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Senior Arts Reporter
Mr Charles Nhira has described her daughter as an obedient child.
Anne died yesterday morning from injuries sustained after being mugged by armed robbers on Monday afternoon in South Africa.
Her brother Juan said she was injured on her chest area, rib cage and back during the robbery in the Bedfordview area in Johannesburg.
In an interview, Mr Nhira said he was shocked by the death of her daughter as she was also starting to grow her career and business. “My daughter was very polite, obedient and humble,” he said.
“She was the first daughter in a family of seven — five boys and two girls. I am deeply hurt and I don’t know what to do right now. Her death has come when she was establishing herself again. She died a painful death.”
Mr Nhira said they were waiting for the post mortem results before they could repatriate her body for burial.
“I am told now that they are waiting for post mortem result. Her brothers in South Africa are working on the modalities for her to be repatriated. She will be definitely buried here, but now I can’t furnish you with the details.”
Mourners are gathered at 3429 Manyame Park, Chitungwiza.
Some close to the family said Anne’s body might arrive in Harare this Sunday, if all goes according to plan.
South African-based Zimbabwean actor Denzel Burutsa, who acted alongside Anne as Jabu in Studio 263, said it was hard to describe her in one paragraph.
“My heart bleeds with the loss of a sister from another mother. When I first met Anne I had mixed feelings about her. Her entry for the auditions was late and unplanned. It was all coincidental. She had attended ‘This is life’ by Derek Bailey and made a lasting impression with the producers of Studio 263, hence landing her the role of Vimbai Jari.”
Burutsa described Anne as a straight forward person. “She was cocky, confident and straight forward. I hated it at first but with time I learnt to appreciate her ‘big sister’ nature and attitude, always reprimanding me and DWP even off set. She had the audacity to set me straight just like any older sister would do even though she was younger than me.
“Working with her was a challenge, her level of professionalism made co-actors and directors step up their game.
“Looking back, I painfully realize how much I learnt from her, had I not been stubborn, I could have gain a wealth of knowledge and maybe even a respectable level of discipline.”
Burutsa said Anne will be remembered for her iconic role as she touched people’s lives through her work.
“May your family and friends find comfort in the fact that your soul may rest in eternal peace till we meet again,” he said.
Ben Mahaka, who acted as Tom Bambo in the same Studio 263 soapie, said he learnt a lot from Anne.
“My dear Anne, Vimbai wangu, I watched you grow from a shy young woman to a national icon in the arts,” he wrote in his eulogy on social media.
“For years, you struggled to reconcile the disconnect between celebrity and poverty, but you fought your way out and into the business world. You were talented, fiercely independent, hot tempered, adventurous — a woman.
Online Reporter