Lynde Francis Zimbabwean AIDS activist and founder of The Centre, died yesterday from AIDS-related complications.

I had the privilege of interviewing Lynde in 2007, and found her to be one of the most stimulating, thought provoking, passionate and committed people I have ever met.

Keith Goddard, director of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) shared some of his memories of Lynde:

I learnt with deep sadness yesterday that Lynde Francis had died that morning. It was almost unbelievable because Lynde was always a great fighter. She had lived with HIV for decades and pulled through a serious illness, probably caused by a spider bite, which left her unconscious for days.

I first met Lynde as a dynamic member of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ). She didn’t fit into any conventional category or define herself as gay, lesbian or bisexual. She used to say she was polysexual and then laugh.

In the early 1990s GALZ had no offices and Lynde’s home was open house for many of our meetings and even interviews with journalists.

Lynde was the first member to receive sponsorship through GALZ to start counselling training with CONNECT and her home phone was the hotline for the GALZ Counselling Services. In 1995, Lynde’s dining room became the interim offices for GALZ until we moved to our present address.

She was also with us at the 1995 Book Fair which had as its theme that year ‘Human Rights and Justice’. Despite the title, government illegally banned GALZ from participating and the President, on opening the Fair, issued the first in a series of vitriolic attacks on gays. Despite the ban, we were there and I can remember standing next to Lynde and others day after day at an empty stand talking to members of the public who had come to stare at and mock the homosexuals. At the end we all went back to her house for a glass of white wine exhilarated by our success of having put gay and lesbian rights firmly on the national agenda in Zimbabwe. I remember Lynde describing it as a coup.

But Lynde’s association with GALZ caused her difficulties when it came to setting up and finding funding for The Centre. Government’s disapproval of GALZ made many AIDS Service Organisations nervous about being linked to an organisation which might incur the wrath of government. But, in true style, Lynde refused either to deny her links with GALZ or to give up the struggle to realise her dream of setting up The Centre.

She won through and in 1998 even spoke up at a meeting of ZNNP+ in support of the application for membership by GALZ. It was largely through Lynde’s efforts that GALZ became fully accepted and respected as a member of the AIDS movement in Zimbabwe.

Lynde gave hope to thousands of people living with HIV especially at a time when ARVs were unaffordable to most. She always took on too much and always placed herself second. She was a wonderful mother to us all and we will miss her dearly.

According to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, there will be a viewing for Lynde at the Doves Chapel, 157 Harare Street on Thursday 2 April from 11:30am – 1.00pm.  All those who would like to pay their last respect to Lynde are welcome to come and part take in this service.   Her body will be taken to Mutare for cremation. On Monday 6 April from 11:30 – 1.00 there will also be a Memorial Service at Celebration Centre in Harare to celebrate her life. Thereafter all are welcome at The Centre, 24 Van Praagh Avenue, Milton Park from 2.00pm-5pm.

If you knew Lynde and would like to share your memories of this amazing woman, please leave your comments here.

This entry was posted on April 1st, 2009 at 3:35 pm by Amanda Atwood and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.