A Triple ceremony at Amagugu to commemorate life of Bowen Rees

There was pomp and ceremony at Amagugu International Heritage Centre (AIHC) when, recently , as Amagugu hoisted its flag and commissioned a memorial in honour of Reverend Bowen Rees and a gallery whose inaugural exhibition featured the life and times of Reverend Rees.

Amagugu flag, designed by our director and executed by Blessing Chirandu, was passed in a relay comprising Meby Nyathi, Fikile Nyathi and Sikhanyisile Sibanda.

The last person to receive and hoist the flag was Dr Barnett Nyathi, a former Director of Health Services in the City of Bulawayo. The flag was accompanied in its relay and hoisting by the sound of African drums.

Then came the unveiling of the Reverend Bowen Rees Memorial, comprising a lozenge concrete base, a pillar of red bricks and a cross as the pinnacle.

The whole structure is more than five meters tall. The onerous task of unveiling the imposing structure fell on the hands of Dr Michael Ndubiwa assisted by Non Pierce, the great granddaughter of Reverend Bowen Rees who had flown in from Wales to attend the august and auspicious ceremonies.

Wild and piercing ululations shattered the golden silence of the nearby serene Matobo Hills. Reverend Sikhosana of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) the successor to the LMS offered a prayer as a way of blessing the imposing structure.

The final episode to the triple ceremony involved the commissioning of the new gallery named after Marieke Clarke. Voti Thebe, the Director of the National Gallery in Bulawayo cut the ribbon to mark the commissioning of the gallery whose first exhibition featured the life and times of Reverend Bowen Rees.

The exhibition was jointly curated by our Director with assistance from Blessing Chirandu. When the Gallery door was flung open, people trooped in to view the exhibition.