adminLivit Mugejo
Correspondent
On May 23, 2019, I met the late Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso B Moyo. I had switched off my cellphone since I was writing an examination for my law degree at the Harare Exhibition Park.
When I switched on my phone, I was disturbed by the number of missed calls and messages from the minister’s office. I was just an officer, and it is very rare to interact with the minister directly.
One of the text messages read: “Murikudiwa naMinister mdhara. Ndanzi ndikutsvagei.”
I was shocked because I never requested to see the minister, and I did not know that he knew me. I quickly drove to the office to meet him.
I remember that when I arrived, Minister Moyo was busy as he was scheduled to meet other guests.
I was not made to wait very long. While I was waiting, I could not stop trying to figure out what the issue at stake was.
I could not come up with the real reason why the minister was looking for me: a mere junior officer.
I waited for about 30 minutes. When Minister Moyo realised that I was around, and that his meetings were going on for some time, he surprised me by deciding to temporarily leave his meetings to come and address me, regardless of my lowly position in the ministry.
That decision made me; a nobody, feel important. That day, I witnessed the meaning of humility: a leader prepared to talk to those on the shop floor.
The personal experience left me with the feeling that I was appreciated. For that I am truly going to miss him.
Instead of getting a junior officer like me waiting, he left his meeting to make sure he attended to me.
Quickly, I was ushered to his personal assistant’s office, and before I was done with formalities, the honourable man bombarded me with questions.
This made me uncomfortable since I had not expected an interview type of an encounter. What was in my head was that the minister was going to assign me to a task. I was, therefore, expecting him to do much of the talking.
How wrong I was!
“Yes, ndiwe Mugejo wacho iwe? (Hello, are you Mugejo?) What did you study at college? You studied for all those degrees?” said Minister Moyo.
These were some of the questions I received that day.
He wanted to know more about me. He wanted to see and understand better the real person behind the five university degrees he had heard about.
He showed more interest in my Master’s degree in communication studies. He also asked some questions on my law degree.
After the exchange, he asked me to set up a communication department in the ministry.
I was thrilled by his vision. In a very short stint, Minister Moyo had already identified a missing link in the ministry. One cannot overemphasise the role of public diplomacy in this age of information revolution.
He had already seen that the ministry was lagging behind in terms of moving with current trends.
He wanted me to create a communication department that should be an essential and integrated component of a new foreign policy thrust.
The professional public relations activity should ensure the benefit to citizens, for whom the foreign policy is meant.
Minister Moyo’s objective was that by establishing the department, the ministry would be able to explain its role, maintain its image, develop its public relations programmes, and be able to maintain better media relations with all its stakeholders.
Because of his vision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is now visible on both mainstream and social media platforms.
A visionary leader is no more!
As esteemed scholar and writer, Petina Gappah, would say the country has “lost a workhorse, a moderating force and a true diplomat.
“He had a searching and active mind, always willing to learn and he delighted in meeting people who knew their subjects more than he did.”
Definitely, the country’s politics will never be the same without him. He was a great leader, who knew how to inspire others to do remarkable things for their country.
Many people are still in the ministry and Government today because of such great leaders like Minister Moyo and his permanent secretary, who understand that by and large, the greatest motivating factor is recognition.
Indeed, Minister Moyo’s untimely death has robbed the nation of a gallant son of the soil at a time when he was leading the crusade on both diplomatic and economic engagement and re-engagement.
Our economic diplomacy thrust is poorer without such great man!
We can only promise him one thing: Just as he stood as our leader in the ministry, we shall also stand strong, championing his vision. We shall mourn and cherish his legacy with fond memories of a true and humble leader!
You were a leader taken away from us before we were ready to let you go, but the memories of your everlasting images and your warm demeanour will always be with us.
We are now less an incredible and esteemed man, who left us far too soon. What an absolute honour to have worked with such a hardworking, professional man; and a fountain of knowledge whom we all learnt from!
Go well our dear leader!
Fambai murugare gamba redu!
Hamba kahle qhawe lamaqhawe!
Livit Mugejo is a deputy director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade responsible for policy, research and communication. The views expressed here are personal!
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