Former ZBC newsreader Joseph Madhimba dies

Joseph Madhimba, a prominent Zimbabwean academic who was now based in Namibia and a talented former ZBC news reader, has died.

Madhimba, a media personality, is recognised as one of Zimbabwe’s greatest news readers of all time during his time at ZBC which had a lot of talent, only suppressed by tight state control of the public broadcasting channel.

Zanu PF captured ZBC from the 1980s and crudely made it its propaganda arm, destroying its credibility and viability even without competition.

How Zanu PF destroyed ZBC is emblematic of how it ruined the country as well.

Madhimba worked with the likes Grey Tichatonga, John Gambanga, Busi Chindove, Isidore Gwashure, Robin Shava, Everisto Mwatse, Themba Hove, Caleb Thondhlana, Patrick Nyamhunga, Dorcas Munyoro, Praexedes Dzingare, Themba Bassopo-Moyo, Noreen Welch and Alice Chavunduka, among others.

Reports say the former ZBC news anchor died this morning in Okahandja, 60km north of Namibian the capital, Windhoek.

Madhimba joined ZBC soon after independence in 1980 from Montpelier, France, where he had trained journalism and worked for AFP, a French news agency.

At ZBC, he first worked as a sub-editor and then news reader under the late Claude Mararike who was head of news.

Mararike, later an academic, had returned from Botswana where he worked as a print journalist.

Madhimba later left ZBC to join academia and financial markets based in Namibia.

He became a lecturer at the Polytechnic of Namibia, but suffered a stroke early last year, which resulted in heart failure. He had been hospitalised over the last 12 months before his death.

Funeral arrangements to follow soon.

Newshawks