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collapsed and died at a Masvingo hotel last Thursday while serving his beloved country.
This marked the end of a man who dedicated his entire life to defending Zimbabwe. He was an astute historian who defended the rights and interests of Africans in modern-day Zimbabwe. His background as a revered historian focusing on African history in general, but with specialty on pre-colonial Zimbabwe, gave the man from Masvingo a perfect springboard for his work as a renowned diplomat and educationist.
As a historian, he published several books and his understanding and appreciation of the history of pre-colonial Zimbabwe helped shape his political and diplomatic character.
Among his famous writings is the award-winning book, A Political History of Munhumutapa, and another, Christian Education at the Mutapa Court, which saw him visiting the Chapel of Santa Barbara of Mercy in Goa (India). In India, there is a lot of African archival material still to be retrieved.
Mourning the demise of a towering figure in diplomacy and education, President Mugabe said the country had lost “an accomplished historian, an educationist, a diplomat and consummate politician” who helped establish the foreign affairs office for the new Government at independence.
“In his case, he had to build a whole Ministry of Foreign Affairs from scratch, given that Rhodesians never ran such an open, professional structure.
“Before long, Dr Mudenge would be sent on various sensitive missions abroad, culminating in his deployment to the United Nations in New York as our Permanent Representative to that world body,” President Mugabe said of the late Masvingo North Member of Parliament.
Mudenge the educationist
After completing his studies in 1972, the politically minded Dr Mudenge devoted his energies towards upgrading the welfare of Africa.
This saw him have a successful stint at the Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone and then National University of Lesotho, where he was both the Dean of History and Director of Strategic Planning.
At independence he was to trek back home together with other technocrats to take office as the Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Despite starting in the foreign office, his ever-towering stature as an academic continued to shine and he was to be appointed Minister of Higher Education in 1992, a position he held until 1995.
Although he was to be taken again to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as minister, Dr Mudenge was again appointed the Minister for Higher and Tertiary Education. Those who interacted with the late Stan in the educational sector described him as an academic par excellence whose institutional memory helped to put the higher and tertiary education sector where it is right now.
They said Dr Mudenge had a unique appreciation of the country’s past that could be seen in the manner he interacted with his students, workmates and fellow academics. His tenure as the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education saw massive improvements in the quality of education despite the mounting problems caused by the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
He championed the fight to bring tertiary education to the people and during his first tenure as the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Mudenge was largely responsible for the setting of the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo that specialises in sciences and commerce. He guided the development of the centre for distance education at the University of Zimbabwe that was later transformed into the Zimbabwe Open University as well as the setting up of the Bindura University of Education.
Dr Mudenge is also accredited with stirring the debate that led to the upgrading of the Harare Institute of Technology to a university focusing on technology leading to the promulgation of the Harare Institute of Technology Act 2006. He was also actively involved in the establishment of Lupane State University.
A man who believed in the development of quality academics, Dr Mudenge was instrumental in the establishment of the Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education to control the quality of the country’s tertiary education system. Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said Mudenge’s death is a huge loss to the country and the Government, describing him as a rare academic and politician.
“Dr Mudenge belonged to a unique breed of politicians in that he was also a distinguished academic,” he said.
“His death is a great loss to Zimbabwe; he was a great historian and did great public servant work during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs,” he said.
Women’s University in Africa Vice-Chancellor Dr Hope Sadza said he carried a wealth of knowledge and experience that will surely be missed.
“He was able to promote quality and equity in the country’s higher education. He carried a wealth of knowledge that will surely be missed within the academic circles,” she said.
Dr Ibbo Mandaza said Dr Mudenge the academic had managed to dispel the notion of the colonial white that said Zimbabwe’s economic history started with the “coming of the European”.
Dr Mudenge the diplomat
At independence Dr Mudenge was among the founding crop of bureaucrats who took over the running of Government ministries as Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
He and others worked hard to build the office from scratch and ended up being appointed Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 1985 and worked there until 1990. Those who worked with him in the Foreign Service described Dr Mudenge as an astute diplomat who worked tirelessly to introduce Zimbabwe to the world at independence.
Ambassador Amos Midzi, who worked under Dr Mudenge, said he was a different diplomat and was not hesitant to defend principle.
“This is a great loss to the party, the country and the region. Dr Mudenge was passionate and focused on the liberation of the South Africa and Namibia and refused to be deterred by Western detractors,” said Ambassador Midzi.
Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa said Dr Mudenge was instrumental in the development of the “Look East” policy that has seen Zimbabwe having 50-50 deals with most Asian countries, among them China.
Cde Mudenge the politician
Dr Mudenge was a nationalist whose political activism dates back to his days as a student at the then University of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (University of Zimbabwe) and was expelled after demonstrating against Smith’s declaration of independence in 1965.
This led to his detention at Gonakudzingwa between 1966 and 1967. Despite leaving the country to pursue his studies in London, Dr Mudenge did remain committed to the liberation struggle hence becoming the Student Union Secretary for Zanu in the United Kingdom in 1969.
After his diplomatic service, Dr Mudenge proved to be a real politician rising through the ranks in the party to become the Zanu-PF deputy secretary for commissariat and culture for Masvingo province before being elected into the party’s Central Committee in 1991.
Cde Mudenge’s clear understanding of the people’s political history and diplomatic service saw him being appointed Foreign Affairs Minister in 1995.
It was during his tenure as Foreign Affairs Minister that the land reform programme reached its peak and had to bear the direct wrath of the West.
An undeterred Dr Mudenge remained steadfast in defence of Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and the need to expeditiously give the people of Zimbabwe land that had been forcibly grabbed from their forefathers.
Even with the threat of sanctions hanging above his beloved Zimbabwe, Cde Mudenge chose to side with his people than take the so-called Western reasonableness which meant betraying the people.
Fellow politicians said the death of Dr Mudenge was a loss to the party and Zimbabwe’s quest of total freedom. They said his clarity of thought and vision had seen him being appointed secretary for foreign affairs in the Zanu-PF party, a position he held till his death.
Politburo member Cde Dzikamai Mavhaire described Dr Mudenge’s death as a loss to Masvingo province because he was a key strategist and a pillar of strength.
“We have lost an iconic figure, a unifier and, above all, a repository of wisdom. The party drew a lot from his vast wealth of experience as a historian, educationist and foreign affairs expert,” he said.
Another Zanu-PF Politburo member and former Masvingo governor, Cde Josaya Hungwe, said Cde Mudenge would remain a towering figure in the province in social, political and economic affairs.
“His fingerprints are everywhere, especially in the devolution of university education to provinces so that the poor in rural areas can also access university education,” he said.
Masvingo Governor and Resident Minister Cde Titus Maluleke said: “The death of Cde Mudenge is a huge loss and the void he leaves behind will be difficult to fill.
“We used to rely on him for advice on key issues and without his advice the people of Masvingo are more poorer and vulnerable,” he said.
Zororai murugare VaZimuto.
May your soul rest in peace.
Online Reporter