The ManicaPost
Chipo Katsidzira Post Correspondent
ZIMBABWE’S first black Clerk of Parliament and founding Vice-Chancellor of Africa University, Professor John Kurewa, was buried on Tuesday in Mutare.
Prof Kurewa died on February 15 after battling prostate cancer.
He was 87.
A memorial service was held in his honour at Hartzell High School on Tuesday, with ex-minister Cde Didymus Mutasa, who served as the Speaker of Parliament between 1980 and 1990, saying:
“He was a very nice person to work with. I worked with him quite a lot. He was not only my workmate, but he was also a friend and a brother. He was the first black African who qualified to tell whites in Parliament what to do or what must be done”.
Cde Mutasa first met Prof Kurewa in Goromonzi in 1952.
“Prof Kurewa was my good friend and I am the last person he requested to see before he died,” he said.
His daughter, Vimbai, described him as a man who was committed to the work of God.
“He was a gentleman who feared God and I have never seen him angry.
“He worked quite hard to ensure Africa University (AU) progresses. AU has been the centre of his focus, and I am sure that he is happy to die after fulfilling his dream,” she said.
United Methodist Church (UMC) Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa said Prof Kurewa made the word of God understandable.
“He explains the word of God in an African perspective which made it understandable to the Africans. He was a great storyteller and good at educating people through stories,” said Bishop Nhiwatiwa.
AU Vice-Chancellor Professor Munashe Furusa said they were celebrating the life of a great man who taught blacks to cherish their culture.
“He taught people to love and always be humble; he is also the one who laid a solid foundation for AU to become what it is now. He also left us a legacy of faith in God,” he said.
As AU’s founding Vice-Chancellor, Prof Kurewa played an important role in getting the institution launched in 1992.
