HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe is in sorrow over the death of Geoffrey Nyarota, a distinguished journalist renowned for exposing government corruption and establishing one of the nation’s most influential and independent newspapers.
Nyarota passed away on Saturday due to colon cancer at the age of 74, with his burial planned for Wednesday.
He rose to prominence in the late 1980s while serving as the editor of The Chronicle, a state-run newspaper. Nyarota was pivotal in uncovering a scandal where cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials acquired cars from a local assembly plant ahead of the public and sold them for profit during a time when the country faced vehicle shortages.
This exposé led to a commission of inquiry, the resignation of five ministers, and the tragic suicide of one. However, Nyarota lost his position and relocated to southern Africa to teach journalism.
Educated during the era of white minority rule in what was then Rhodesia, Nyarota initially trained as a teacher, one of the limited options available to educated Black people, before transitioning into journalism.
According to government spokesman Nick Mangwana, Nyarota made a lasting impression on Zimbabwe’s journalism scene.
“Nyarota slept, dreamt, breathed and lived journalism,” stated the Media Institute of Southern Africa, a group advocating for media freedom in the region.
In 1999, Nyarota was instrumental in launching The Daily News, an independent publication that countered the state-controlled media narrative. With the slogan “Telling it like it is” and Nyarota at the helm as editor-in-chief, the paper quickly became known for providing a platform for dissent while criticizing government corruption and misconduct, soon surpassing the sales of the state-run Herald newspaper.
The staff of the Daily News, including Nyarota, faced numerous arrests and the paper’s printing press was bombed in 2001. The newspaper was eventually shut down in 2003 due to licensing issues, following Nyarota’s departure in 2002 over disagreements with new management.
In 2003, he became a Nieman Foundation fellow at Harvard University and went on to manage an online publication called The Zimbabwe Times. Nyarota later returned to Zimbabwe and in 2014, led a government-endorsed panel examining media ethics.
Nyarota was celebrated with multiple international accolades, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award in 2001, the Golden Pen of Freedom Award from the World Association of Newspapers in 2002, and the prestigious Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize that same year.
Reflecting on his journalistic endeavors amidst challenges, Nyarota regarded his efforts as a duty to the nation.
“It’s a form of national service for the welfare of our people,” he mentioned to The Harvard Gazette following his time at the university.