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Mukudzei Chingwere-Herald Reporter

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has described retired Labour Court judge, Justice Selo Nare, who died in South Africa on Saturday, as a dedicated and diligent civil servant and judicial officer whose commitment to Zimbabwe in the fields of law and education will forever be remembered.

The former chairman of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) was receiving specialist medical care at the time of his death.

He was 81.

Justice Nare, who had a distinguished career in the education and legal fields, has since been accorded a State-assisted funeral.

In his condolence message yesterday, President Mnangagwa said: “I received with deep sorrow and sadness, news of the passing on in South Africa last Saturday of Retired Justice Selo Masole Nare, former chairperson of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and Labour Court Judge.

“Retired Justice Nare stood out as a figure whose commitment to our nation in the fields of law and education will forever be remembered.

“A dedicated and diligent civil servant and judicial officer, Retired Justice Nare started his career in education, serving as a primary school teacher in the Midlands and Matabeleland South Provinces.”

President Mnangagwa said in 2018, he appointed Justice Nare chairperson of the NPRC where he gave him a delicate task of promoting peace and reconciliation in the country, while also co-convening the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD).

In the role, he brought together most political parties and leaders who had participated in the 2018 general elections.

“He served our nation with characteristic diligence and maturity, always giving his utmost until his retirement last year. He will be fondly missed by our nation,” he said.

“On behalf of the Party, Zanu PF, the Government, my family and on my behalf, I wish to express my deepest, heartfelt condolences to the Nare family, especially to Mrs Nare and the children on this saddest loss.

“May his dear soul rest in eternal peace”.

Justice Nare began his career as a primary school teacher in Zvishavane and Gwanda (1963 – 1970) and served as a headmaster from 1971 and 1973.

He left teaching in 1973 to join the courts as an interpreter in 1981. This is where his interest in law began and he has over the years shaped a distinguished legal career.

He became a magistrate in Bulawayo, Hwange and Chiredzi in 1981 and provincial magistrate for Mashonaland West in 1984.

From 1985, he moved to Matabeleland North and South and then to Bulawayo as a provincial administrator.

In 1992, he assumed the role of provincial magistrate for Bulawayo and Matabeleland North and was promoted in 1993 to regional magistrate for Harare.

In 2001 he assumed the role of president of Harare’s Administrative Court in 2001 and became president of Bulawayo’s Administrative Court in 2003.

Justice Nare was then appointed president of the Labour Court in Bulawayo in 2006 where he retired in 2013.

He served as the chair of the 2014 Lupane State University staff disciplinary committee and as an elder in the Church of Christ Congregation of Bulawayo.

He was multi-lingual, speaking six languages fluently including Sotho, Ndebele, Shona, Venda, Nyanja and English.