Chronicle Editor
Peter Matika, Senior Reporter
A MEMORIAL service for the late prominent Bulawayo gold buyer and hotelier Ms Memory Ngwenya is set to be held today at her home in Bulawayo’s Kumalo suburb.
More than 100 people including city fathers are expected to attend.
Ms Ngwenya died on July 18 last year after succumbing to Covid-19 and was laid to rest at her rural home in Lower Gweru.
A family member, Miss Lovella Kunz, said the service is expected to start at 10 am and will last until 1pm.
“A number of family members and friends have confirmed attendance. Most family members and friends could not attend her funeral last year due to Covid-19 regulations. The service will be mainly centred on her life and legacy,” said Miss Kunz.
The late Ms Ngwenya was also famous for her philanthropic works.
“She was a selfless individual who was committed to assisting people. At the time of her passing on she was paying school fees for at least 30 children,” said Miss Kunz.
Ms Ngwenya’s rags to riches story was not only interesting but enlightening and encouraging to other upcoming entrepreneurs, particularly women.
“Growing up in my rural home in Lower Gweru I never thought I would be a budding businesswoman capable of creating employment for others.
It was taboo for a woman to want to be at the forefront but due to changing times and of course our independence, most Zimbabwean women are now able to work for themselves,” said the late Ms Ngwenya in a published interview.
After completing school in Lower Gweru in the early 90s, Ms Ngwenya left the country for South Africa where she worked as a waitress for different restaurants.
“She came back home in 2005 and ventured into mining in Mberengwa,” said Miss Kunz.
Online Reporter