Former Chronicle Sports Editor Kurwa buried

By Bruce Ndlovu

Former Chronicle Sports Editor Mr Innocent Kurwa, who died after a car accident last week, was laid to rest at West Park in Bulawayo yesterday, with speakers at his funeral describing the late scribe as an invaluable member of society whose absence would be felt in various spheres of life.

Mr Kurwa passed away after an accident that occurred near Ascot Shopping Centre last Saturday at around 9pm.

Kurwa succumbed to injuries at United Bulawayo Hospitals at around 2am last Sunday. In a graveside speech, the younger brother of the late journalist Mr Taison Kurwa described the death of his brother as it came in circumstances similar to those that took the life of his wife. Mr Kurwa’s wife, Getrude together with her mother, were killed four years ago in a road traffic accident.

“The amazing thing is that his death came in circumstances that are very similar to those that took the life of his wife. The Lord has his own way of doing things and maybe it was a sign that people that were together in flesh would be joined again in spirit under circumstances that were alike.

To the children I say that you have lost a father but you still have fathers, you have a lot of uncles, aunts and other relatives that are ready to stand with you and also stand in the place that was occupied by your father. I know you grew up in an urban setup but in our Karanga culture the loss of a father or mother does not mean that one does not have a parent anymore,” he said.

Bulawayo East Member of Parliament Mr Ilos Nyoni said Mr Kurwa had been a solution provider and person who thrived on resolving conflict.

“As a constituency we have lost a great resident in Mr Kurwa. When things went wrong, Mr Kurwa would end up being the mediator and resolving whatever conflicts were there. He was a busy man. A man that contributed a lot to society. You heard that he was a principled man. You heard that he was a man that wanted things done the right way. These are things that we all saw while we were living with Mr Kurwa. It is a tragedy for the community and a tragedy for Zimbabwe as a whole,” he said.

Chronicle managing editor Mr Isaac Waniwa said the journalism fraternity had lost a great servant who had proved to be a great mentor to many over the years.

“He left us a legacy of being honest and telling it as it is. As media we have lost a veteran who was a mediator. He was one person that people that were hurt by the media could turn to and in this province, he was our adjudicator that we trusted to resolve all conflicts,” he said.

A friend of Kurwa, Mr Takesure Famba said despite the death of his wife four years ago, Mr Kurwa’s love for his wife still endured.

“He really loved his wife and every conversation that we had he would digress and end up talking about that subject. He would tell me that it is better as a man to pass ahead of your wife because life is miserable when you don’t have your life partner. He always spoke about life after death and one time I asked him if he was ready for death and he said he was ready at any time to go and join his wife,” he said.

Mr Kurwa started his journalism career at the Chronicle in the 1980s, rising through the ranks, and became the paper’s Sports Editor. He left Chronicle to further his studies at the University of Zimbabwe.

Kurwa held a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Economics and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) as well as MSc in Development Studies (Nust). Between March 1997 and September 1998, he worked for Moto Magazine in Gweru as Editor. He then joined the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) where he was General Manager between 1998- 2005.

Upon retirement, he was involved in freelance work. An avid sports writer, Kurwa once had a column On the Ball in the Southern Eye. At the time of his death, Kurwa was an adjudicator for the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ). Also a devout Catholic, Kurwa also served as the church’s social communications officer for the Archdiocese of Bulawayo. He is survived by three children, two sons and a daughter. The Sunday News