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Senior Court Reporter
HUNDREDS of people yesterday thronged Famona Farm in Inyathi, Bubi district, to bid farewell to provincial magistrate in charge of Matabeleland North and former freedom fighter, John Masimba. Masimba (56) died on Friday last week at 1.45am at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) due to intestinal complications that emanated from a recent accident.
Speaker after speaker spoke well of the late magistrate, describing him as a humble man whose interaction with people cut across their social standing.
In his graveside eulogy, chief magistrate, Mr Mishrod Guvamombe, said Mr Masimba was a hardworking man whose loyalty to duty was unquestionable.
“Masimba was a hardworking man who was entirely dedicated to his work and imparting knowledge to colleagues. In fact, I have known him for years both as a colleague during which he proved to be an upright man who shunned corrupt tendencies,” said Mr Guvamombe. “He was a fountain of knowledge having seen it all. He worked as judiciary officer at many stations throughout his career.”
Mr Guvamombe said Mr Masimba had left a gap that would be difficult to fill.
“The faith which we had in Mr Masimba and the fact that he never faltered in administrative issues speaks volumes about his capabilities as a judiciary officer. The void that he has left will be extremely difficult for us to fill,” he said.
Mr Guvamombe said in recognition of his service, Mr Masimba at the time of his death had just been appointed a trainer of magistrates by the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC). “He knew how to mould upcoming magistrates into fine judiciary officers that we would all be proud of. He even trained other senior magistrates in various aspects of their work, which is a clear indication that Mr Masimba was indeed an integral cog in the magistracy,” he said.
The acting secretary of JSC, Justice Samuel Kudya echoed Mr Guvamombe’s sentiments.
“Masimba was an honest and hardworking man and throughout his service, he was an exemplary person. He was one of the first cadres to train as magistrates soon after independence,” he said.
Senior Assistant Commissioner Edmore Veterai of ZRP Headquarters (Administration) said Mr Masimba contributed immensely towards the success of the land reform programme.
“The liberation struggle did not start because we hated white people. In fact it started because of the issue of land imbalance between whites and blacks. Masimba contributed towards the success of the land reform programme through his impartial and professional way of handling court cases that were related to land,” said Snr Asst Comm Veterai.
Family spokesperson and son, Mr Gerald Masimba thanked the people for joining his family in mourning their father.
“The past two months have certainly been difficult for the family as my father’s health continued to deteriorate following a recent accident that occurred while he was coming from a workshop in Harare.
As a family we really appreciate the support shown by everyone during such a difficult moment,” he said.
Born on 4 February 1957 in Chivi district in Masvingo Province, Mr Masimba attended primary school at Taru in Chivi before enrolling at Berejena Mission where he did Form 1 and 2. He completed his secondary education at Gokomere High.
After that he went to Mozambique in 1976 to join the liberation struggle and underwent military training at Chimoio under Zanla.
Soon after independence, he worked at the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court as a clerk before enrolling at the Judiciary College of Zimbabwe in Domboshava outside Harare where he trained as a magistrate between 1981 and 1982. On finishing his course, Mr Masimba was employed by the then Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs as a trainee magistrate.
He was sworn in as a junior magistrate in 1984 until 1987 when he was promoted to a senior magistrate.
Mr Masimba rose through the ranks to become a provincial magistrate in 1989 starting off in Masvingo where he took charge before he was later transferred to Marondera to head Mashonaland East.
On 2 January 2001, Mr Masimba was transferred to Bulawayo as head of Matabeleland North and Bulawayo provinces.
He served as provincial magistrate for 24 years.
He is survived by a wife, Sherry Rose and four children – three sons and a daughter.
Among the mourners were Judge President of the Bulawayo Labour Court, Sello Nare, the officer commanding police in Bulawayo Province, Senior Assistant Commissioner Stephen Mutamba, his Matabeleland North counterpart, Snr Asst Comm Norman Sibanda and several magistrates, prosecutors and staff members stationed at different parts of the country.
Online Reporter