Heavens open as Prof Makhurane is laid to rest

THE heavens opened up in Gungwe, Gwanda District in Matabeleland South and a heavy downpour capped a bittersweet morning which saw mourners that included senior Government officials, academics, family members and villagers simultaneously mourn and celebrate the life and achievements of the founding Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) and national hero, Professor Phinias Mogorosi Makhurane.

Speaker after speaker eulogised the late Prof Makhurane (79), as they trumpeted his role as one of the key pillars of Zimbabwe’s vaunted higher education system. His remarkable achievements had brought, for the first time in Zimbabwe’s history, the burial of a national hero with a background heavily leaned on academia, to the province of Matabeleland South following his declaration to that coveted status by the ruling Zanu-PF Politburo last Wednesday.

Prof Makhurane died on 1 December at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo after a long battle with diabetes and hypertension.

Yesterday, the academic titan’s funeral had brought life to the usually sleepy village of Gungwe, with many people on foot joining those in cars as they made the trek through the twisted and dusty paths that lead to Prof Makhurane’s homestead.

What began as a typically calm day in Gungwe was interrupted by a helicopter that brought some of the dignitaries that attended Prof Makhurane’s burial. The giant bird was an object of curiosity for many villagers, with some swarming the beast that sat silently only a few metres from the place where a national hero was about to be laid to rest. It was among such simple rural folk that Prof Makhurane found joy, his son, Mr Lesedi Makhurane, said, as he thanked the Government for the honour they had bestowed on the late distinguished academic.

“Thank you very much to the Government for honouring our father. We’re very much humbled and touched by what you’ve done for us. Our father was a simple man. He got doctorates and had travelled all over the world but at the end of the day he was just a simple man. If you look at the house he built here, it’s big and bold. But if you take a closer look you’ll realise that its a home that was meant to accommodate everybody. It wasn’t for just the four Makhurane siblings. It’s a home that belonged to everyone,” said Mr Makhurane

Prof Makhurane, his son said, was a true man of the people whose skills in conflict resolution would be sorely

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