KZN mourns loss of a selfless scholar

VUSI SHONGWE

- SANDILE MDADANE [e-mail]

DR VUSI Shongwe. I Supplied

TRIBUTES continue to pour in for Dr Vusi Shongwe, a cultural expert and historian who served for many years as chief director of heritage services at the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.

Shongwe, 56, passed away on Tuesday following a brief illness.

A prolific writer, he contributed regularly as a guest columnist for the Sunday Tribune and other titles in the Independent Newspaper group and beyond. In recent years, he specialised in profiling prominent figures in politics and other fields.

Dr Shongwe also served as head of the Royal Household Unit within the Premier's Office during a challenging period, helping professionalise and make the Zulu monarchy self-sustain-ing under the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu.

The 1860 Heritage Centre, which recently commemorated the 165th anniversary of the arrival of indentured Indian workers in South Africa, described him as “an intellectual giant who served his country with distinction in heritage preservation. Hamba kahle, Mavitshotsho.”