Celebrating the life of a revolutionary intellectual, Prof. Matshazi - Remarks by Dumiso Dabengwa

Remarks by Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa, ZAPU President, at the funeral of Prof. Meshack Jongilanga Matshazi, Bulawayo, 20 February 2015

The Matshazi family on both the father and mother's side,

Mrs. Matshazi (MaMhlanga),

The Children of Prof. Matshazi,

Comrades and friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Distinguished Guests from all walks of life,

All protocols observed.

I would like to start by thanking the Bulawayo City Council for once more making it possible for us the citizens and Zimbabweans in general to recognize a great son of the soil, by according Prof. Meshack Matshazi a place in Lady Stanley cemetery, where we have other luminaries.

I am happy to say a few words about our colleague and longstanding friend, because Meshack Matshazi has been associated with some of us for over five decades, from when we were young people. I am therefore speaking here because I am President of ZAPU but also because we have lost a family and durable personal friend.

I am sure other tributes will cover the professional side of Prof. Matshazi; so I will slant my remarks towards his political meaning for many of us. Although Meshack Matshazi will always stand as a giant in the education sector, what is remarkable is how he managed to balance his commitment to advancing education with his inclination towards political engagement. One of his friends reminded us yesterday that Meshack Matshazi was inspired as a young man by his uncle uMangqamu Matshazi who was Nkayi Chairman of the first ANC in Southern Rhodesia in the early 1950s (as the "Congress" movement and its anthem spread from South Africa to present Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi). That interest in issues of justice and true liberation for all Zimbabweans ensured that he remained close to the nationalist movement. In the process he joined ZAPU and rubbed shoulders with youth activists in Makhokhoba like Willie Ncube (Mgqibelo) and later became close to Jason Ziyapapa Moyo and other stalwarts.

You will no doubt hear a lot about Matshazi as a teacher, educator, academic researcher and administrator in higher education. He never confused these professional roles with political engagement. This is because he believed in clarity of thought and not in forcing his ideas down anybody's throat. Of course, while he kept his politics and his work separate, he was a keen debater who did not shy away from controversy. He was a man of beliefs, one who did not engage in empty slogans and half-truths.

In the interest of time and not to deal with issues on which others will focus, let me refer instead to Meshack's political life as it touched on ZAPU and the liberation struggle. The first point here is that Meshack Matshazi could not achieve his dreams in colonial Rhodesia and had to cross over into Zambia in the mid-1960s. At the University of Zambia his political activism and alignment with ZAPU became more overt as he and his colleagues plunged into student politics agitating for Zimbabwe's independence. In this period before he went abroad he broadcast news from our point of view from Zambia to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in siNdebele, under the name "Jongilanga Matshazi".

When we asked old friends what they remembered about their times with him, one friend who had moved from Zambia to Tanzania (Owen Tshabangu) recounted how Matshazi became a "bridge" after the 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by the Ian Smith regime in Rhodesia had resulted in imposition of sanctions. He received letters from Tanzania and sent them on to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) because correspondence could still move from Zambia. He did such practical things as a matter of course.

He also contributed in uncommon ways. For example many people who know Matshazi as an educationist may not be aware of his interest in music and its potential to increase awareness and inspiration. Those who interacted with him in his Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church may not be surprised by his interest in music. However, even among his fellow worshippers, not many here will know that Meshack Matshazi used this music background to further the struggle for self-determination. Dr. Bernard Gumede reminded us that Matshazi trained and conducted the ZAPU Revolutionary Choir in the 1960s. This illustrates how he has travelled the long road to freedom by spreading the good news of justice, fair play and resistance to the politics of evil and greed, whether by white racist oppressors or by black dictators. He understood that the chameleon of oppression can change colors but not its inner makeup.

Meshack Matshazi went to Checkoslovakia with other ZAPU students like the late Swazini Ndlovu and Dr. Eli Mtetwa (currently at NUST) who I believe is here this morning. He subsequently went to study in Britain and elsewhere and came back to work in Zambia in his chosen field of education.  He was a frequent visitor to party establishments who encouraged those in full–time politics to maintain their morale by reminding them of the values and goals of the liberation struggle.  I should add here that we were fortunate that MaMhlanga supported Matshazi throughout after marrying him in 1970. We are great beneficiaries of her understanding and unwavering partnership with her husband.

A short speech like this cannot do justice to a long history of commitment to ZAPU and its contributions to the liberation of Zimbabwe. I will mention a few things that his friends and colleagues felt must be said. One of these is that during his life of excellence as a professor, researcher, historian, political analyst, writer and practitioner of adult education, Professor Matshazi simultaneously kept his political commitment. While he taught in South Africa he served in ZAPU's Council of Elders, helping younger members to track the history and contribution of the party. Upon returning to Zimbabwe in the last few years and setting up the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), in his spare time he was a diligent member of the party's Advisory Committee (Think Tank).

You can see from the short account of a long political engagement that we as ZAPU have lost one of our pillars of wisdom, dedication and moral courage. On behalf of the party leadership, members and supporters I wish to assure you that the efforts by Prof. Meshack Matshazi towards the attainment of freedom, justice, better living conditions for the majority, and equal opportunities for all parts of this country will live on beyond his physical life. We are therefore celebrating the departure of a noble man, but whose spirit will live beyond his death.

I thank you.