Top urologist honoured

Tanaka Mahanya

THE Association of Urological Surgeons of Zimbabwe has honoured a long-serving urologist, Alex Danso, by erecting his portrait at St Anne’s hospital.

Alex Peter Danso is considered the father of urology in Zimbabwe.

He came here in 1984.

He was born in Ghana, trained and worked in Germany for 15 years and settled in Zimbabwe for 39 years.

Danso said he feels honoured by the recognition.

“I have always worked hard, not to have an influence, but to be relevant.

“When I came to Zimbabwe in 1984, I found relevance at Harare Central Hospital, and I will never forget that place.

“The greatest gift that a man can give to another is honour, and I do not take this lightly.

“A lot of people start chasing money but it flees, but it only chases excellence.

“I think I have found relevance and, for me, that is more important than anything else.

“I am so grateful for this,” he said.

Urologist Christopher Samkange said Danso was a remarkable man who worked very hard.

“We used to work at a huge clinic in Harare and he would still go to private institutions to attend to patients and clock at around 8pm.

“He was committed to his work and the future of the profession because he dedicated himself to training others.

“We put the portrait because we have our own heroes here and he is one of them.”

He said they want to honour him for his good work while he is still alive.

“He practiced at St Anne’s for many years and he put an Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy machine here.

“As an association, we feel that people should be honoured in their years of practice and not wait until they die.

“We don’t want to sing praises at someone’s funeral when we never did when they were alive, so this shows the wife that he was a hard worker and we acknowledge his work.

“That is the way we should behave, recognise people when they are still alive.”