Government honours late arts ambassador Eric Moyo

THE Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Recreation, Arts, and Culture, Nicholas Moyo and some members of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe yesterday visited the Moyo family to console the family following the death of Eric Moyo.

Eric who died last week, was a renowned arts ambassador who represented Zimbabwe with pride and passion, even though he was based in South Africa.

Moyo expressed his sadness and admiration for Eric, who he said was a self-made ambassador who showed his love for his country. He said Eric was worthy of the honour that he was given even though he was only 41-years-old.

“We are happy as the Government to say to you as his parents Eric was worthy of the honour that he has been given. Many times honour is given to people who have served for many years, people who are older and have a history, you can’t tell history of a 41-year-old person, there’s not much to narrate but there was so much in the life of Eric that we want to celebrate.

“The Presidium directed that Eric be accorded a State assisted funeral and we came here just to express the Government’s sincere condolences. We, at times are late to give people their flowers while they are alive but we want to say as Government in the midst of grief, have comfort that there are many people supporting you. We pray that God be the one who reaches you where none of us can. We say to Eric may his soul rest in peace,” he said.

Moyo also quoted a Bible passage from Deuteronomy 29, saying that all things are a secret and that God made this a secret.

“I pray that we have an understanding that even though God hid this from us, but may we have that understanding that our son played his role. We may not understand why but maybe God knew that it was his time,” he said.

MaNxumalo, the sister of Eric’s mother and the family spokesperson, thanked the Government for the honour and said it made them realise that Eric was not just their son but a national hero. She said Eric was not an ordinary man because some used to call him King and Boss.

“We are very grateful for the honour extended to our late son. It just made us realise that he was just not our son, he was known by many people. Thank you for sharing his life with us. We are really at loss and it’s painful. We really appreciate the Government for this honour and it comes as a comfort to us and an assurance that our son wasn’t just living a life for himself but he was representing the country and his nation with pride,” she said.