Former Chronicle Sports Editor dies

Sports Reporters
FORMER Chronicle Sports Editor, Innocent Kurwa, died on Sunday morning after his car was involved in a head-on collision along Leopold Takawira Avenue in Bulawayo.

The accident occurred on Saturday at around 9pm, near Ascot Shopping Centre and Kurwa succumbed to the injuries, at the United Bulawayo Hospitals, at around 2am on Sunday.

Witnesses said Kurwa was travelling from the city centre, heading to his home in Sunninghill suburb.

Soon after passing the UBH turn-off, another vehicle emerged from the opposite direction and encroached onto his traffic lane, resulting in a collision.

Kurwa was trapped in the wreckage and the ambulance crew later managed to rescue him.

Sunday News Senior Reporter Robin Muchetu, who arrived at the scene a few minutes after the accident, said she managed to contact an ambulance, which took Kurwa to UBH.

“I arrived at the scene at around 9pm and he was still trapped in the wreckage. He managed to recognise me as he was groaning in pain and I immediately called an ambulance, which took him to UBH,” she said.

“When they took him to hospital, I thought he would make it, but sadly I received a call from nurses at UBH, at around 2am this morning, notifying me of his death.”

Bulawayo police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube, said the driver of the other car, was speeding and encroached onto the lane of oncoming traffic, resulting in the two cars colliding.

“I can confirm that two cars, a Nissan Almera and Jaguar were involved in a head-on collision along Leopold Takawira Avenue near Ascot Shopping Centre on Saturday night.

“The driver of the Nissan Almera sustained severe injuries after he was trapped in the wreckage while the other motorist sustained minor injuries.

“They were both rushed to the United Bulawayo Hospitals but, unfortunately, the driver of the Nissan Almera, Innocent Kurwa (63) of Sunninghill suburb in Bulawayo, died a few hours later.”

Family spokesperson, Wonderful Makura, said they had lost a pillar.

“His death came as shock to us and, as a family, we have lost a pillar. He was a dependable and honest person in whom we had bestowed our trust as a family,” he said.

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.

Between March 1997 and September 1998, he worked for Moto Magazine in Gweru as Editor.

He is survived by three children, two sons and a daughter.

Mourners are gathered at Number 103 Walsingham Drive in Sunninghill suburb, Bulawayo.

Kurwa’s wife, Getrude together with her mother, were killed four years ago, in a road traffic accident, almost similar to that of her husband.

Former Herald Sports Editor, Jahoor Omar, said Kurwa cared for journalism.

“Innocent Kurwa was my contemporary. He was Sports Editor of the Chronicle while I held a similar title at The Herald in the 1990s,” said Omar.

“We mostly spoke on the phone, twice a day, before morning and afternoon conferences to brief each other on the stories we were chasing and/or were carrying for the next day’s edition.

“We did get to meet, though, a few times when he came up from his base in Bulawayo for either the annual Sportsperson of the Year or the Natbrew Footballer of the Year banquets.

“A gregarious, loquacious character, Innocent was the type of person who, if you met for the first time, you would never forget. I still remember his booming laughter.

“Although The Herald was the leading national daily at the time, expected to set the standard for its quality of reportage within the Zimbabwe Newspapers stable, Innocent refused to believe the Chronicle had to play second fiddle all the time to the broadsheet produced in Harare.

“He would take pride in driving his reporters on the Sports Desk to come up with original stories suitable for a national audience.

“Competitive by nature he was blessed with an enquiring mind and was always questioning, qualities I am certain he inherited from his predecessor as Chronicle Sports Editor, David Ncube, one of the country’s finest newsmen.

“Innocent Kurwa will be sorely missed, most notably within the journalism fraternity where he made his mark.”