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JF Chitakatira, A Dedicated And Industrious Music Educator.
By Tinotendaishe Mawoyo:
Teaching is more of a calling than a profession. Leaving it or diverting from it is as hard as lifting weights that are above your measure of weight and whatever a gift you are born with you will always leave the earth with unwavering passion, dedication and industriosity to the field that you have been working within.
If we are to talk of dedication, passion and being industrious, it would be a historical crime if we do not mention Josphat Fumhirai Chitakatira who was a dedicated and industrious music educator cum music composer and chorister par excellence.
Dubbed the "music professor" because of his deep knowledge in music education and music composition, JC as he was affectionately known amongst his peers was indeed a dedicated music educator.
Josphat Fumhirai Chitakatira was born in 1939 in the district of Umtali in Rhodesia which is present day Mutare in Manicaland province.
History says that Josphat began teaching in 1959 after graduating at Mutare Teachers College with a Diploma in Education which he passed with flying colours and within the early stages of the course, because of his academic brilliance Sir Chitakatira was also awarded a scholarship to pursue a music Diploma with University of Cambridge via correspondence and he did finished both diplomas concurrently.
In 1960 after his graduation from College, Josphat Fumhirai Chitakatira became the first black music teacher in Manicaland and arguably Zimbabwe's first black music teacher before and after independence.
With a career spanning over four and half decades, forty five years as a music educator, Chitakatira proved that he was indeed an industrious and dedicated educator.
Organizing inter schools percussion competitions band for primary schools around Mutare Urban, adjudicating high school and church choral music competitions and teaching music around ten schools, Josphat really demonstrated that he was dedicated, passionate and industrious to his work.
Apart from being a music educator, Josphat Fumhirai Chitakatira was also a Composer of many hymns. Most of his hymns such as “Vanomirira Jehovah” and “Zigadzi Rine Godo” were performed in the 1997 Choral Competitions for Main Line Churches in Manicaland and High Schools which later made him to be recognized and awarded a joint Certificate of Excellence by the Zimbabwe Choral Music Association and the Music Adjudication award for his contribution in music.
After his retirement in the year 2004,Chitakatira never ceased to follow up on music education passion. He remained a dedicated music educator through advocacy for the inclusion of music education as a subject in government schools, a dream which came true when the curriculum was revised and he also actively participated in the development of cricket in Manicaland.
Sadly on the 24th of October 2014, the dedicated, industrious and legendary music educator passed on at the age of seventy-five and most of his peers like the late Patrick Matsikinyeri (the first music head of department at Africa University),Geoffrey Nchena, Alison Sunganaka and Elliot Mawoyo ,a former classmate and Music lecturer at Marymount Teachers College spoke highly of Chitakatira and they all concurred that it would be an honor to Chitakatira's legacy if the City of Mutare's governing board would street or a hall named after him.
Josphat Chitakatira is survived by his wife Mrs Prisca Chitakatira, three sons and three daughters, twenty five grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren.
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