BINDURA-BASED institution Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University (ZEGU)’s Faculty of Law is set to honour veteran novelist Elias Machemedze (47) on November 21 at the Bindura Country Club.
Machemedze, who hails from Bindura in Mashonaland Central province, wrote the book The Life and Legacy of Zimbabwe’s First Black Advocate and Patriotic Freedom Fighter, which was published in 2021.
The celebrations will run under the theme Celebrating Literary Excellence.
The occasion is set to be graced by Mashonaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Christopher Magomo and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage minister Kazembe Kazembe.
Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style, dean of the faculty of law Noah Maringe said: “The reason why we came up with the idea to honour Elias Machemedze for documenting the life and legacy of the late nation hero, is to appreciate and motivate him as a province for doing such an outstanding work that celebrates the life of a legal giant.
“The way Elias Machemedze describes Advocate Herbert Chitepo’s legal battles in courtrooms in his book is so inspiring especially to law students. That’s why we came up with the idea to celebrate him.”
Keep Reading
- Zegu gears for international law moot court
- Archbishop Guti — An excellent leader who inspired me to write my book: Mauye
- ZAOGA preserves Guti’s legacy
Added Maringe: “We will celebrate him because his books resonate well with us in the legal fraternity and the nation of Zimbabwe.”
Machemedze revealed that the background and culture of Chitepo inspired him to write the book.
“Herbert Chitepo was a person who loved his country despite him coming from a disadvantaged family.
“He was a person who liked his culture, education and this all inspired me to write the book The Life and Legacy of Zimbabwe’s First Black Advocate and Patriotic Freedom Fighter.
“The reason why I opted to chronicle the legacy of Chitepo is because he was one of the founders of Chimurenga, the brains behind the liberation struggle.
“Secondly, Chitepo had love for the people and he was also a symbol [mucherechedzo] of orphans who lived a difficult life and rose to become the first black lawyer in the history of our country.
“He was a lawyer who fought tooth and nail with the white minority regime, winning court cases.”
Although Machemedze managed to chronicle the legacy of Chitepo, he faced many hurdles along the way as he moved from one office to the other in order to come up with credible information.
“The biggest problem I faced was that many people looked down upon me as they considered me a nobody,” he said.
“The information was too hard to come by, thereby making it a very big challenge, but in the end, I managed to complete the book.”
Machemedze feels honoured to note that there are people who appreciate his works.
“I feel respected and honoured to be given such courtesy. I really praise the Lord for that. In my life it means it’s a great achievement, I thank the officials from ZEGU, especially the dean of the faculty of law Dr Noah Maringe, the brains behind all these celebrations.
“I am honoured and I thank our Provincial Affairs minister Magomo and Cde Kazembe Kazembe,” he said.
To date Machemedze, has five published books, namely Sarawoga (2004), which was used as an O’ Level Shona set book from November 2008 to June 2011, Nherera Zvirange (2012), Moyo Inzenza (2020), The Life and Legacy of Zimbabwe's First Black Advocate and Patriotic Freedom Fighter (2021) and, Story of the Role of Herbert Chitepo in Zimbabwe’s Liberation Struggle, used as an O’ Level History-Heritage Studies (Resource Book) 2023.
The Life and Legacy of Zimbabwe’s First Black Advocate and Patriotic Freedom Fighter was launched and presented by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in May 2021.