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It was difficult to believe that Mutasa, popularly known as Samaita, who I had talked to at his hospital bed at Masvingo General Hospital on Monday afternoon, had actually passed on.
His health was showing signs of improvement when I last saw him but God could not afford him another chance. He talked of his recovery and it gave us hope that it was a matter of time before his discharge from hospital.
Samaita might have disappeared from this otherwise cruel earth but the truth is he played his part and left an indelible mark in the media industry. He was an award-winning journalist, a feat that most people in the industry are still craving to achieve. He was also an editor par-excellence whose abilities saw him managing two New Ziana community newspapers at the same time. Apart from being the substantive editor for Masvingo Star, he was also editing Ilanga, a New Ziana’s community newspaper that is based in Gwanda.
Mutasa and the other two veteran journalists, Orirando Manwere (43) and King Dube (47)’s deaths were separated by hours. Manwere, who was National Aids Council (Nac) communications officer at the time of his death, was once a police officer like Samaita and they both worked for Zimpapers at around the same time in the early to mid 2000s. Samaita was at Chronicle while Manwere was at Sunday News. Dube worked for ZBC before he ventured into media consultancy.
Condolence messages from across the media divide poured in this week, as colleagues, far and wide expressed their eulogies over the untimely passing on of one of them.
Samaita was a larger-than-life character who could easily get along with anyone and a source of inspiration for many young and even experienced journalists. There are a good number of journalists who benefited from his mentorship.
He was a man of integrity, a character who never subscribed to cheque book journalism and would not stoop low to sacrifice his revered profession for cheap material rewards.
He also stood by his word and yearned for fairness and justice no matter how difficult circumstances were.
I remember him telling me some time ago that when he was still working for Pungwe, another title under New Ziana in Mutare, he turned down an offer of a car from a senior politician who wanted positive coverage.
He said he could not compromise his professional ethics for a vehicle that he could buy on his own anyway.
“If there is one thing I hate most, it is corruption. I will never, ever sing for my supper. During our times we used to declare whatever token of appreciation we got from our sources. We detested corruption and up to now I would never want to thrive on corruption. I hate cheque book journalism,” he said.
His hunger for justice was evident even when he was bedridden and I vividly remember what he said about uncovering corruption while on his death-bed at Masvingo General Hospital.
“You know, there is serious corruption that is happening in hospitals but the media is not doing anything. We have doctors here who pay lip-service to patients. I have heard one doctor telling a patient that he could provide him good care if he visited his private surgery.
“These are the kind of issues that the media should uncover without fear or favour because it seems people are dying at the mercy of unscrupulous doctors,” he said, showing difficulty in breathing.
Mutasa’s character was typical of people from Manicaland and those of his mbizi totem. He felt highly esteemed to be referred to as Samaita and many journalists knew him by that name. Samaita was an epitome of happiness but sometimes a hard-to-understand character. Also you rarely won an argument with him.
Samaita would not easily agree on anything without a thorough circumspection; he would first assess the merits of any advice you give him before giving in. That was Samaita for you.
Sandra Nyaira, a veteran Zimbabwean scribe based in the United States, expressed her sadness on her Facebook wall.
“I worked with him when he was still at Pungwe community newspaper in Mutare. He was a professional person who did his duties diligently and stood by the truth always. I am saddened by his death,” she wrote.
New Ziana community newspapers editor-in-chief Isaac Gumbo who had travelled from Harare to attend Samaita’s funeral in Masvingo said the late Masvingo Star editor was a well experienced journalist whose vast knowledge was second to none.
“Mutasa was a rare breed in that he introduced excellent aspects to our paper, Masvingo Star, thereby giving the paper an improved appeal in the media market. He made sound judgment in his execution of duty and that impressed me. He was an astute, well-polished journalist with a sober mind,” said Gumbo.
He said Mutasa had an amazing talent that saw him running two community newspapers without showing any signs of fatigue.
He said:
“Apart from being editor of our Masvingo edition, he was concerned with the editing of Ilanga, our Gwanda edition and he used to do the job with much energy and his usual enthusiasm. He was editing two papers every week and would not compromise on professionalism.
“His death has robbed us of a very important asset, for his leadership qualities were a cut above the rest. He also mentored many young journalists and they have benefited a lot. Many students from universities have come through his hands and they all sing praises of his abilities. They are all rising in the media. We are also getting condolence messages from all over the world and that shows how good and popular he was.
“The void he has left will be hard to fill.”
Gumbo said Samaita, a former police officer, teacher, editor and public relations practitioner, had a high degree of professionalism. Despite his vast experience he took instructions from superiors without any problem.
Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) commissioner, Mathew Takaona, described the late Mutasa as a humorous man who yearned for objectivity and integrity.
“We worked together with Mutasa at Zimpapers for many years and he was a professional guy, an analytic journalist who gave no room to unethical reporting. He won several accolades in the media industry.
He yearned for justice and fairness.
“We will remember him for his humour. His death is a big loss to the media profession,” said Takaona, a former Sunday Mail reporter.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists Masvingo provincial chapter chairman Zackary Gava said Mutasa was a role model in the media sector.
He said Mutasa was a repository of knowledge and expertise that benefited young journalists especially in Masvingo where he was based.
“Mutasa’s death is a heavy blow to the journalism family in Masvingo. He was a father figure to many scribes in the region and beyond and would be sadly missed by many,” said Gava.
Mutasa was born on 27 July 1961 and grew up in Zambia where he did his primary and secondary education before returning to newly-independent Zimbabwe in 1981.
On his return, he enrolled with a teachers’ college in Harare. He did not finish his three-year teachers’ training course as his love for a uniformed job was overwhelming. He joined the police force when he was on teaching practice.
In 1986 Mutasa enrolled at Harare Polytechnic College for a Mass Communication diploma which he completed in 1987.
After graduating with a diploma, he briefly worked for police in-house magazine Outpost before joining Ziana as a reporter.
After Ziana, he worked for Chronicle as Midlands bureau chief and was later appointed re-write editor, health editor and features editor based in Bulawayo.
A kind of nomad, he left Chronicle and joined the immigration department where he worked for three years before rejoining New Ziana as editor of Masvingo Star.
Mutasa was expected to be buried yesterday at his rural home in Chendambuya in Headlands, Manicaland. He left behind a wife Elizabeth and three children, Miriro,
Rangarirai and Salatiel (jnr).
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