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Masvingo Bureau

Long-serving Zimpapers Masvingo Correspondent Walter Mswazie has died. He was 45.

Mswazie died yesterday morning at Makurira Memorial Clinic here from kidney failure after battling meningitis for over two weeks.

His younger brother, Mr Yassah Gumbochuma, confirmed the death.

“He was receiving medication for meningitis and in the process developed kidney complications which led to his passing on this morning (yesterday),” he said.

“We had thought that he was going to make it after the assistance and best wishes we received from the Masvingo community and beyond, but it was not to be.”

Mswazie’s death has cast a dark shadow over the Masvingo journalistic fraternity and beyond, with many expressing shock and paying tribute to him for his immense contribution to the media industry.

His death came barely two months after he wed his sweetheart, Ms Shingi Mswazie (nee Nyagumbo).

The Herald’s Masvingo Bureau Chief, George Maponga, who worked closely with Mswazie for a long time described him as a dedicated scribe who had a profound passion for developmental news.

“Mswazie was always the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave,” he said. “This speaks volumes about his dedication to duty. Besides being a foot soldier who loved his profession, Mswazie exuded deep humility and was always exemplary to other workmates, especially when it comes to commitment to his work.

“He has left a very deep hole that will be difficult to fill. Besides being a role model to budding journalists across the Masvingo media landscape, Walter also feared God and was a devout member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He will be dearly missed by Zimpapers, particularly at the Zimpapers Masvingo offices.

“He will also be missed by many people he used to interact with during his duties as a journalist.”

Zimbabwe Union of Journalists vice president Godfrey Mutimba described Mswazie as a rare breed of a journalist whose was committed to his work.

“The media industry in Masvingo in particular and the country in general has been robbed of a great unifier,” he said.