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Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday mourned the death of Zanu-PF Politburo member and former Cabinet Minister Cde Sikhanyiso Ndlovu (pictured top), describing him as one of the accomplished educationists who reshaped the country’s curriculum to suit the new ethos and to meet the huge post-war demand for education.
In a statement, President Mugabe said he was saddened by Cde Ndlovu’s death. “I learnt with a deep sense of sorrow of the death yesterday of Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu after a short illness,” he said.
“A leading nationalist and ‘intern’ of the notorious Gonakudzingwa Open Prison, Dr Ndlovu stands out as a committed fighter for freedom whose life marks key points and transitions in our struggle for independence. Alongside veteran nationalists who included the late Vice President, Dr Joshua Nkomo, he faced numerous arrests, detentions, restrictions and many other forms of direct pressure from settlers.
“He never gave up or compromised on his goal of fighting for a free Zimbabwe. Indeed, when our politics matured from petitions through protests, to eventually assume the final and decisive form of armed struggle, Dr Ndlovu joined many other comrades in Zambia, taking charge of educating children and young cadres in exile. Education was his forte.”
President Mugabe said Cde Ndlovu served as a Cabinet Minister in various portfolios especially those to do with education.
“At Independence, Dr Ndlovu was part of a core team of educationalists who reshaped our curriculum to suit the new ethos, and to meet the huge post war demand for education,” he said.
“His ZDECO colleges played a pivotal role in dispensing education to adults whose opportunities for normal schooling had been interrupted by the war.
“He served as a minister of Government in a number of ministries, principally those of education and information where he acquitted himself admirably. In the party, he shaped our thinking on education, ensuring this key gain of post-independence continued to be consolidated.
“His public spiritedness and clarity of thought shall be missed in both the party and in larger society.
“On behalf of the party, Zanu-PF, government, my family and my own behalf, I wish to express by deepest sympathies to the Ndlovu family, especially Amai Ndlovu and the children, on their saddest loss. May they find comfort in the late departed’s outstanding accomplishments and record as a fearless fighter for freedom. Today the nation he helped to liberate heartily reveres him.”
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