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Former minister pens biography

Life & Style
FORMER Agriculture minister, Dennis Norman, flew into the country from his retirement base in England to launch his autobiography — The Odd Man In: Mugabe’s White Hand Man — which traces his life in the tumultuous Zimbabwean politics since the colonial era.

FORMER Agriculture minister, Dennis Norman, flew into the country from his retirement base in England to launch his autobiography — The Odd Man In: Mugabe’s White Hand Man — which traces his life in the tumultuous Zimbabwean politics since the colonial era.

BY LIFE & STYLE REPORTER

Former Agriculture minister Dennis Norman

Speaking during the launch at Delta Gallery last Saturday, Weaver Press director Murray McCartney, said the book demonstrates Norman’s life in public service and his relationship with former President Robert Mugabe and other political leaders.

“Aside from being a testament to a committed life in public service, it offers many fascinating insights into his relationships with Mugabe and other national leaders,” he said.

Murray said the book was an addition to the growing list of political biographies that Weaver Press has published in recent years, including those of former Education minister Fay Chung, war veteran Wilfred Mhanda, the late former minister Cephas Msipa and former Rhodesian premier Garfield Todd.

Former Lands, Resettlement and Rural Development secretary and National Economic Consultative Forum chairperson, Robbie Mupawose, praised Norman for his contribution to the country’s agriculture.

Former Finance minister and Mavambo leader, Simba Makoni, praised the book as “an important addition to the as yet small collection of unbiased records of the new Zimbabwe in its formative years”.

Norman was the Commercial Farmers’ Union president when Mugabe came to power in 1980, and he subsequently spent 12 years as a minister, first in agriculture and then Minister of Transport and Minister of Energy between 1990 and 1997. The book is available at Weaver Press at $25.