Key points:
- Nyakudanga was a renowned preacher who spread the gospel in Zimbabwe and its mission areas.
- The lay preacher died at the pulpit a few minutes after starting his sermon at Chisipiti United Methodist Church in Harare.
- Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa said Nyakudanga was worthy of the posthumous honor, which was bestowed as an act of grace.
The Rev. Norest Munetsi Nyakudanga is being remembered as a lay preacher of The United Methodist Church who worked tirelessly to spread the good news across the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area and beyond its borders in mission areas for over four decades.
True to his calling, Nyakudanga collapsed and died while preaching at Chisipiti United Methodist Church in Harare Oct. 22 and was conferred with a posthumous honorary ordination at his burial. He was 65.
“The posthumous honor on Mr. Nyakudanga is not a common practice in our church. And yet the church keeps its doors open to all acts of grace. Ours is a denomination in the class of free church,” Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa told UM News.
“As the bishop of the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area, I responded to the nudges of the Spirit to bestow a posthumous honor on Mr. Nyakudanga on behalf of the church,” he explained.
“I used to tell Nyakudanga that his evangelistic-oriented lifestyle cast him in the same mold with the late Rev. Elison Kamupira,” said Nhiwatiwa. “When I heard that he passed on instantly while in the pulpit preaching, I said to myself God has already honored him by taking his life while he was literally busy preaching.”
Kamupira, who died in May this year, was chaplain-general of Zimbabwe’s largest funeral services company and had been conferred with an honorary ordination in December 2020. Honorary ordinations are not new in Zimbabwe, with a few members of the men’s organization having been ordained when the church had a shortage of pastors in the 1980s.
“Nyakudanga deserves that honor for the many years he spent taking rounds preaching the word of God tirelessly,” Nhiwatiwa said.
Named Munetsi at birth, Nyakudanga later adopted the name “Norest.” With no theological education, he rose to become a prominent lay preacher in The United Methodist Church.
Nyakudanga was one of the unsung heroes of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle against colonial masters. Under the nom de guerre “Chinodhuuka Chinoparadza,” he was a war collaborator who gathered intelligence for freedom fighters, nursed injured guerillas and mobilized the masses.
Among his rare achievements was the admission to full membership of the Zimbabwe men’s organization Mubvuwi we United Methodist Church in 1984, when he was still a bachelor. Membership into the organization is the preserve of married men and Nyakudanga made history as one of a handful of young men who were badged before marriage.
The Rev. Peter Macheche, former layleader of Seke South United Methodist Church in Chitungwiza, knew Nyakudanga from the 1990s.
“He was a great preacher who loved everyone and would minister to those who were troubled. He also loved singing and would preside as master of ceremonies at weddings and other events,” Macheche said. “We were both full members of the men’s organization and would traverse the country helping to reopen churches which were closed during the country’s war of liberation.”
Macheche later heeded the call to ministry and became a pastor in 2000 while Nyakudanga opted to remain a lay preacher.
Solomon Nyamundaya, also of Seke South United Methodist Church, said, “He used to frequent Nyamuzuwe UMC Mission in Mutoko in the early 1980s to preach and sing. He was someone who stood for the truth. He was passionate about empowering others, he inspired me to develop my rural home saying it wasn’t enough to own a home in the city as we didn’t know what the future would hold. He advised and helped me to buy some cattle (which are considered as a measure of wealth in Zimbabwe culture),” Nyamundaya explained.
The lay preacher served the church in various positions including youth advisor, lay leader, usher, evangelism chairperson and projects chairperson.
“Nyakudanga is the one who taught me to go to prayer mountains. He would invite me to accompany him when he was invited to preach — on one occasion I travelled with him to preach in South Africa,” said Samson Chikoore, who serves on the stewardship committee in the Zimbabwe East Conference.
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Mountain prayer retreats are common in Zimbabwe, what Chikoore called “an extra mile” in the faith journey.
“He was resilient and had stubborn faith that whatever he desired would be achieved. He was a hard worker who didn’t want his family to lack anything. After formal work, he would tend to his gardening, poultry and rabbitry projects,” said Chikoore.
Gumisai Kabatebate served with Nyakudanga as a lay leader and considered him to be a mentor.
“He was someone who would wake up at any time to attend to spiritual needs of the church,” Kabatebate said. “When he was informed that a church member was ill or had died, he would go and comfort the family, even at midnight.
“That was Nyakudanga for you. He would never ignore any situation, even to the extent of buying basic goods for the needy. He addressed many situations and even provided counselling when required.”
Nyakudanga’s sibling Felistas Nyahore said although they would have desired the ordination to be done while he was alive, the family was grateful for the recognition given in memory of his work.
“The United Methodist Church saw it fit to bestow the honor because of his sterling contribution, which many testified at his funeral,” Nyahore said.
Nyakudanga is survived by wife, Taurai; daughters Nyaradzo, Mazvitashe and Nomusa; grandson Aziel Matipaishe; and nine siblings. He was interred at his rural village in Chikwizo, about 250 km northeast of Harare.
Chikwanah is a correspondent for UM News based in Harare, Zimbabwe.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests.
