George Maponga-Masvingo Bureau
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday capped 3 496 graduates at Great Zimbabwe University’s (GZU) 20th graduation ceremony, where he also broke ground and unveiled a commemorative plaque at the site of the institution’s new permanent campus near the Masvingo-Mutare highway.
The groundbreaking marks the beginning of GZU’s planned relocation next year from its current premises within Masvingo Teachers’ College. Initial construction will focus on an administration block.
Of the total graduates capped by President Mnangagwa, who is the university’s Chancellor, 2 461 were undergraduates and 1 035 were postgraduates.
Women accounted for 63 percent of the cohort, with men making up the remaining 37 percent.
The ceremony included 71 distinctions, 308 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates, eight doctoral degrees, and three Master of Philosophy degrees.
Great Zimbabwe University Chancellor, President Mnangagwa, breaks ground at the site of the institution’s permanent campus on the sidelines of its 20th graduation ceremony in Masvingo yesterday. Witnessing are Vice Chancellor Professor Rungano Zvobgo (second from right) and Acting Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere (second left). — Pictures: Believe Nyakudjara.
In his address, GZU Vice-Chancellor Professor Rungano Zvobgo led the congregation in a minute of silence for Tatenda Ngandu and Maxwell Katsvara, who died in a road accident along the Harare-Masvingo highway on Thursday while travelling to the ceremony. A degree was also posthumously awarded to Simbarashe Chimuchenga.
Prof Zvobgo noted that the ceremony, originally scheduled for 7 October, was postponed after a destructive hailstorm damaged structures at the Masvingo venue.
Reflecting the university’s expanding international reach, 187 of the graduates were international students from Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.
The ceremony also marked the graduation of the inaugural cohorts in the Bachelor of Science in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology, Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Philosophy in Physiology, and Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology programmes.
Prof Zvobgo described the groundbreaking for the new campus as a “moment of homecoming”, stating that the architectural master plan—developed in collaboration with the National University of Science and Technology—draws inspiration from the engineering ingenuity of the nearby Great Zimbabwe Monument.
President Mnangagwa and Acting Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere (right) at the graduation ceremony at Great Zimbabwe University.
“While we say ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’, we must also say ‘University inovakwa nevene vayo’,” Prof Zvobgo said.
“Our new campus is, therefore, a declaration of confidence in Zimbabwe’s future.”
Held under the theme, “Driving Rural Industrialisation Through Research and Innovation”, the graduation aligned with the national Education 5.0 framework and Vision 2030. Prof Zvobgo highlighted GZU’s Innovation Centre of Excellence in Dryland Agriculture in Chivi as a prime example of research translating into practical economic benefits.
The centre recently commissioned its traditional grain milling plant, Guyo Rokwa Chivi, having procured nearly 600 tonnes of traditional grains from smallholder farmers across nine districts in 2026.
This initiative won first prize in the university and rural industrialisation category at the 21st RUFORUM Annual General Meeting in Gaborone, Botswana.
Graduates anxiously await their crowning moment at the colourful event.
GZU is also expanding its medical research. The university’s first doctoral graduate in Pharmacology, Cephas Mawere, conducted scientific research into herbal medicines used during the Covid-19 pandemic, while fellow graduate Ian Mutasa researched the blood-pressure-lowering effects of traditional herbal extracts.
The university has incubated 16 innovations this year, including organic livestock feeds, cyber-risk platforms, Quelea sausages, and traditional multigrain crackers.
President Mnangagwa was accompanied by the Acting Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Jenfan Muswere, and the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ezra Chadzamira.
