Correspondent|ZANU PF Bulawayo province has unanimously agreed that they will formally request National Hero Status for their late chairperson, Prof Calistus Dingiswayo Ndlovu.
Prof Ndlovu, 83, died at Netcare Pinehaven Hospital for Pancreatic Cancer in South Africa where he had been hopitalised.
The cancer had spread from the pancreas to his liver. He had begun chemotherapy on 8 February 2019.
In an emergency meeting that was convened at the Zanu-PF provincial offices in Bulawayo this afternoon, the party agreed that the late chairman deserved the highest honour in the land.
Former Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Angeline Masuku said the party had suffered a great loss as Prof Ndlovu worked tirelessly for the party and needed to give him a sendoff he deserves.
“There is no other befitting status that can be given to him than that of a National Hero Status,” she said.
The party said all his documents on work he did for the party, government and the nation at large were in order.
“The time I was in Zambia he was already active in politics and all programmes were being managed by him. Some people gave up along the way during the liberation struggle but he was consistently and was there till the final steps. There was no gap in his participation throughout his life,” said Masuku.
David Ndlovu a member of the Central Committee who seconded Masuku in proposing that the late chairman being declared a National hero said, he participated in the armed struggle from the time he was a youth.
“He stood for us from the time he was a youth in politics and he was there pre and post-independence, he never gave up on the fight and is true that he was a consistent and persistent cadre. He deserves a national hero status,” he said.
Provincial Secretary for administration, Eliphas Mashaba said Prof Ndlovu was a man who they tapped knowledge and wisdom from, guiding the province till his death.
“The chairman brought normalcy to the province, he integrated us all in the party, we are at a loss of words, it is a dark day for us,” he said.
Prof Ndlovu was born on 9 February 1936.
He attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1965 at the University of South Africa and proceeded to do a Masters in History in 1969 at New York University and finally a Ph.D. in History in 1973 at the State University of New York.
He held various portfolios in the government. He also sat on various boards and was awarded freedom of the city in Minnepolis in 1972.
Mourners are gathered at number 3 Fletcher Avenue in Khumalo, Bulawayo.
— SundayMail