THE burial of prolific author Chenjerai Hove has been tentatively set for tomorrow as his body was expected in the country last night from Norway where he died on July 12, aged 59.
BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI
Family spokesperson Ray Mawerera said in a statement the body will be taken to Nyaradzo Funeral Services, where a short service will be held today at 9:00am.
“There will be last rites at the family home at 10:00am before the funeral cortege proceeds immediately after for the rural home in Copper Queen, Gokwe. Burial will be on Saturday 25 July, at 10:00am,” the statement read in part.
Mawerera said the Hove family was grateful for the support and comfort they have received during this dark period.
“We once again thank you all for your messages of sympathy and support, which have strengthened us at this difficult time,” he said.
Mourners were still gathered at Hove’s home at 10 Ashburton Road, Chadcombe in Harare.
Prominently known for his Noma Award for Publishing in Africa winner, the classic novel, Bones (1988), Hove was born in Mazvihwa, Zvishavane, on February 9, 1956. He was educated at Kutama College and Marist Brothers in Dete, Hwange.
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He trained as a teacher before attaining several degrees from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the University of Zimbabwe.
Hove was one of the very few Zimbabwean writers who wrote both in English and Shona.
Some of his poems were published in the trendsetting Zimbabwe war poetry anthology, And Now The Poets Speak (1981).
He published a number of individual poetry anthologies that include Up in Arms (1982), Red Hills of Home (1985), Rainbow in the Dust (1998) and Blind Moon (2003). His household novels included Masimba Avanhu (1986), Shadows (1991) and Ancestors (1996).
Hove, who had since 2001 lived in exile in the US, France and Norway, was seen by many as a voice for the voiceless as he spoke out strongly against Zanu PF’s increasingly dictatorial rule.
While in exile, he continued to write poems and essays depicting his country’s fall into tyranny and the agony of being away from a home he loved.
