BULAWAYO – President Emmerson Mnangagwa led tributes on Wednesday following the death of Agnes Masuku-Ndiweni, the widow of the late paramount Ndebele chief Khayisa Ndiweni.
The 96-year-old died in her sleep, her son Chief Felix Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni announced.
“It is with deep grief and sadness that I learnt of the death this morning of the late Chief Khayisa Ndiweni’s widow, Indlovukazi Agnes Masuku Ndiweni, following a short illness,” Mnangagwa said in a statement.
“With the passing on of Indlovukazi Agnes Masuku, the Ndiweni family in particular, and the people of Ntabazinduna in general, have been deprived of a matriarch whose wisdom, fountain of knowledge and strong love her clan had grown to take for granted.”
Chief Ndiweni, in a brief statement posted on Twitter, said: “Early this morning, my dear mother, Indlovukazi uMadlenya, uZikode, uMasuku of Ntabazinduna passed on. The loss to our family and community is immeasurable.”
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa, who met the chief’s mother last year, described her as a “pious and great mother” in a Twitter tribute.
Masuku was a critical voice in the Ndiweni family, particularly on the decision that Chief Felix Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni was the rightful heir to take over his father’s chieftaincy.
