President mourns MSU Vice Chancellor

The founding Vice Chancellor of Midlands State University (MSU) Professor Ngwabi Bhebhe passed on and President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared him a national hero.


He was 81.

Prof Bhebhe was an academic who owned several awards and honours to his contributions to the field of the history. He served the MSU as the Vice Chancellor from 1999 to 2014 and played a crucial role in its growth and development.

President Mnangagwa along with the late Vice President Simon Mzenda and national heroes Richard Hove and Cephas Msipa were part of the committee that established MSU.

President Mnangagwa mourn the death of Bhebhe, "The news of the passing of Professor Ngwabi Bhebhe today left mr devastated. An academic of international renown and founding long time Vice Chancellor of Midlands State University the late Professor Bhebhe was an outstanding teacher and scholar through whom successive generations of historians passed all to subsequently mske great names for themselves in their own right and at various institutions in our Sadc region and the world at large.

I worked very closely with Professor Bhebhe at every stage from inception to the development of Midlands State University as a full  fledged multi- departmental institution which grew steeped in the national ethos. Together we transformed MSU from bein a preliminary academic oriented institution as was the tradition then to being reseach led and solution driven".

Presodent Mnangagwa said Professor Bhebhe's research projects and publications helped redefine and rebuild the nation's collective identity.

He further expressed his condolences to the Bhebhe family and the nation and announced that Professor Bhebhe would be conferred with national hero status .