Mugabe faces prospect of honouring Chamisa at UZ graduation

By Lance Guma
09 October 2007

The University of Zimbabwe graduation ceremony set for November this year is set to throw up a dilemma for Robert Mugabe, the Chancellor of the university. This is because opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa has scooped the Book Prize for best student in the Faculty of Political Science
and Administration and this means Mugabe will have to cap him face to face at the ceremony on the 2nd November. Other graduates are capped in groups. Chamisa is reported to have got 13 first class passes while in the remaining 11 modules he got 2,1 passes. On Tuesday he told Newsreel he was ‘greatly humbled’ by the recognition coming from the university and pointed out, God has his own way of doing things.

The young legislator for Kuwadzana excelled in modules like Politics and Governance, Public Sector Auditing, Communication Skills and Social Studies, Principles of International Law, Contemporary Political Theory, International Peace and Security Studies. Chamisa is no stranger to awards. In 2004 he scooped the title of Best Student in Southern Africa under the Institute of Marketing Management following his completion of a Business Administration programme. He told Newsreel of the challenges students face in the harsh learning environment saying this compromised their research capabilities. Electricity cuts mean computers are always down, transport and accommodation problems, sharing books and other severe financial constraints were all militating against students.

The graduation ceremony itself throws up all sorts of issues. Observers say Chamisa can use the occasion to boycott Mugabe presiding over the ceremony, given that his government has made education unaffordable, and launched a vicious assault on student activists countrywide. On the other hand there is talk Mugabe will avoid capping Chamisa, and delegate Vice President Joyce Mujuru to cap the graduates on his behalf. Whatever the outcome there is bound to be intrigue over how the two political rivals will seek to manipulate the ceremony. Chamisa himself admitted as much, saying there is a strong possibility Mugabe will try to take advantage of the platform as he has so often done in the past.

In other coverage of the story a report on the ZimDaily.com website says the book prize won by the MDC spokesman is made all the more remarkable given that, ‘three quarters of lecturers in the Political Science Faculty are staunch Zanu (PF) supporters.’ The website goes on to list Dr Joseph Kurebwa, who teaches Political Science, Dr Rudo Gaidzanwa, a Sociology lecturer, Wing Commander Mafongoya, who lecturers Peace and Security Studies and Professor Hasu Patel who lecturers International Relations. Meanwhile Chamisa has already enrolled for a Masters degree in International Relations at the same university.