Obituary: He died under the influence of a liquid he loved the most…..Farewell Tsano Jemwa

Obit by Nigel Pfunde

I write this obit with a heavy heart!

I can not state as fact that James Jemwa was fatally hit by a car under the influence of alcohol but knowing him and the time the incident last night around NSSA building in Harare occured it does not need a rocket scientist to tell or discern if you know the late Tsano Jemwa!

I learnt around 10am today that the curtain has fallen on the life of James Jemwa(as I affectionately called him).

He was a fearless photojournalist who was a bonafide decorated drinker.

He was a jovial companion whose presence lit up many spaces from newsroom corridors to dimly lit taverns that we drank together.

I was following condolences messages that flowed in social media and it was clear that Tsano Jemwa left behind a void in the hearts of those who shared laughter, struggle and countless toasts with him.

I did though I would sometimes run away from him for his behaviour yekudenha, ini ndokwata dhudhu!(I would leave him if intoxicated because he was foul mouthed ).

I first met Jemwa through my homeboy Taona Jonhera a senior photo journalist at ZBC and our acquaintance deepened when I discovered that he worked alongside my ex-wife Rumbidzai Musarurwa and mother of my lovely daughter Maita in theatre productions.

With time, he affectionately called me Tsano a title that carried through that he called Mai Maita a sister.

We then got more acquainted when he worked under my son-in-law Cyrus Nhara who is married to my daughter Tanaka Mazura at Al Jazeera.

Our paths often crossed at watering holes like The Quill Bar and most recently Tawaz Balcony Bar where our conversations flowed as freely as the bottles on the table.

Tsano Jemwa was a decorated drinker proudly in my league though, let me confess that it is a bad habit that my fiancée (whose name I’ll wisely withhold lest opportunists strike) and the prayers of my spiritual father Apostle Rodney Chipoyera are helping me overcome that habit that is retrogressive to development.
I however take solace in the FACT that the first synoptic gospel say that the first miracle Jesus turned wine into water has espoused in John 2 Vs 1-11 if mu Biblical knowledge serves me well having being born and the grew in the Seventh the Day Adventist church founded by revered Ellen White!

Tsano Jemwa was a man of people of the office I may say it in China Achebe’s voice.

He had the rare gift of connecting with anyone, anywhere and he would actually give a tip off if there is a fixer or new grind in town .

“Tsano Ninja you are not utilising your platform ,so many organisations willing to fund if you change narrative” he said to me in his hoarse voice .

But like every colorful character, he had quirks.

He could empty bottles on my tab all night, only to sheepishly declare at the end that he had no transport money.

As Express Mail Zim editor Nyasha Chuma (better known as Ba Ryan) and Emma would attest that this was classic Tsano Jemwa. .

However, when his gigs paid well, he would generously part with a few Benjamins to keep the party going and popping and could ball so hard more than Birdman !

In his final days on earth, we met almost daily at Tawaz Balcony which is a popular drinking hole in the shadow of the Zanu PF headquarters.

After a few rounds, Jemwa would often relive his painful experiences with the old regime under the late former president Robert Mugabe pointing at the Shake Shake building and defiantly raising a middle finger directed there.

I would tease him saying, “Zanu PF tastes like honey so never diss the one with the title”.

Beyond the bottle, Jemwa was a fearless journalist unafraid to chase stories or speak truth to power and was loyal to the game straight up.

He lived by the Shona idiom, “kana usina mukanwa haupihwe mukana” ((if you don’t speak up, you won’t be given a chance.)

His courage once earned him arrest and long detention before trial but he emerged unbroken, soldiering on with camera in hand.

Today, as we bid farewell I remember him not only as a drinking partner, tsano but as a brother-in-arms in the struggle of the Fourth Estate.

Of course I can’t say or lie that I know him too well like Apostle Chipoyera knows his word but go well tsano.

We were soldiers in the same struggle and will carry on using the pen to speak truth to power like my brother Elias Mambo would say as his favourite mantra.
Adios wangu!

–