“The late author is a fountain of knowledge, of language”

BY IRENE MOYO
THE late veteran Ndebele writer Isaac Neslton Mpofu was admired for his efforts to revive and promote the Ndebele language.

Mpofu, author of the classic novel isiNdebele Wangithembisa Lamisuccumbed to kidney failure last week at United Hospitals Bulawayo.

He was 90 years old.

Mpofu was buried at his farm in Worringham, along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway next to his late wife Martha Nhliziyo.

A culture enthusiast, teacher and poet Liberty “Mahlab’yithwale” Ndaba described the late Mpofu as a conservative and selfless author who was a fountain of knowledge.

“Nyandeni was a think tank, a rigid, conservative and disinterested writer. He wrote a simple and straightforward Ndebele language that was easy to follow and learn, especially in literature,” he said.

Ndaba said Mpofu has the skill to make readers fall in love with his literature through vivid illustrations of characters, places, settings and events.

“It was so enticing that once you started reading his book, you’d be bound to never stop loving and reading it. Whether it’s morphology, syntax, semantics, of pragmatism, among others, in his books, Mpofu deposited a wisdom that has carried generations until today and that is why his book Wangithembisa Lami is still on the agenda.

He added that Mpofu was, indeed, a fountain of knowledge and language in all its facets.

Bulawayo comedian Babongile Sikhonjwa said the late author, who was his grandfather, had an unparalleled love for the isiNdebele language and the void he left “would never be filled”.

“Mpofu has contributed enormously to the isiNdebele language and culture. With his death, it means we have a void that is difficult to fill because he was our point of reference in everything we wanted to do in the course,” he said.

“The happy part is that he was not selfish and the whole fountain of knowledge he wrote down in his various books.”

Brethren In Christ Church Bulawayo Central Pastor Ndabezitha Nyathi said Mpofu loved the isiNdebele language as he translated the Christian Bible from Zulu to isiNdebele.

“Mpofu was one of the people who were at the forefront in establishing the church in the central business district of Bulawayo and he further participated in the translation of the isiNdebele Bible among other duties at the church. “, did he declare.

“We are proud to say that he played a crucial role not only in the church, but in society as a whole.”

As well as being an accomplished author and teacher, Mpofu held several senior positions in the Ministry of Education, including Education Officer and then Regional Director of Education in Matabeleland South and Bulawayo before to retire.