A
nationalist
leader
and
Zimbabwe’s
first
black
United
Methodist
Church
pastor,
Muzorewa
was
a
leading
figure
in
the
country’s
struggle
for
majority
rule,
serving
as
the
head
of
the
United
African
National
Council
political
party.
He
engaged
in
peace
talks
with
Ian
Smith,
Rhodesia’s
last
white
prime
minister,
as
the
country
transitioned
to
majority
rule.
In
1979,
Muzorewa
was
elected
prime
minister
of
the
short-lived
Republic
of
Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
He
held
this
role
for
less
than
a
year
before
Robert
Mugabe
was
swept
to
power
in
elections
that
led
to
the
country’s
independence.
Educated
at
Central
Methodist
University
in
Fayette,
Missouri,
in
the
United
States
(US),
he
is
seen
by
some
as
a
national
hero
but
was
sidelined
by
Mugabe,
who
regarded
him
as
an
opportunist
and
a
sell-out
for
having
reached
an
“internal
settlement”
with
Smith,
as
others
continued
to
wage
an
armed
struggle
which
led
to
Zimbabwe’s
independence.
The
Bishop
Abel
Tendekai
Muzorewa
University
is
a
private
institution
run
by
the
Bishop
AT
Muzorewa
Evangelism
Foundation
(BATMEF),
which
was
founded
in
2005.
The
construction
project
is
set
to
start
in
December
2025
on
land
donated
by
the
local
community
in
which
the
late
Muzorewa
conducted
some
of
his
evangelism
work.
Greater
access
to
education
Misheck
Mugadza,
the
provincial
affairs
minister
for
Manicaland
province,
told University
World
News that
the
government
had
cleared
the
establishment
of
the
university
in
his
province.
“We
are
having
this
university,
and
this
will
take
the
number
of
universities
in
the
province
to
five.
Two
more
universities
are
being
established
by
churches
in
Manicaland:
Africa
University
and
Manicaland
State
University
of
Applied
Sciences,”
he
said.
When
asked
about
employment
in
a
province
with
five
universities,
he
mentioned
that
the
province
has
414
secondary
schools
releasing
thousands
of
students
each
year
who
seek
tertiary
education.
“Our
economy
is
booming
with
new
investment
like
value-adding
factories
and
plants.
These
and
the
tourism
boom
all
create
employment,”
Mugadza
said.
Logistical
challenges
Ernest
Muzorewa,
the
new
university’s
board
chair
and
the
late
bishop’s
younger
brother,
told
Zimbabwe’s
state-run
newspaper The
Herald that
the
first
group
of
students
will
enrol
in
August
2026.
Short
courses
will
be
offered
from
January,
the
newspaper reported.
He
said
the
university
will
start
with
five
faculties:
agriculture
and
environmental
sciences,
business
development
studies,
theology
and
community
engagements,
healing
and
allied
sciences,
and
computer
sciences
and
information
systems.
While
the
main
campus
is
under
construction,
temporary
facilities,
such
as
the
United
Methodist
Church
offices,
will
be
used.
The
university
will
be
affiliated
with
Muzorewa’s
former
church.
“One
of
the
most
immediate
and
profound
benefits
of
the
university
is
the
expansion
of
access
to
higher
education.
For
decades,
students
from
Rusape
and
Makoni
districts
have
had
to
travel
to
distant
cities
such
as
Mutare,
Harare,
or
Bulawayo
to
pursue
university
studies,
often
at
great
financial
and
emotional
cost.
“The
Bishop
Abel
Tendekai
Muzorewa
University
will
eliminate
this
barrier
by
offering
local
access
to
tertiary
education,
thereby
increasing
enrolment
rates
and
reducing
dropout
rates
caused
by
logistical
challenges,”
Muzorewa
said.
Focus
on
regional
needs,
strengths
“The
university
is
expected
to
tailor
its
academic
programmes
to
reflect
the
needs
and
strengths
of
the
region,
with
a
focus
on
agriculture,
education,
business
and
environmental
sciences.
This
alignment
will
ensure
that
graduates
are
equipped
with
practical
skills
that
directly
contribute
to
the
development
of
their
communities.”
The
paper
also
quoted
the
country’s
defence
minister,
Oppah
Muchinguri-Kashiri,
as
saying
that
Muzorewa
facilitated
her
first
trip
to
the
US.
“His
generosity
provided
me
with
a
scholarship
to
obtain
a
bachelor
degree
in
America,”
she
said.
In
2021,
Central
Methodist
University
posthumously
honoured
Muzorewa
in
its Hall
of
Honor for
alumni:
“Muzorewa
was
a
peacemaker,
national
unifier,
politician,
author,
and
preacher.
He
was
popularly
elected
in
1979
to
lead
his
nation
of
Zimbabwe
(formerly
the
British
colony
called
Rhodesia)
through
the
nation’s
political
struggle
for
independence.”
Due
to
his
leadership,
Muzorewa
preferred
to
relinquish
his
premiership
after
only
six
months
rather
than
prolong
the
guerrilla
war
that
ravaged
the
country.
Source:
New
regional
school
will
ease
access
for
rural
students
Post
published
in:
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