wfn.org | Africa University mourns shooting death of American

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 13, 2002	   News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54737Nashville,
Tenn. 10-21-31-71B{516}

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) - U.S. and Zimbabwe officials are investigating the
shooting death of a 58-year-old American who had been visiting his brother
at United Methodist-related Africa University.
 
Richard M. Gilman of Torrington, Conn., was fatally shot Nov. 11 after
allegedly trying to speed through a security roadblock in Mutare.

Each November, Richard had visited his brother, Howard (Gil) Gilman, a
sociology professor at Africa University, and he occasionally lectured to
the students.
 
Conflicting reports about the circumstances surrounding the death have
prompted the U.S. Embassy in Harare and the Zimbabwean police to launch
investigations. A U.S. Embassy spokesman told The New York Times that
American diplomats have gone to Mutare to investigate the shooting. 

Mike Hayes, a United Methodist missionary assigned to Africa University,
questioned police accounts of the shooting. "That just goes so contrary to
anything anyone knows about the man," he told United Methodist News Service.

Richard, an accountant, was a philanthropist for the Vumbunu Primary School
near Watsomba, outside Mutare. He funded the construction of the school's
library and provided books and shoes for the 100 students there. Plans to
bring electricity to the school were under way. 

Each November, he visited Howard and was involved in fund raising, charity
work and numerous development projects at primary schools on behalf of the
underprivileged and underserved, according to university officials. He also
established a food nutrition program called Mahewu, named after a
non-alcoholic traditional drink.

"(Howard) and his brother, out of their own pockets, were going to pay to
have electricity brought to a rural primary school there in Zimbabwe," Hayes
said. He added that the project had come to a halt because of violence
related to recent elections in that country.
 
Through frequent visits to Africa University in Mutare, Richard became
highly regarded as a lecturer by students and faculty. The university
community is mourning the loss amid its 10th anniversary celebrations this
week.
 
"Clearly, the death of Richard Gilman came to us as a complete shock," said
Professor Rukudzo Murapa, Africa University's vice chancellor. "We could not
believe that such a God-fearing man who dedicated himself to assisting
children in schools in Zimbabwe would have his life ended in such a tragic
manner. It is shocking in that the way he was killed defies all sense of
logic or morality."
 
Murapa and the entire university community are urging authorities "to
investigate thoroughly, impartially and professionally to bring to book
those that are responsible."
 
The vice chancellor said Richard was part of the university's community, and
brother Howard has "become a strong pillar on the academic staff."
 
"We mourn with Howard in the loss of his brother and pray for him and
Richard's family," Murapa said. 

The university's 10th anniversary celebrations will enable it to express
gratitude to its many supporters. Though the school grieves Richard's death,
it is "resolved to continue with the celebration and expressing gratitude
for having survived and prospered over last 10 years," Murapa said. "He
would want us to do so."
 
According to Bishop Felton Edwin May, vice chairman of the Africa
University's board of trustees and leader of the church's
Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, Howard is a member of the Covenant
United Methodist Church in Montgomery Village, Md. Richard's religious
background was unknown at press time.
 
The bishop said Howard accepted the call of servant ministry and wanted to
be an "agent of holy boldness." The call brought him and his skills as a
sociologist to Africa University two years ago. "He felt that he was doing
the right thing and had no doubt that he was following the mandate of Christ
to go into the world and preach the gospel," the bishop said.
 
May praised both the Gilman brothers for their work.
 
"Serving Christ in the world is a dangerous and risky enterprise," he said.
"It can only be creatively and authentically lived out if a person is
committed to Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior."

May described Richard as exemplifying a "servanthood" that demonstrated
faith as well as servant ministry. 
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United Methodist News Service
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