Hundreds of mourners from across the country gathered in Makwarela Township in Sibasa on Saturday, 17 August, to pay their last respects to Vho Mashudu Alice Guduvheni, one of the Vhembe region’s most renowned designers of Tshivenda traditional attire.

Guduvheni (73), a devoted member of Charis Missionary Church, passed away at Donald Fraser Hospital in Vhufuli on 12 August after a short illness. She was well known for her designs of minwenda, misisi, and men’s traditional T-shirts.

In 1975, while living in Gauteng with her husband, she was introduced to the world of clothing design when she attended a design and fashion school in Kliptown. For nearly 49 years, she designed and manufactured Tshivenda traditional attire, which she displayed near the front door of Mbeu Bookshop in Thohoyandou.

On 24 February this year, she joined in the celebrations when her disabled husband, Mr Azwidohwi Phillip Guduvheni, turned 80.

One of her children, Ms Mushaisano Guduvheni, described her mother as a hardworking person who raised her children with love and encouraged them to pursue education as a weapon to defeat poverty and unemployment.

Vho Guduvheni is survived by her husband, five children, and 12 grandchildren.