Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]
WITH his vast experience and expertise in the medical teaching field, after teaching medicine at three universities in a career spanning more than 38 years, the late Professor Bubuya Masola played a critical role in the revival efforts of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Ekusileni Hospital.
The National University of Science and Technology (Nust) is spearheading the transformation of Ekusileni Hospital into a specialist maternity and paediatric facility under a strategic partnership aimed at bridging the gap in terms of access to quality healthcare.
The 200-bed facility will no longer remain idle, as the first consignment of specialised equipment is expected in the country by end of this month, paving the way for its full-time operationalisation before the year’s end.
The late Prof Masola was a focal point by Nust in reviving the maternity facility that will offer specialist services in gynaecology, neonatology, and pediatrics, among others, Nust Vice Chancellor Professor Mqhele Dlodlo said yesterday.
The facility will also be developed into a quinary hospital for the purpose of teaching medical students and conducting research.
Prof Masola died at his flat last Wednesday at the age of 69. He was buried yesterday at the Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo. Prof Dlodlo was speaking at the memorial service of the late academic at Amphitheatre where hundreds of mourners including the members of the academic fraternity, friends and family gathered to pay their last respects.
“Nust is poorer without Prof Masola. He leaves at a time the university is in the process of carrying out a major national project of transforming the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Ekusileni Hospital into a specialist hospital,” said Prof Dlodlo.
“He was one of the medical professors that the university had identified to train specialists medical practitioners.
“Prof Masola was among the rare breeds of professors. The value of an academic professor of the calibre of Prof Masola lies in their multifaceted contributions to the academic ecosystem, encompassing teaching, research and service to the community.
“He played a crucial role in shaping students’ intellectual and professional development while also advancing knowledge within the medical field, locally and abroad.”
Prof Dlodlo said the academia had lost a distinguished professor, academic and researcher.
“So valuable was his contribution to the growth of the Faculty of Medicine that Nust has been engaging him on post-retirement annual contracts since 2021.
“Losing an academic professor like Prof Masola is painful for the entire academic community, as it disrupts knowledge transfer and skills sharing.
“The departure of Prof Masola triggers feelings of sadness, loss and even anxiety, particularly for students and upcoming researchers, who relied heavily on his guidance and support,” he said.
The late academic’s younger sister Ms Tendani Masola, described him as a loving brother.
“My brother was 12 years older than me, so I wouldn’t say we played together while growing yet I remember him as a loving brother, who used to send me gifts from the United Kingdom when I was at Usher High School,” said Ms Masola.
She recounted one incident when the late Prof Masola turned into the voice of reason when her father refused that she takes a temporary teaching post.
“I had just finished my A-levels and wanted to take a post as a temporary teacher. He was against the idea because he felt I was too young. My brother intervened and convinced by father to let me join the teaching field so that I could grow as a young lady and learn by myself to make the right choice in life,” she said.
Mr Bulukani Scotch Masola, the younger brother to the late Prof Masola, said he was not surprised the academic ended up teaching medicine as he was always inquisitive about animals from a young age.
“Growing up, I remember my brother would dissect frogs just to see what was inside their small bellies and later in life I wasn’t surprised that he took up teaching medicine as a profession.
“He will always be remembered as a loving brother, who had our backs all the time, even in the most difficult times,” said Mr Masola.
Prof Masola joined Nust in 2018 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine.
Before joining the university, Prof Masola worked as a Clinical Biochemist at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare from January 1985 to March 1986. He then moved to the University of Zimbabwe where he worked as a lecturer from April 1986 to December 2005.
From 2006 to 2015 Prof Masola worked as a senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.
From January 2016 to January 2018, he was engaged as Honorary Senior Research Associate at the University of KwaZulu Natal before joining Nust in 2018
Prof Masola retired from the university service on December 31, 2020, and since the beginning of 2021, he has been on annual post-retirement contracts until the time of his death.
