Herald Reporter
Former Defence Secretary and first Vice Chancellor of Bindura University of Science Education, Dr James Chitauro, was on Thursday laid to rest at Warren Hills Cemetery in Harare.Mourners described Dr Chitauro as a humble man who was committed to his work.
Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi told ZBC News: “I worked with him when I was in the Ministry of Defence the first time . . . Those were the formative years of the Ministry of Defence under an independent African Government. Working with him was a pleasure,” he said.
Dr Chitauro’s last born son, Farai, said his father was a loving man who was dedicated to his family and the country.
“The amount of interest which he takes in them shows us the interest which he took in us as well. He was special and different,” he said.
Dr Chitauro died at St Annes Hospital in Harare on April 7 after a short illness. He was born in Mhondoro-Ngezi in 1935 and grew up in Chikomba.
In the 1960s, he enrolled at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom where he graduated with a Masters Degree in Computer Sciences.
In 1979, Dr Chitauro was a Mathematics lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe having earlier served as a senior scientific officer in the UK’s Defence Ministry.
Soon after independence, he was appointed Deputy Secretary for Transport, after which he became Defence Secretary.
Dr Chitauro also served as Secretary for Higher and Tertiary Education, and Labour and Social Welfare. He also served as board member for a number of Government entities.
In 2000 he went to Australia to join his wife, Florence, who had been appointed Zimbabwe’s Ambassador. Dr Chitauro is survived by his wife and four children. — ZBC/Herald Reporter.