Germany-based Zimbabwean journalist and founder of Spotlight Zimbabwe, Itai Mushekwe, died at the age of 42, with colleagues confirming that his burial took place quietly in Cologne earlier this month amid little information about the circumstances of his death.
Media colleagues confirmed that Mushekwe, who founded the online news platforms Telescope News and Spotlight Zimbabwe, passed away in Germany earlier this year.
He was reportedly found dead in his home, although details surrounding the circumstances of his death remain unclear.
Mushekwe, born in Rusape and educated in Harare, began his journalism career with the Zimbabwe Independent, where he worked as a reporter for several years.
He later relocated to Germany at the height of Zimbabwe’s political, economic, and social crisis. From abroad, he established online publications that became known for their tabloid-style reporting.
Colleagues say Mushekwe lived alone in Germany, was unmarried, and had no immediate family present in the country.
He was cremated and laid to rest on 20 August in Cologne.
A pastor who presided over the burial reportedly learned about his background as a journalist through an online search. Efforts to notify colleagues and associates came too late for them to attend the funeral.
Some fellow journalists expressed shock that news of his passing only became public months after his death.
