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Gone too soon: The late Chronicle Business Editor Mernat Mafirakureva

 Edwin Ndlovu
After a church service on Sunday morning, October 24, 2010, l quickly drove home as I was supposed to brief a few journalists about our provincial meeting resolutions. As the provincial media person then, l was supposed to make sure our pending congress in January 2011 was given enough publicity as well as our preferred presidential candidate. We had agreed to leadership “renewal” within the party. As Bulawayo province our candidate was Prof Welshman Ncube.

I phoned the now senior political reporter for Chronicle, Nduduzo Tshuma and gave him the story. For Newsday I had to look for someone in Harare because if l gave it to local guys, the story would come out on Tuesday or even fail to see the light of the day especially if Chronicle published it first. Therefore sending it direct to Harare was the only option. Mernat Mafirakurewa came to my mind, the Bulawayo-born and bred journalist who was then based in Harare.

I called him and gave him the story. He responded positively and advised me that the story might make it to first page especially in the Southern edition. As per his words on Monday 25th October the Southern edition of Newsday had a screaming headline, ‘NCUBE FOR MDC-M PRESIDENT’. My excitement was short-lived, one sentence had killed the story. I was afraid other comrades would accuse us of tribalism. Mernat had written that in our meeting in Bulawayo we had adopted a slogan “One Bulawayo, One President”.

This was going to be a weapon for our detractors. l quickly called Mafirakurewa and queried why he wrote in that manner when I had said that as Bulawayo province we would want to “take one presidential candidate to congress’’ not his “one Bulawayo, one President’’. I got a rude awakening from Chief Mafira who bluntly told me that he, unlike me, was not a public relations person for my party but a very serious journalist at work .

He went on to say that l was actually very lucky that our “coup” was being publicised by his paper. He then explained that my story was told when the article said Prof Ncube was nominated by Bulawayo province and eight others. Still I was not happy . In the standing committee meeting that followed the issue of “one Bulawayo one President” was touched but was quickly dismissed. That was Mafira for you. When I was still at sixes and sevens, Mafira burst into laughter forcing me to join him reluctantly.

True to his assertion, when Prof Ncube read the story he remarked to a colleague that although the person who leaked the story was unknown together with his motive, the story actually did good to his campaign. This vindicated Mafira, he was right after all .

Mernat was such a principled and intelligent journalist. I knew him in early 2000s when he was writing the column On the Lighter Side for Sunday News. After he left the paper for what he thought were greener pastures (yet they were grey), we became closer as we both had offices at York House in Bulawayo. I was introduced to him by Khumbulani Malinga, our then youth activist. They were both working for a youth organisation. It was not long before he went back to the noble profession and Newsday which was assembling a strong team duly snapped him and he was deployed in Harare and he rose through the ranks to take over from John Nyashanu as News Editor.

During that period of 2010 up to 2012 , l was also deployed to Copac and worked from Rainbow Towers which was a stone’s throw away from Alpha Media where Mernat worked .

In the morning before work, I would first go to Newsday offices and ask for the Southern edition from Bulawayo boys Mernat, Wellington Toni and Brian Chitemba. Mernat would take me to the newsroom and introduce me to his colleagues. As they say that in Harare people do not sleep, after work some journalists would go to Cassa Sports Dinner behind Jameson Hotel, others would be at Quill Club at Ambassador Hotel and some at Cresta Oasis Hotel chatting over glasses of wise waters .

Chief Mafira would not be found in such places and I had to ask him why. His answer was that he divides his time between work and family and therefore after work he would go home to spend time with his family. He really loved and respected his family . He was such a rare breed.

A day into his return to Zimpapers as Chronicle Business Editor, I received his call inquiring about driving lessons and he immediately started learning. He had already bought a Honda Fit and would come to lessons driving it. He told me that he had left his family in Harare since his wife was doing a certain course and said that he drove every weekend to Harare to be with his beloved young family.

When he went to book at VID for a driving test, he was booked for Saturday May 17. He was reluctant to fulfil that VID appointment saying he would be travelling to Harare on that particular day. I persuaded him to go for his test so that he would then be free to travel to Harare after acquiring his licence. Mernat did pass his driving test on that day and was very happy. Within a week after he passed, three colleagues of his from Harare rang me to inquire about driving lessons at my driving school saying Mernat referred them to me.

On Thursday last week when I logged onto my Facebook account, my heart nearly stopped beating when l saw posts by his colleagues announcing his passing on. I was in denial at first. I tried to call his colleagues and failed to go through and I assumed since it was early in the morning they were in diary meeting. Finally I managed to get through to Chronicle’s deputy News Editor Prosper Ndlovu who had no words but just said , “Ah mfowethu , eish kunzima” . I called his best friend in Harare Owen Gagare, who failed to utter a single word but just broke down. lt was real, Mernat was no more, what a cruel world !!

“Chief” Mernat Mafirakurewa will be sadly missed. Such a wonderful young man, intelligent, respectful, principled taken away so soon. True to a Ndebele proverb that isitsha esihle asidleli. May his dear soul rest in peace. I also wish Roberta Katunga a speedy recovery.

Edwin Ndlovu is a political activist and former MDC Spokesman for Bulawayo Province.