BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
HUNDREDS of mourners yesterday descended at Maronda Mashanu, Chikomba West in Chivhu for the burial of prolific writer Charles Mungoshi.
The literary guru passed on last week at the age of 71 after putting up a decade-long fight against a neurological condition.
It was a befitting send-off for the multi-award-winning novelist, as artists, government officials and traditional leaders, among others, thronged the homestead to bid farewell to the literature guru.
Addressing mourners, Arts deputy minister Yeukai Simbanegavi described Mungoshi as a hero in his own right, because his works shaped the future of many Zimbabweans.
“There is no one among you who will say I did not come across his works. He mastered all languages. His dream was to educate all Zimbabweans. His works encouraged the community to live harmoniously. He is a hero who contributed in educating the masses,” she said.
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Zanu PF politburo member and former Chikomba West legislator Mike Bimha said he had engaged the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe to organise an event in honour of the late Mungoshi while he was still alive.
“We need to celebrate these heroes while they are still alive. I engaged the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe to organise an event to celebrate Mungoshi’s achievements, but it failed due to a number of reasons, among them his ailment. We still have the plans to host such an event here in Chikomba,” he said.
A number of poets, among them Chirikure Chirikure, took turns to recite poems in honour of the late author, whom they described as a literature giant.
Among the mourners were MDC Alliance secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora and Glen View legislator Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java, poets Albert Nyathi, and Tinashe Muchuri and theatre guru Daves Guzha.