Mutasa, a PhD graduate at 82, dies

Dar es Salaam. Dr Samwel Mutasa, who graduated in 2020 aged 82 after 41 years of pursuing a PhD at the University of Dar es Salaam, died yesterday in the United States. He was 84.
Mutasa became a household name after he was awarded a doctorate when the University of Dar es Salaam held its 50th graduation ceremony in 2020.
His eldest daughter, Linda Mutasa, who lived with him in Dar es Salaam when he was a student, said her father recently travelled to the United States to visit his children who are working there.
She added that it was Wednesday last week when Mutasa informed his children, who had gone to work, that he had a severe headache, and asked them to return home.
When they returned home, Ms Mutasa told The Citizen yesterday, that they found him lying on the floor, unable to speak. Instead, he was using one hand to indicate that he was experiencing pain in his head.
“They called an ambulance, and rushed him to hospital. He was examined, and it was established that a blood vessel had ruptured in his brain, and his blood pressure was very high,” she said.
Ms Mutasa added that her father stayed in hospital for three days after which blood pressure began to drop. “Unfortunately, at around 7pm yesterday we received a phone call, and were informed that our father is no more.”
Mutasa embarked on his journey to acquire his PhD in chemical analysis of certain nutrients and medicinal plants of the genus Cassia (L), a journey he began 41 years before his graduation in 2020.
His age, the discovery of compounds in various plants, and his courage to fight to achieve his goal, placed him in a minority group of octogenarians who made significant contribution to the development of chemistry education in the country.