‘I became a journalist because of Joseph Madhimba’: Tribute by Tichaona Sibanda

I became a journalist because of Joseph Madhimba. So, when I received the news today that the iconic journalist who defined the role of anchorman for a generation of television viewers in Zimbabwe had died, it left me devastated.

I knew he had been ill since last year. After both of us left the ZBC more than two decades ago, we kept in touch. We would phone each other on a weekly basis, speak for hours about anything, ranging from politics, current affairs and what’s been happening in Zimbabwe.

He was an encyclopaedia of knowledge pertaining to issues and he was the man to go to if ever I needed advice.

Sometime in September last year, I didn’t hear from him for days. I tried his number. He wasn’t answering. I sent him several text messages; he wasn’t responding.

This got me worried. I got hold of an old friend, a practicing journalist in Windhoek, Namibia, Tabby Moyo to find out for me if he was OK.

But before Tabby could come back with an answer, I decided to reach out to one of mukoma Joe’s old friends from their high school days, at St Ignatius College, John Gambanga, another fine scribe based in Harare.

The two had been friends for more than 50 years, and so it happened that he knew Madhimba had suffered a massive stroke and was hospitalised.

Ironically, last month, one of Zimbabwe’s finest news anchors, Wayne Musabayana phoned me after I had sent her a text informing her that her former co-presenter wasn’t feeling well.

But both of us were hoping he would pull through. His death today came as a blow to me personally because he influenced my decision to train as a journalist soon after leaving High school.

Growing up in Mkoba, Gweru—he’s also from Gweru, Madhimba was a fixture in our house as we watched the ZBC main news bulletin at 8pm, every evening for years. As a young person, his was the first voice I remember hearing associated with the ‘news’.

All my friends I grew up with will tell you that all I wanted to be was a journalist. It was because of this man, who has sadly left us.

He was a standard bearer for professionalism, integrity, and decency in journalism and the dignified way in which he conveyed the news to Zimbabweans. He became a household name because of his distinct baritone voice that made him a staple of radio and television.

I remember one time my mother screaming at me to reduce the radio volume when Madhimba was reading the afternoon news. ‘Can you not see his booming voice is rattling those windows,’ she quipped.

The man possessed this unique, powerful, rich, deep and resonant voice, the same voice I heard during our telephone conversations. But now it’s gone.

Meanwhile I still have very fond memories of both of us working under the same news and current affairs department at Pockets Hill. He was very particular with the way we pronounced words.

If he felt you were getting it wrong, he would sit you down and tell you exactly how its pronounced. His mastery of the Queen’s language left many in awe, me included. He would often tease me with statements like ‘babamunini, I didn’t go to school for nothing,’.

The man was a linguist as well. He spoke fluent French having studied his journalism in France before Independence in 1980. Go well mukoma Joe.

My sincere condolences to his family and to everyone who knew and loved him. May he rest in peace.

Tichaona Sibanda is a veteran Zimbabwean journalist based in the UK. He worked for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) as a Sports Reporter before later joining the independent SW Radio Africa in London