from 1980 to 1983 and the Bulawayo provincial chairman of the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu) from 1984 to 1987.

He was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1985 and a Member of the Senate from 1985 to 1990.

At the same time he was an MP and Senator, he was appointed the Minister of Construction between 1982 and 1983 before he was appointed the Minister of Mines from 1983 to 1984.

Between 1984 and 1989, he was the Minister of Industry and Commerce. At the time of his death, Prof Ndlovu was a member of the Zanu-PF Central Committee and Bulawayo provincial chairman.

He is survived by wife Angeline, several children and grandchildren.

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