Vusumuzi Dube
Mkhululi Sibanda, Assistant Editor
WHEN one mentions Donkwe-Donkwe, an area in Matobo District in Matabeleland South Province names that might quickly come to mind probably are those of the late National Hero and nationalist, Jason Ziyapapa Moyo or of late organic businessman, Tafi Zibuya Moyo.
These two are the famous heroes associated with this usually serene village tucked more than six kilometres west of Kezi Business Centre. The achievements and fame in politics and business of the two Moyos go beyond the borders of their district and even their country.
For the uninitiated JZ Moyo was the Zapu Vice-President who met his demise in January 1977 in Lusaka, Zambia when a parcel bomb sent by the Rhodesians blew up in his face while Tafi Moyo who passed on at the age of 108 in December 2014 religiously supported the liberation struggle and at the time of his death was the Highlanders Football Club patron.
While the two Moyos, Tafi and JZ are still immortalised in people’s hearts and spoken highly of, another Moyo has emerged from the village and grown into stardom nationally and internationally.
The “new Sheriff in town” is Dr Sikhulile Moyo, the virologist who made headlines at the height of the devastating Covid-19 in November 2021 when he led a team that was the first in the world to sequence the Omicron variant that had become the most dominant circulating variant world-wide.
His discovery triggered a series of awards with Dr Moyo receiving the German Chancellor Afrika Award (2022) presented by the German Chancellor and Martin Luther Junior Humanitarian Award and was also nominated by Time Magazine for the most influential people in 2022 (Time 100@2022 list) and Top 100 most influential Africans by the New African Magazine, Festus Mogae Award for Excellence in HIV research.
Recently Dr Moyo was awarded three national research awards in the 2023 inaugural Botswana Research Excellence awards, including Most Outstanding Researcher Award and has been nominated in the list of Presidential Honorates for outstanding service and global contribution.
In December last year, President Mnangagwa gave Dr Moyo “a token of appreciation” for his works by giving him US$50 000 which was handed over to the scientist in his village of Donkwe Donkwe by the Minister of Higher Education, Professor Amon Murwira.
True to the Second Republic’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind, the Zimbabwean Government has named Dr Moyo among the gazetted honours and awards in different categories for various individuals and an organisation, the First Lady’s Angel of Hope Foundation, in recognition of the roles they played before and after independence in transforming lives of people in the country.
Dr Moyo is earmarked to receive the prestigious Order of the Great Zimbabwe in Gold at the Heroes Day celebrations in Harare tomorrow. Despite these recognitions Dr Moyo continues to receive locally and abroad, he remains humble and does not want to attribute his achievements to himself only.
He says his life is grounded in the African philosophy that it takes a whole village to raise a child.
“I attribute all the success to the contribution of many people that raised me, right from my village of Donkwe Donkwe in Kezi to the schools (Donkwe-Donkwe Primary, Magwegwe Primary, Ingwegwe Primary, Maphisa Primary, Cyrene Boys High, Mzilikazi High School) to universities of (University of Zimbabwe, University of Botswana, Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA, UP), Stellenbosch University, Harvard University) and many mentors,” explains Dr Moyo who is the laboratory director and research scientist at Botswana Harvard Aids Institute.
“I am a just native Zimbabwean born in the heart of Mat South (Donkwe Donkwe, in Kezi), a Talawunda (Kalanga dialect) from the Bhetshwana Ka-Mninkuni kraal.
I come from a family with a history of national service and commitment to social development. My father was the brother of the late Zimbabwean hero Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo. My mother was instrumental in various leadership community structures and contributed to the liberation of the country as well as helping to set-up social programmes and a pre-school at our village.
My late parents left a legacy of hard work and significant contributions to community development.”
Dr Moyo is a proud holder of four academic degrees, degrees (BSc (Honours), MSc, MPH, PhD) has also completed two post-doctoral fellowships. Working with many others, he has made significant contributions in clinical trials, especially in HIV research including contributing to WHO guidelines that have shaped the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, in understanding various pathogens (to aid how they are detected, and shaped/genomics to aid in vaccine development and treatment).
