In 1979, it was announced that the death had occurred of John Bradburne. He died a violent death at the hands of Rhodesian guerrillas who accused him of being an informer and took him out of the hut that he was living in and shot him dead. He had spent the last years of his life living in a leper colony in Mutemwa. As the war in the area worsened he was repeatedly warned to leave the area but he refused and continued his work caring for the sick in the leper settlement.

John Bradburne lived an extraordinary life. He was born to Anglican parents on 14 June 1921 in Cumbria, England. A sense of adventure led him to join the British war effort in 1939 and it was during the war that he had a type of spiritual experience that led him on a lifelong journey to God.  

He began this journey with the Benedictines in Buckfast Abbey, where he became a Roman Catholic in 1947. He spent his life travelling the world in search of god with only a Gladstone bag as his companion. 

When he was nearly 40, Bradburne wrote to Father Dove – by this time a priest in Rhodesia – and asked him if he knew of "a cave in Africa which I can pray in?" 

After his arrival, Bradburne told a Franciscan priest that he had three wishes: to help the victims of leprosy, to die a martyr, and to be buried in the Franciscan habit.  A few years later, the Jesuit missionaries introduced him to the Mutemwa Leprosy Settlement near Mutoko. He arrived in 1969, went on to become its warden, and remained until his death. He is fervently commemorated, for many believe him to be a saint. 

Produced by Micheal Johnson and Presented by John Dove

( First Broadcast in 1981)