BZS honours Zim historian

THE Britain Zimbabwe Society (BZS) has honoured renowned Bulawayo historian, poet and cultural custodian, Pathisa Nyathi, with a lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution to local education and culture preservation.

Nyathi was honoured during Research Day commemorations held virtually on Saturday.

BZS president Knox Chitiyo said: “This year we launched the BZS Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises long-standing excellence in a particular field.

“We are delighted that the inaugural winner of the BZS Lifetime Achievement Award is Pathisa Nyathi.

“He has achieved iconic status as a writer, historian, arts promoter and practitioner, and as a Zimbabwean cultural authority and custodian.”

“Nyati’s literature mainly focuses on Ndebele and wider Zimbabwean tradition, social economy, past, present and future.

“He has earned himself immense fame in Zimbabwe, southern Africa and beyond,” Chitiyo said.

Nyathi described the honour as a pleasant surprise which came hard on the heels of his recent naming as one of the top 40 legends by the National Arts Merit Awards.

“Little did I realise that there were people in BZS, who were keenly following my work in the same sector.

“As this award is being given for the first time, being its inaugural recipient means a lot to me, that I have been bestowed with a rare and cherished accolade that is both unique and exceptional,” Nyathi said.

He said he was working on a book to be titled “Pathisa Nyathi@70”, which is set to be launched in September this year.

Founded in 1981 as a community-to-community organisation between Zimbabwe and the UK, BZS has kept up with the changing times while retaining community ethos.

On June12, the BZS held a free online event to celebrate its 40th anniversary, which featured incountry and diaspora academics, as well as performances from Zimbabwe-based and diaspora award-winning musicians, writers, artists and others.