He has served in various national and international working groups (including WHO, the Botswana presidential Covid-19 task force).
Dr Moyo says he is passionate about capacity building and has been actively mentoring several researchers and graduate students in the past 20 years. He is part of the team that is contributing to raising a new generation of scientists, Medical Virology — programme at the University of Zimbabwe, and actively collaborating with scientists in Zimbabwe and the region to strengthen pathogen genomics and bioinformatics.
As a born-again Christian, he is particularly grateful to the spiritual fathers and mothers as well as mentors that always believed a boy from the village can be used by God to impact society. Dr Moyo is a devoted family man, and passionate about raising worshippers and champions for kingdom influence and social transformation through faith, integrity of the gospel and maximising God’s given potential.
He is also a worship minister, songwriter, composer, completing his third music album – reflecting a testimonial of His Grace. He and his wife Natasha have been blessed with three children. They have supported several orphans through education to university. Dr Moyo maintains that he will always be grateful to those who have supported him over the years. He believes no one lives in isolation.
“I am humbled that it has been a collective and sum total of the amazing mentorship and upbringing I have received from my family, the people that God put in my path as amasing mentors, friends and colleagues in my career path and life in general.
No man is successful on an island. So, I celebrate my people, my family, my mentors and my colleagues for stretching this boy from the village to manifesting potential and contributing to the world. It’s a truly humbling experience. It means it is possible despite your background to be successful. This is just the beginning for me. I am hungry to see the world transformed into God’s kind of success (John 10:10) that has ripple effect to others.”
As someone who is proud of his home area, Dr Moyo has not forgotten his roots and recently donated hospital mattresses to the Maphisa District Hospital in Kezi.
“I have a desire to see the Maphisa District Hospital transformed. I am contributing in a small way and I know others are itching to do so. It serves a lot of my relatives and I rally like-minded Kezi borns to catch the vision of giving back to the community.
It’s a large catchment area and has raised many professionals and businesspeople, so mobile clinics, sustainable power backup, and general support to facilities should not be something to even talk about, they must just be done.”
The District Medical Officer at Maphisa District Hospital, Dr Matthew Mthunzi, said as an institution they were grateful to what Dr Moyo has done.
“We are in touch with Dr Sikhulile Moyo and he has given us 30 bed mattresses and we had some projects we have discussed,” said Dr Mthunzi.
Dr Moyo is also looking ahead as he committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists in Africa and is actively involved in collaborative capacity building efforts between Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and other countries.
“At the University of Zimbabwe, I take on various roles to achieve this goal. I engage in direct supervision, mentorship, and teaching activities, guiding young minds to excel in the field of science.
Additionally, I actively participate in collaborative projects with esteemed institutions like the Biomedical Research and Training Institute and the University of Zimbabwe’s College of Health Sciences and have supervised students from Nust and Midlands State University.
These joint efforts foster an environment of knowledge exchange and multidisciplinary exploration, enriching the research landscape. Moreover, I extend my outreach beyond the university setting by interacting with students from diverse universities.
Through these interactions, I aim to inspire and empower the broader scientific community, encouraging the pursuit of excellence and innovation.”
Dr Moyo said it is essential to stay connected with the medical scientists in various platforms, and make a concerted effort to maintain constant communication with them. This facilitates the sharing of insights, discoveries, and advancements, which in turn bolsters collective efforts in advancing medical science.
“Collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) laboratory medicine, I actively engage in projects and initiatives that contribute to enhancing healthcare outcomes. This collaboration allows for the translation of research findings into practical applications, positively impacting the well-being of individuals and communities.
By combining all these efforts, I am dedicated to playing a pivotal role in fostering a vibrant and knowledgeable scientific community while contributing to significant advancements in the field of medical science in Africa and getting the opportunity to contribute to my native home is priceless.”
Online Reporter