Thousands of people turned out for the late Evans Ndebele’s memorial service at the Selbourne Park Seventh-day Adventist Church yesterday afternoon where friends described him as a charitable man.
Ndebele, who was 52, died in South Africa last Saturday.
He will be buried at Lot 62 Umsungwe Block in Gweru tomorrow.
The memorial service was attended by a wide section of prominent people in Bulawayo among them former Speaker of Parliament Cyril Ndebele, businessman Delma Lupepe, National University of Science and Technology (Nust) director of communication Felix Moyo, Prince Zwidekalanga Khumalo, actress and businesswoman Sarah Mpofu, former Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Obert Sibanda, and former National Railways of Zimbabwe general manager Alvord Mabhena.
Family spokesperson Carter Mkhwananzi described the late Ndebele as a consummate planner.
“This young man was a good planner. He knew how to make plans and achieve his goals. He was also a good advisor and if you took his plans, you always succeeded. We have lost a lot here. Our loss is that this young man didn’t discriminate and he was not a tribalist.
“He took after his grandfather and united the Ndebele family. He brought them together. He had a gift. He was a root of this family,” he said.
Nust lecturer Nda Dlodlo, who spoke on behalf of the late Ndebele’s mother’s family, described him as a uniting figure.
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“He was a unifier. The unity of the Ndebele family was all on his shoulders. He did all he could to keep the family together. A family that is united strengthens the nation,” he said. Dlodlo said it was important to note that Ndebele was a trendsetting entrepreneur as he was among the first people to run a private airline in Zimbabwe.
“His airline did not go defunct. It was taken over by South African Airways. It was never defunct because he was receiving royalties up to the end,” he said. Ndebele’s friend, Roger Muhlwa, described him as a generous man.
“Evans was a very good friend of all people. Some were young, some were old, some were rich, some were poor, but to Evans, they were all friends,” he said.
Muhlwa said Ndebele helped Highlanders Football Club a lot in terms of transport.
