The Sunday News
Joshua S Mpofu
LUTHO Addington Tapela was born at Nyele in Bulilima-Mangwe District, Matabeleland South in a family of 13 children, 10 boys and three girls.
He attended Nyele Primary School for his Sub A to Standard 1. Then went to Chihanga Primary School for Standards 2 to 4 before proceeding to Mzinyathini Mission for Standards 5 and 6. That marked the end of his primary education. He then attended Thekwane to do RJC before proceeding to Waddilove for his Primary Teachers’ Higher Certificate PTH. That enabled him to teach up to Standard 6 in the primary schools. Unfortunately, we have no records to show how he performed until the end of his formal education.
Mr Tapela who started teaching in January 1964, taught at several schools in the Bulilima -Mangwe District before proceeding to Vungu Primary School. It was whilst at Vungu that he met a pretty girl, Violet Ollinah Maphosa who became his wife in December 1967. Violet was married to Tapela for 50 years. After a stint in the Midlands, Tapela went back to teach in his home district of Bulilima-Mangwe and again taught at several primary schools. From 1977 to 1978, he was promoted to head Patse Primary School. In 1979, when the liberation war intensified he moved to Bumburwi Primary School, in Gweru as an ordinary teacher.
During all these years in the primary school system, Mr Tapela was burning the midnight oil. He read for his ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Levels and made it to the University of Zimbabwe to pursue a bachelor’s degree in History and Ndebele in 1980. And indeed in December 1983, Mr Tapela completed his under-graduate studies. Thus Mr Tapela had completed a long journey to become a self-made graduate. He must have felt very proud of himself.
In January 1984 he started on a new journey – that of becoming a secondary school teacher. Accordingly, he was posted to Mzilikazi High School to teach ‘A ‘Level History. He remained at Mzilikazi High School until December 1986. While at Mzilikazi High School, he was also the school’s choir master. During the school’s Speech and Prize Giving Day in 1985 he conducted the choir in singing Amazwe Akude- it was superb.
In 1987, Mr Tapela was promoted to the post of Education Officer in the Lupane District. Having taught for years in the primary schools, he was easily promotable to that post. But unfortunately, whilst there, there arose a post for a secondary school head at Fatima in his district. According to the then Regional Director, Fatima being a Zimfep school, they were looking for a good, knowledgeable and disciplined person who understood the background of the students at Zimfep schools. These schools originally catered for children returning from Zambia and Mozambique after the war and they taught education with production. Mr Tapela was deemed qualified and experienced to fit into that system. Accordingly, in 1988, Mr Tapela was promoted to head Fatima. He remained at Fatima for three years.
Before the end of 1990, authorities of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, appealed to Mr Tapela to “come back home” and head Thekwane, his former secondary school. He used to say, he found it difficult to turn down the offer. So in 1991, Mr Tapela got a lateral transfer to Thekwane. At Thekwane, he did an excellent job hence it took the church quite a bit of time to replace him when he left. But also while in Thekwane, he was chief examiner in ‘A’ Level Ndebele.
The circumstances surrounding his departure from Thekwane were somehow interesting. When the new post of DEO as the head of a district was created, there were several delegations from the Plumtree people who requested Mr Tapela to apply for the post. The writer of this article had an unenviable task of explaining to Mr Tapela that “if you apply and get the post, you will retire at 60 years but if you remain head, you will retire at 65. And therefore your decision has a bearing on your pensionable years”. That was the position then. Mr Tapela applied and got the post and thus forfeited five years of pensionable service.
Accordingly Mr Tapela was promoted to the post of DEO in 1999 after acceding to the request of his own people. It will be recalled that he had returned to Thekwane at the request of his church. He remained as DEO Bulilima Mangwe until his retirement from education in 2005. It is also worthy of note that during his tenor as DEO, the district was divided into two, Bulilima and Mangwe. He was the only DEO to have served the two districts. The information in hand is that as DEO he did a sterling job.
It was perhaps no mere coincidence that when he asked his people to vote for him as senator in 2008, they did so in their numbers. It was indeed a good turn deserving another. As senator he was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education until 2013. Even at that level, he performed well.
On 19 January 2018, Lutho Addington Tapela a self-made man who had spent close to 50 years in education was called to higher service at very short notice. He was laid to rest at Nyele Village, the resting place of his parents on 22 January 2018. Those who worked with him in education will miss him, so will his colleagues in politics, the people of Bulilima and Mangwe, all his friends and fellow congregants will miss him. The whole Tapela family will fondly miss this great man.
He is survived by his wife Violet Tapela, 12 children, 33 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
-The writer is a former head of Northlea High School and deputy regional director for Matabeleland South Province.
