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- Sikhanyiso Duke Ndlovu dies
- Stroke claims former minister
Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
ZANU-PF Politburo member and former Cabinet Minister Cde Sikhanyiso Duke Ndlovu, who suffered a stroke last week, has died. He was 78. Cde Ndlovu died at Bulawayo’s Mater Dei Hospital where he had been admitted in the Intensive Care Unit since Sunday last week after suffering an asthma attack the previous day, before he later stroked.
His brother and family spokesperson Simangaliso Ndlovu said the veteran educationist and liberation war stalwart died at about 3AM yesterday.
Cde Ndlovu’s wife, Rose, said she was devastated by her husband’s death as he held an important role in the family.
“The loss of a husband and a father is the hardest for any family to come to terms with,” she said.
She said her husband died after they just celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary.
“We just celebrated our 54th year of marriage on September 2,” she added.
Yesterday, Zanu-PF Bulawayo acting provincial chairperson Cde Dennis Ndlovu led party members to the former minister’s house in Sunninghill suburb to convey their condolences.
Among them were politburo members Cdes Joshua Malinga and Absolom Sikhosana and other senior provincial leaders.
The acting provincial chairperson said they had sent a request to the Zanu-PF headquarters in Harare for Cde Ndlovu to be conferred with national hero status.
“We’ve sent his curriculum vitae to the President and Politburo so that he can be considered as a national hero. We don’t doubt that he is a hero. His work before and after independence qualifies him to a very high status,” said Cde Ndlovu.
Born on May, 4, 1937, Cde Ndlovu started active politics in 1957 after he joined the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League.
He also worked as a journalist for the Bantu Mirror, a publication that focused on African issues.
In 1959, Cde Ndlovu went to South Africa where he got his first taste of politics when he became a member of the African National Congress before returning to Zimbabwe to serve as Zapu’s chairman for Mpopoma district in Bulawayo in 1962.
During that time, Cde Ndlovu led Mgandane, a group of trained guerrillas responsible for several sabotage operations in the area.
After the banning of Zapu in 1963, he became a member of the People’s Caretaker Council, which led to his arrest by the white minority Rhodesian government in 1964.
He was detained at Gonakudzingwa prison up to 1965 together with the late Vice Presidents Joshua Nkomo and Joseph Msika, among other liberation icons.
After his release from prison in 1965, he went to Zambia before moving to the United States where he served as Zapu’s chairman in that country.
In the same year, he advocated for the release of the late VP Nkomo and other leaders at the United Nations.
His role as an educationist dates back to 1977 when he served as the director of Zapu schools in Zambia at Victory, JZ and Solwezi camps.
In 1978, he became a member of the Revolutionary Council in Zambia.
Cde Ndlovu was part of the security team for late VP Nkomo working together with Albert Nxele on presidential security.
Cde Ndlovu was part of a crew that moved the late Father Zimbabwe from his house in Zambia before its bombing.
At independence, he served as Zapu’s deputy executive secretary during the country’s first elections.
He was also PF-Zapu Central Committee member from 1980 to 1987.
After the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987, Cde Ndlovu became a member of the Zanu-PF Consultative Assembly from 1988 to September 1994.
He also served as Zanu-PF deputy national commissar between 2000 and 2005.
He was a trustee for several institutions including the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo National Foundation, 21st February Movement and Mpopoma Development Trust.
He also held several government positions including being Minister of Information and Publicity in 2007 and 2008.
From 1995 to 2000, he was the Deputy Minister of Higher Education.
Cde Ndlovu was a Politburo member until his death.
The likeable former MP for Mpopoma was the chairperson of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Schools Welfare Trust. He once served as Zanu-PF national secretary for education in the Politburo.
He was also the patron of Bongani Orphanage in Njube suburb, Bulawayo.
He was also recognised for excellence in distance education. At one time, he was the president of the African Association for Distance Education.
He published over 30 monographs, books and delivered keynote addresses to the Commonwealth of Learning in Singapore and UNESCO.
A distinguished academic and educationist, Cde Ndlovu was the founder of the Zimbabwe Distance Education College (ZEDCO).
He held a Diploma in Social Work (1961), Diploma in Development Administration, Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (1968), Masters in Public Administration (1969) and Doctorate in Education with the Syracuse of New York (USA) (1976).
He is survived by his wife, three children – a son and two daughters – and seven grandchildren.
Mourners are gathered at 1 Leighton Road in Sunninghill, Bulawayo.
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