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Dumisani Nsingo
THESE quotes: “we are gathered here to celebrate a life” and “he or she has run his or her race” are synonymous with memorials, on the passing on of a loved one.
However, these cannot be said on the passing on of journalist Cornelius Luphahla. The young man had just attained a Degree in Language and Communication Studies at Lupane State University and much was expected from him especially on the journalism front.
Luphahla defied odds by shrugging the tag of the idiom “wet behind the ear”, which is mostly associated with journalism students on industrial attachment or cub reporters (a young or inexperienced newspaper reporter).
The young lad hit the ground running on the very first week of his industrial attachment and never looked back since then, writing well articulated social and developmental stories in our sister vernacular isiNdebele publication uMthunywa.
It did not take time for Luphahla to establish himself as a reputable journalist, a feat which most students can only dream of, as most of them return to see off the remaining part of their academics while still struggling to have their articles published on newspapers.
Sadly the young scribe decided to take his own life on Sunday last week under unclear circumstances. Some will say the cause of his death should not be revealed because it would send a wrong message to his readers and followers as he had assumed role model status.
However, I beg to differ as the same would want to know what led to the death of their cult hero and it is actually a disservice to leave them guessing.
Luphahla’s case is one of a flower that withers before it fully blossoms.
B-Metro senior sports reporter Fungai Muderere described the late Luphahla as one of the few versatile journalists of his generation.
“Luphahla was a versatile journalist, a very talented writer and a poet as well. It’s a pity he left us when he was very young as many of us thought he had a promising future,” said Muderere.
Somehow Luphahla’s command of isiNdebele was beyond his age at a time when most of his peers have let the effects of Westernisation affect fluency in their mother tongue. Not only did he have a good command of isiNdebele, he was also a fountain of knowledge on both cultural and traditional norms of the Ndebele. Of course many might argue that it was solely because of his rural upbringing as well as his other role of being a headman in his rural area of Mafa Village in Lupane District, Matabeleland North Province that gave him an edge over his age mates.
“Luphahla was an incisive thinker who was passionate about the preservation and development of isiNdebele and I can safely say he was a fountain of knowledge of the language with everyone referring to him on cultural and traditional issues. Although he was generally quiet he was sociable and interactive,” said B-Metro reporter Danisa Masuku.
Luphahla had endeared himself with the readers of uMthunywa and his work ethic and commitment was unquestionable — he was just awesome. The young man would have more than five to 10 stories published on the tabloid newspaper every week — to sum it up he was now the face of uMthunywa.
Luphahla was now known throughout the breadth of Matabeleland region and for someone who was barely two years into the profession it was a rare achievement and his source base left some seasoned journalists green with envy. One of the country’s seasoned journalists and former Chronicle editor Mduduzi Mathuthu described Luphahla as a brilliant reporter but felt the cause of his death should have been revealed as his followers and readers would be keen to know.
“I’m conflicted on a story in uMthunywa. Their star reporter Cornelius Luphahla died on Sunday (last week) — but try finding cause of death in that whole text. Yet, for ordinary people, journalists never think twice. He’s a colleague, not easy, but just tell the readers he hanged himself,” said Mathuthu on his twitter account.
UMthunywa editor Gugulethu Ncube said the late Luphahla was an integral member of the publication whose void would be difficult to replace.
“Luphahla was more than a reporter to me; to a certain extent he was uMthunywa, very dependable, hard working to the extent that at times he would fill up virtually all the pages of our publication with his stories. He did that when he was on attachment and continued to do so as a correspondent. His contribution will always be remembered and cherished,” said Ncube.
Also of note Luphahla’s writings were inclined on ensuring the development of the Matabeleland region and he also harboured thoughts of venturing into politics solely to ensure development in his area.
“Luphahla had gained popularity throughout Matabeleland, largely solely due to his writings and I believe he will remain one of the publication’s most popular writers in its history. I’m still at pains that he has left us at such a tender age, cutting short such a promising future,” said uMthunywa sports reporter Nkosilathi “S’bjo” Sibanda.
Just like the celebrated late American Baptist minister and activist Martin Luther King, Luphahla had a “dream” on the political front of which he touched on in his touchy last weekly column, Phos’ elakho in which he said: “Kusinwa kudedelwana-ke mahlabezulu, ubuntu, ukuthula, ukuthembeka kanye lokubambana akwande ukuze sakhe isizwe sethu”.
May his soul Rest In Eternal Peace.
derick.khumalo