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Herald Reporter

President Mnangagwa yesterday handed over the doctoral certificate and academic transcript of the late national hero Dr Joel Biggie Matiza to his widow Lillian at a ceremony held at State House.

Dr Matiza was the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development at the time of his death on January 22, just over a month after completing his Doctorate in Business Administration from the Binary University of Management and Entrepreneurship, Malaysia, in collaboration with Chinhoyi University of Technology.

The late Dr Matiza’s sons, Joel and Joseph and the Charge d’Affairs of the Malaysian embassy in Zimbabwe, Ms Tan Tsiu Yinn, also attended the ceremony.

President Mnangagwa said the late Dr Matiza was gifted academically. 

“He used to brief me of the progress in his degree and I used to grant him leave to go and study so I was fully aware of what he was doing and when he completed he came and briefed me excitedly but the Lord above has his own programme,” he said.

The President implored Mrs Matiza and her family to maintain the legacy left by the late national hero. 

Mrs Matiza expressed her gratitude to the President for presiding over the ceremony. Her late husband’s passion was to have infrastructure development as he believed it was the basis of the nation’s prosperity.

Ms Tan thanked the President for taking his time to hand over the certificate and transcript and expressed her condolences on behalf of her Government and the embassy.

A veteran of the liberation struggle and a renowned architect by profession, Cde Matiza died of Covid-19 related illness at St Anne’s Hospital in Harare  aged 60.

He was also the Zanu PF provincial chairman for Mashonaland East.