Clinical Scientist Remembered for Lifetime of Service

Veteran clinical scientist and businessman Owen Machamire has been remembered for a career defined by professionalism, precision and service to Zimbabwe’s healthcare sector. Former Health Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo paid tribute to Machamire at his funeral on Monday, describing the veteran laboratory scientist as a highly knowledgeable haematology specialist whose work doctors could rely on when making critical decisions about patients. Machamire died after a short battle with cancer, following a diagnosis only weeks before his death.

Dr Moyo said Machamire’s work in medical laboratory science demanded exceptional accuracy because laboratory results often formed the basis for diagnosis and treatment.

“Owen used to produce the best quality results,” Dr Moyo said.

He said Machamire was among the professionals whose work could be trusted without reservation.

“There are people you have to believe in and people you have to know that if you ask so-and-so to do that work, you will get the correct results.”

Machamire specialised in haematology, the branch of laboratory medicine concerned with blood, blood-forming organs and blood disorders.

Dr Moyo said laboratory scientists played a critical role in healthcare despite often working away from the public spotlight.

“He is the one who gave the determination to the doctor. The doctor had to wait for him for his results. So Owen was important to our community. Very important, very knowledgeable.”

He said Machamire understood the consequences of errors in laboratory work and was committed to following established procedures.

“It was not a matter of guessing around and a person could end up killing someone. You must follow strict procedures and precise methods. Owen was professional in that respect.”

From laboratory science to business

Machamire later established OM Medical Supplies, extending his contribution to the healthcare sector by supplying products used by laboratories and health institutions. His professional career included service at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare and work with the National Health Service in London. He also spent time in Malawi before undertaking further training and developing his specialisation in haematology.

Dr Moyo remembered Machamire as academically gifted and deeply knowledgeable in his field.

“He was a very clever man in class. Knew his subject well,” he said.

Machamire’s contribution to healthcare eventually extended into community service.

At the time of his illness, he was serving as chairperson overseeing Melfort Clinic, where he regularly visited the facility to assess its needs and worked to secure medicines and other supplies. Goromonzi Rural District Council vice chairperson Spiwe Musekiwa said Machamire’s death had therefore affected the wider community.

“It is not only the Machamire family that has lost. The whole community has lost,” she said.

Musekiwa said Machamire was actively involved in efforts to improve the clinic.

“The work he was doing at the clinic was very big. He was looking for medicines and would come and see what was going on.”

She described him as a dependable community figure who responded quickly whenever his assistance was needed.

“With Mr Machamire, whenever I requested his assistance to go somewhere locally to attend to something, Mr Machamire would hurry,” she said.

A legacy beyond medicine

Machamire’s professional experience also led to his involvement with the National Men’s Forum, where he had been selected as provincial health coordinator for Mashonaland East. Dr Moyo, who serves as the organisation’s national health adviser, said the forum had been looking for people with the experience and qualifications to coordinate health programmes at provincial level.

Machamire was selected for Mashonaland East based on his professional background and record of service. Plans had also been underway for him to assess the requirements at Melfort Clinic and help mobilise support for the facility.

“He knew how to run a simple hospital,” Dr Moyo said. “Very, very innovative.”

For longtime friend Charles Mungofa, however, Machamire’s passing was also the loss of a friendship that had lasted more than four decades.

Mungofa told mourners that the two men had met in the 1980s and developed a close bond.

“Since we first met in the ’80s, we struck a very strong bond. What he did, I also did,” he said.

Mungofa said he affectionately called Machamire “Chef”, a nickname that reflected their longstanding friendship.

Beyond his professional achievements, Machamire was remembered for connecting generations of medical laboratory professionals and maintaining relationships with colleagues whose careers stretched back to Zimbabwe’s early years of independence. His death has left colleagues, community leaders, friends and family mourning a healthcare professional whose career combined laboratory science, entrepreneurship and community service.

Owen Machamire