NYASHA MARUMBI
NYAZURA-One of the outstanding and longest serving members of the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, Chief Mordocai Kaisi from Chiduku Village under Paramount Chief Makoni has died.
Chief Kaisi died at one of his sons’ residence in Msasa Park, Harare last week on Thursday after battling pancreas cancer for a long time.
He was laid to rest at his rural home in Chiduku Village in Nyazura last Saturday where hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their last respects to the iconic centurion.
The burial ceremony was also graced by Paramount Chief Makoni, Makoni Legislator, Misheck Mataranyika, several chiefs from in and around Makoni District and tens of United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe members.
Chief Kaisi was one of the pioneers of the United Methodist Church in the then Rhodesia which gained its autonomy from Britain in 1977.
The late Chief Kaisi worked very closely with the late Bishop Abel Tendekai Muzorewa, Prime Minister of the short lived, Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
He was also a delegate at the coveted Twelfth Session of the Rhodesia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church held at Nyatsime in 1978.
 He also penned some of the most popular songs in the United Methodist Church hymn book.
Speaking at the funeral, Chief Makoni expressed his sadness for the loss of one of the greatest leaders in the community and said the gap that he left would be very difficult to fill, he also praised the late Chief Kaisi for his good work in Chiduku Village.
Chief Kaisi went to Old Mutare where he did Standard 2 to 6 and went on to teach at Rukweza School, his birth place in 1947 and later on joined his cousin in South Africa where he went on to work as a waiter and got promoted to a hotel cashier.
In 1958 he came back home and joined Old Mutare Christian Centre where he worked till 1963.
In 1964 he joined African Newspapers since he was convesant in a number of languages.
Later on he went to the USA where he studied Culinary Arts at Iowa University and in 1970 he came back home and worked in Government briefly before he ventured into retail grocery business in 1972 when he opened his first shops in Nyazura and Harare.
Chief Kaisi is survived with six children, two girls and four boys, 17 grandchildren and 18 great grand children.
