Historian Pathisa Nyathi dies

Bulawayo Bureau

RENOWNED historian, cultural activist and educationist Mr Pathisa Nyathi  (pictured) has died.

He was 73.

Mr Nyathi passed away at a local private hospital after a long battle with diabetes.

His son Mr Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi confirmed the passing away of his father.

“We are just processing the news now as a family, but our initial reaction is that of sadness.  However, we have to acknowledge that he had not been well for a while and there is some relief that he is resting because he was in pain for a long time,” he said.

“As the surviving family members, we are in grief because he was a figure that occupied a very pivotal role in our lives and we will dearly miss him.”

Several Zimbabweans took to social media to mourn the prominent historian, whom they described as instrumental in ensuring the recording of the nation’s history.

Mr Thabani Mpofu, former Sunday News deputy editor — who is now the director of communication and marketing at the National University of Science and Technology, and was instrumental in convincing Mr Nyathi to continue penning his weekly column “Cultural Heritage” — said:  “Pathisa Nyathi has gone and it’s so sad; that’s a huge loss not for the people of Kezi, not for this region but for the whole country. He was a historian par excellence. Some people might not have respected him maybe because academically he didn’t go as far as having a doctorate or professorship, but for me, he was a professor.”

Fellow historian Mr Thomas Sibanda (Mzala Tom) added:  “He has written biographies, historical, cultural and political books. For a broad-based cross-cultural history of all of Zimbabwe’s diverse ethnic groups, l highly recommend his award-winning books.”

Mr Nyathi was born in Kezi, where he did his primary education before moving to Mashonaland Central for secondary education at Mazowe Secondary School.

He trained as a science teacher in 1970 and later did his first degree in Geography with the University of South Africa in 1983, before pursuing another degree in 1985.