This is the biography of Professor Amon Murwira, prominent Zimbabwean academic and a cabinet Minister. He has served as the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development since 2017. His career spans academia, government, and research, making him a significant figure in Zimbabwe’s educational and scientific landscape.
Professor Amon Murwira Early Life and Education
Amon Murwira was born in 1970 in Nzuwa Village, Gutu, in Zimbabwe. He was the only male child in a family of five. His father died when he was 9. Goring up in rural GUTU, Amon would walk 16 km to school and study using a paraffin lamp at night.
Murwira attended Shumbayarerwa Primary then moved to Rafemoyo Secondary and Gutu High Schools. He had six As in the Ordinary Level examinations.
He later attended the University of Zimbabwe, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography in 1994. His academic journey continued abroad. He obtained a Master’s degree at the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) in the Netherlands. He also earned a PhD in Geography from the University of Zimbabwe.
Amon Murwira Teaching Career
Upon graduating from the University of Zimbabwe in 1994, Amon Murwira got a Geography teaching job at Chirichoga Secondary School in Nemamwa, Masvingo. Months later, the regional education director offered him a job to teach A-Level pupils at Victoria High School in Masvingo
Amon Murwira Government Service Career
A short while after getting the Victoria High job, the Ministry of Environment offered him a post in the department of natural resources. He became the Mashonaland East provincial ecologist. In 1995, the Ministry of Environment sponsored him to study satellites in Canada until 1998. The University of Zimbabwe then offered Murwira a Government scholarship to enrol for a Satellite Remote Sensing and Information Geographical Sciences Master’s degree at the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) in The Netherlands.
Murwira graduated with a distinction in 2000 and attained a PhD in Geographic Information Science (GIS and Remote Sensing) in 2003. In 2004, he became a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.
Prof Amon Murwira has published a book titled “Human Wildlife Conflicts in Southern Africa: Riding the Whirl Wind in Mozambique and in Zimbabwe”. He co-authored it with Sébastien Le Bel, Billy Mukamuri, René Czudek, Russell Taylor, and Mike La Grange.
Professor Amon Murwira Political Career
Professor Amon Murwira Biography [Image: Presidential Communications]
In November 2017 after the military intervention that toppled former President Robert Mugabe, Professor Amon Murwira received a call while sleeping, alerting him that he was the new Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development. He turned on the news and realised President Emmerson Mnangagwa had appointed him.
After the 2023 elections, President Mnangagwa reappointment Prof Murwira to the Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Ministry.
Professor Amon Murwira As Minister
He introduced the Education 5.0 model, which focuses on teaching, research, community service, innovation, and industrialisation. This model aims to produce graduates who are not only knowledgeable but also capable of contributing to the economy.
He has also promoted the establishment of innovation hubs and industrial parks at universities. These initiatives are designed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students.
References
- Prof Murwira Is No Mad Scientist – The Sunday Mail
- Minister berates ‘useless’ professors failing to write books; says US$ millions for literature development idle – New Zimbabwe
- ITC Alumnus Amon Murwira Appointed Minister In Zimbabwe – University of Twente
