HISTORIAN Pathisa Nyathi, who died last week, will be laid to rest at Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo today, a cemetery reserved for the city’s luminaries.

Nyathi passed away at a private hospital in Bulawayo on Saturday due to a yet-to-be-disclosed illness, but recurring condition.

He was 73.

He had been in and out of hospital until his untimely death.

His son Butholezwe Nyathi yesterday confirmed that burial will be today.

“The service will be held at Amphitheatre at 8am before the burial at Lady Stanley Cemetery tomorrow,” Butholezwe said.

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President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday announced that Nyathi will be accorded a State-assisted burial in recognition of his immense contributions to the country.

A writer, author and publisher, the former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Writers Union was an art, culture and heritage protagonist.

Nyathi trained as a secondary schoolteacher at Gweru Teachers College majoring in science from 1971 and obtained a Certificate in Education in 1973.

In 1978, he enrolled with University of South Africa majoring in Geography and Development Administration.

In 1982, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree and in 1985 a BA (Hon) from the same university.

He worked in various capacities and sat on several boards that include the Zimbabwe International Book Fair (1989-1998), Zimbabwe Book Development Council, Mambo Press Editorial Advisory Board and Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress, among several others.

Most of his publications are in Ndebele.

His argument for writing in Ndebele was that it enabled constant development of the language to esure a rich cultural heritage for future generations.