By Brighton Chiseva
MASVINGO – The Judea Zion Christian Church board and family of the late Bishop Dr Ofiro Mawewe have declared two weeks of mourning for the church leader who was leading one of the biggest Zion Christian Churches denomination headquartered near Muchechetere High School in Zaka who died on Saturday March 16.
Dr Mawewe, who passed on at Noraz Surgical Clinic in Masvingo due to a diabetes related ailment will be buried during Easter Holoidays on Saturday March 30.
He was 77 and is survived with one wife, six children and 18 grandchildren.
His son Oriah Mawewe confirmed the two weeks of mourning and said they decided to extend the time of mourning to allow the family and church ample time to celebrate the life of a hero who contributed a lot to the spiritual lives of many people he led.
“The Servant of God will be laid to rest on March 30 2024 at his homestead in Matekwe Village Chief Ndanga at Judea Headquarters, in Zaka District. We have decided to declare two weeks of mourning to allow congregants reflect and celebrate the life of a dedicated General of God His Grace Bishop Dr. Ofiro Mawewe,” he said.
He went on to say that apart from being just a religious leader, the Bishop was a philanthropist, educationist and Pan Africanist who contributed to the development of education, promotion of indigenous churches as well as supporting the liberation struggle.
“Bishop Mawewe was not only a religious leader, he contributed a lot to the education system of Zimbabwe by constructing schools. He also supported the liberation struggle as a young man delivering prophetic messages from his late father to the freedom fighters.
“He was also a philanthropist where he and his father fed and clothed the freedom fighters. He continued with the work even after the death of his father where he paid fees for orphans, clothed and fed the needy. Because of that he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by a South African University in 2017.
“A writer who authored books on the history of indigenous churches, Bishop Mawewe was also a supporter and beneficiary of the land reform programme where he was allocated with number 17 Dawlish Farm in Manjirenji where he established two mission schools; a primary and a secondary,” he said.
At the time of his death Bishop Ofiro was working on plans to establish a hospital and a vocational training center at the farm.
Bishop Ofiro was born on June 17 1952 in Ndanga where he grew up. As a boy he grew up during the liberation struggle and served as a war collaborator of a distinct nature.
As the only son to his father Late Rev Saul Maguta Mawewe and founder of the church, Bishop Mawewe took the reins of the church in 1979 following his father’s death.
The church was founded in 1938 and as such the family became a target by the colonial regime as Bishop Ofiro helped his father to support the revolution.
The church leader is credited for growing the Judea ZCC congregation from half a million to 1, 5 million followers during the 44 years he was leading the church and established branches all around Zimbabwe and abroad, in countries like Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, UK, Australia, Poland among others.
ZCC Judea Masvingo Branch Pastor Augustine Bikani Chipezeze described the late Bishop as a humble person who was devoted to the work of God for his entire life and welcomed everyone despite any differences.
“Bishop Mawewe was a soft and humble person who was dedicated to serve God and could welcome everyone at his home at any time and did not look at the person’s religious belief,” said Pastor Chipezeze.
Zaka Central MP Davies Marapira said he was disturbed by his death saying he died before he fulfilled his promise of visiting him at his church headquarters.
“I was supposed to visit his HQ but unfortunately he passed on before I went there. He had a lot of followers in ward 34 of Zaka Central Constituency. His passing on disturbed me a lot because I had promised to visit and assist where possible in the construction projects going on at the church,” said Marapira.
