Geoffrey Nyarota died Saturday at 74 after fighting colon cancer for a long time. He made his name as a brave reporter who dug deep into corruption cases in Zimbabwe. His biggest story came in 1989 when he showed how government officials bought cars cheaply and sold them for huge profits. Five ministers had to quit because of what he found out. The bosses fired him from his job at The Chronicle for telling this truth.
Trevor Ncube called him a pioneer who faced cancer with courage. Even government spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana praised him as a media giant who changed how journalism worked in Zimbabwe. Former editor Brezhnev Malaba pointed out that some crooks Nyarota exposed back in the 1980s still act like leaders today. He said this helps explain why corruption has hurt Zimbabwe badly.
Nyarota started working as a reporter in 1978 at The Rhodesian Herald. By 1983, he ran The Chronicle as its editor. During these early years, the military attacked people in Matabeleland, but his paper did not report much about these attacks. Later, in 1999, he started The Daily News, which became the most-read paper in Zimbabwe. His tough reporting earned him big awards from journalism groups around the world in 2001 and 2002.
Bad things happened to his newspaper because of its honest reporting. Someone bombed the offices in 2000, and a year later, they destroyed the printing press with another bomb. Nyarota blamed the Mugabe government for these attacks. He left the paper in 2002 after a fight with new managers. The next year, the government shut down The Daily News completely. Nyarota then moved to America, where he studied at Harvard and wrote books about Zimbabwe.
Throughout his last years, he kept writing books. In 2018, he wrote about how Robert Mugabe lost power. Then, in 2022, he published a book examining corruption among government ministers. As his health got worse from cancer, friends tried raising money for his medical care last December. He leaves behind his wife Ursula and their three children. His fearless approach to finding truth will keep inspiring reporters in Zimbabwe for many years ahead.
Trevor Ncube called him a pioneer who faced cancer with courage. Even government spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana praised him as a media giant who changed how journalism worked in Zimbabwe. Former editor Brezhnev Malaba pointed out that some crooks Nyarota exposed back in the 1980s still act like leaders today. He said this helps explain why corruption has hurt Zimbabwe badly.
Nyarota started working as a reporter in 1978 at The Rhodesian Herald. By 1983, he ran The Chronicle as its editor. During these early years, the military attacked people in Matabeleland, but his paper did not report much about these attacks. Later, in 1999, he started The Daily News, which became the most-read paper in Zimbabwe. His tough reporting earned him big awards from journalism groups around the world in 2001 and 2002.
Bad things happened to his newspaper because of its honest reporting. Someone bombed the offices in 2000, and a year later, they destroyed the printing press with another bomb. Nyarota blamed the Mugabe government for these attacks. He left the paper in 2002 after a fight with new managers. The next year, the government shut down The Daily News completely. Nyarota then moved to America, where he studied at Harvard and wrote books about Zimbabwe.
Throughout his last years, he kept writing books. In 2018, he wrote about how Robert Mugabe lost power. Then, in 2022, he published a book examining corruption among government ministers. As his health got worse from cancer, friends tried raising money for his medical care last December. He leaves behind his wife Ursula and their three children. His fearless approach to finding truth will keep inspiring reporters in Zimbabwe for many years ahead.
