The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
THE late United Kingdom-based veteran journalist and former Chronicle news editor Brian Moyo was laid to rest at Umvutshwa Cemetery in Bulawayo yesterday.
Moyo passed away on 2 June at the age of 65, after a long battle with lung cancer. He worked for Chronicle in the 1980s before moving to the UK in 1988 where he worked for various newspapers and magazines in London before setting up his own website, Touch Base Africa.
Moyo was given a befitting send-off by family, friends and colleagues, with speakers taking turns to praise his humanity and his rare gift as a journalist. Moyo’s former editor at Chronicle, Stephen Mpofu hailed Moyo as one of the most talented journalists that he had ever worked with.
“I have lost my sight but I have not lost memories of Brian Moyo. He was a brilliant journalist. When I went to the Chronicle from the Sunday Mail to replace Geoffrey Nyarota I found Brian who was perhaps the best journalist at the paper. I was saddened when he left for the UK. Saddened because we had lost a good journalist but overjoyed because as someone who had gone to Cambridge, I knew that he would be acquiring skills that he would impart to young journalists,” he said.
Mpofu said the death of Moyo was a reminder that everyone’s time on earth was limited.
“A son of the soil has gone back to the soil. All of us are going back to the soil. His death should be a reminder to all of us to prepare for our return back to the earth,” he said.
Comic book writer and cartoonist Boyd Maliki, also a former colleague at Chronicle said Moyo was a journalist par excellence who was motivated by a desire to help people, including those outside the field of journalism.
“People don’t know this but he promoted a lot of talented musicians. People like Oliver Mtukudzi he gave them great write-ups. They made it through people like Brian. He was also more like a talent scout. He discovered Sipho Masina who came up with the Thunderboots cartoons. He collected his material and said listen, there is a boy from Luveve and he has a great talent and when we saw his work it was fantastic and just like that Masina had a job,” he said.
A family representative, only identified as Ms Moyo, said Moyo had been charitable, lending a helping hand to people even on his death bed.
Born in Luveve, Bulawayo, Moyo, the fourth child in a family of eight, did his primary education at Mbizo School and his secondary education at Luveve Technical College. Moyo worked at The Chronicle from 1985 to 1988 before joining African Times, Hansib Publications, in London from 1989 to 1991, where he worked as the editor. From 1991 to 1995, he worked for West Africa Magazine in London as business editor, before joining the Lloyds List (Public Ledger), where he worked as commodities editor from 1995 to 1997. He then moved to Metal Bulletin in London as the fast track editor.
From 2000 to 2001, Moyo joined the Children’s Publishing Company ZIMERIT as managing director, while he also worked as part time editor for The Guardian education section. He moved to Kensington Publications Ltd in London where he worked as Commonwealth editor from June 2001 to 2003, before joining Commonwealth Business Publications as managing editor.
In 2004, Moyo was consultant business development manager for Kurdistan Development Corporation in London.
He leaves behind his wife, four children — two daughters and two sons — and five grandchildren.
