Zororo: The man who wrote his own story

Leroy Dzenga Youth Diaries

This week’s instalment of Youth Diaries is dedicated to the late Zororo Makamba, a patriotic Zimbabwean whose life ended tragically on Monday.

At around 10am that day, a message beeped on my phone.

A source asked if my friend Zororo was okay.

It had become an unofficial public secret that he was unwell, my opinion was the disclosure itself was unfortunate.

I was not about to be drawn to further speculation on his condition, I refused to entertain the insinuation and went about my day.

Around midday, the same relative called and asked the same question again, which I gave the same treatment I had given before.

It did not take long; social media was buzzing with news of the unfortunate events that followed.

Even now as I write this, a part of me still hopes we will wake up from this nightmare and laugh about the terrible dream.

My first encounter with Zororo Makamba was sometime in 2015 at the University of Zimbabwe inaugural Tedx talk.

Those were the days he had debuted his online current affairs show, Tonight with Zororo.

After gaining sensational traction on the Internet, MultiChoice adopted the show and it began showing on Zambezi Magic.

He was flying high.

Zororo was to present on online content creation, while my presentation, which came just before his, was on digital storytelling.

We sat together, quiet, in preparation for our respective deliveries.

As he presented, one could see the depth he possessed on digital content creation.

He spoke passionately about the craft and need to tell Zimbabwean stories.

Even industry elders like Professor Saki Mafundikwa, who were part of the proceedings, could not help but nod in awe.

From his presentation, it became clear the country was to hear more from him, a passionate, eloquent patriot who understood the role of lucid communication in nation-building.

As soon as he got off stage, we continued with our exchange and exchanged contacts, marking a relationship that lasted till his last breath on Monday.

Of all relationships he had, the most sustained one was with the camera.

After remarkable success with “Tonight with Zororo”, which won a National Arts Merit Award (NAMA) for Outstanding Screen Production (Television) in 2016, he was to go off the grid for a while, studying for his Master of Fine Arts in Producing, in Los Angeles.

After completing his studies, he spent a year working at United Talent Agency in New York.

Upon his return, Zororo asked to meet up.

We met and caught up on issues, what was supposed to be a brief link-up dragged as the conversation kept changing form.

Towards the end, that is when he said: “I have a new show coming, called Point of View with Zororo Makamba.”

My response to him was in the form of a question, why had he chosen to come back home and tread the uncertain terrain of online content creation?

With his infectious smile, he said: “I see opportunities here that I would not be able to pursue elsewhere. I also want to create a structured content creation company where resources are directed towards content more than the transmission of the content itself.

“There is money to be made on the Internet bruv (sic).”

An implementer of note, he was to see his idea through.

“Point of View (POV) with Zororo Makamba” was the launch of Eleven Dogs, a company he co-founded with Henry Oliver Hakulandaba, an award-winning photographer and cinematographer.

POV was to become the mainstay in the country’s current affairs spectrum with a refreshing production value, many wondered why it was not on national television, a suggestion Zororo merely laughed off many times.

He was on a mission.

One endearing attribute he possessed is that he was never afraid of opening doors for others.

When POV grew in audience after the first season, Zororo left his successful show to Kuda Mangwe.

After ceding POV, he began “State of the Nation with Zororo Makamba”.

In hindsight, that could have been one of the best decisions he made in his career.

“State of the Nation” crystallised itself into a consistent platform where national issues were dissected with nuances.

Accompanied with rich graphical work, Zororo’s voice on “State of the Nation” became part of the contemporary current affairs discourse.

Senior Government officials, including Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana, as well as Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube at different intervals referred to his well-crafted episodes in their explanation of policy positions.

Even at the time of his cruel departure due to Covid-19, Zororo was still presenting “State of the Nation”.

He could think on his feet, a brief meet-up would sometimes culminate into workable concepts; some we executed, some we could not find time to effect.

Many people he spoke to can confirm that he had a regular habit of sharing products of his creativity with little restraint, he preferred doing so through voice notes.

From peers like myself to Government departments, many were in possession of Zororo’s brilliance somewhere in their phones or in their file trays.

He was a passionate man whose range went beyond the world of communication; he was an explorer.

Paying condolences after news of his death, Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Mangaliso Ndlovu wrote:

“Gutted by the news of the passing of one of the finest young communicators of our time. He was passionate about his country, was ever willing to play his part.

“I still have his brilliant proposal on promoting domestic tourism. Rest in Peace Zororo Makamba.”

This showed how versatile Zororo was, he could fit in many industries with ease.

As seen by the stint he had as a public relations executive at Telecel, one of the leading telecommunications companies in Zimbabwe.

His dream was to see the return of Joy TV on Zimbabwean screens.

It was an issue he spoke of religiously, his hope was that when the 12 channels promised by Government came, Joy TV would get a slot.

Sadly, he was not to live to see his dream coming to fruition. The heavens had other ideas.

Our last conversation was supposed to be a precursor to a book discussion that never was.

Like any other serious storyteller, he was a reader who had a visible inclination towards Zimbabwean stories.

His Twitter bio reads: “I hold the pen and my story is still being written.”

Verily, at the age of 30, his pen wrote its last on March 23 2020, but the stories he told will last forever.

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