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Bulawayo Bureau
THE body of national hero and former Cabinet Minister Professor Callistus Ndlovu will be airlifted to his Brunapeg, Plumtree, rural home today ahead of burial at the National Heroes Acre in Harare on Saturday.

Prof Ndlovu (83), who was also Zanu-PF’s Bulawayo provincial chairman and Central Committee member, collapsed and died on Wednesday last week in South Africa where he was being treated for pancreatic cancer.

Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Cde Christopher Sibanda said Prof Ndlovu’s body will be airlifted to his Brunapeg rural home at 9am today and will be returned to Bulawayo in the afternoon.

Tomorrow, a funeral service will be held at St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, Roman Catholic Church, at 8.30am.

From 10am to noon, another service will be held at the Large City Hall, and the body will be airlifted to Harare at 2.30pm.

Prof Ndlovu will be buried on Saturday at the National Heroes’ Acre.

Cde Sibanda said the party had organised 10 buses to ferry people from Bulawayo to Harare and urged people from all over the country to join the party in celebrating the life of Prof Ndlovu.

Prof Ndlovu was born on February 9, 1936 in Plumtree and joined the National Democratic Party in 1960.

He subsequently trained as a teacher, enrolling for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Pius XII University College in Lesotho where he became involved with Zapu in 1963 as chairman of the party’s residents and students branches.

Prof Ndlovu also studied at the University of South Africa, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1965 majoring in History, Economics and Political Science.

Back in Zimbabwe, he taught at several schools, before he was detained by the Rhodesian regime.

He left the country upon his release in 1967 for New York University where he did his Masters and PhD studies.

Prof Ndlovu became involved with Zapu, holding different positions until independence in 1980.

After independence, he became a Member of Parliament, a Senator, a Government minister and a member of the Constitutional Commission of Zimbabwe.

Prof Ndlovu is survived by wife Angeline, several children and grandchildren.