Tribute to Sekuru Alex Tawanda Magaisa

"Mhofu, ko Alex aita sei?”

”hindava?”

“He’s no more…Check your twitter”

Today was just another random Sunday, and I was not doing much social media. Spent most of my morning in church, though at the same time, deep in thoughts over some work assignments that I needed to attend to. Just as church ended, and I unlocked my phone to see what had been happening since morning, only to greeted by a message from a close friend, both trying to confirm and notify me of tragic news that left me shell-shocked beyond comprehension.

In the midst of my personal despair, I still felt a need to pen a little tribute, to a gentle giant, who has meant so much to me. Yet…words fail me. I’m certain many more are feeling the same. It can only be worse for his children and family. For his closest friends.

Death has no shame

Scrolling on the blue-streets, I read many messages, citizens in shock, expressing grief over the demise of this great Zimbabwean. Some called him a “patriot”, some a “brave warrior of the struggle”, “a giant, a force, an intelligent man, a fine man, sober mind, cool character”, “a gentleman”, “a distinguished public intellectual, prolific writer, thought leader”. All these expressions are well earned and appropriate. Please allow me to pay homage to Dr Magaisa too. I want to also talk about the Shakespeare of Zimbabwean politics, who shaped our political diction like no other. I want to talk about the intellect who helped bring all important socio-economic and political topical issues on the agenda. A man who kept many of us “focused”.  But I won’t talk about how much of a good colleague, good counsel, good lawyer, homeboy, good family man, he was. I’m not qualified to talk about all that. I want to write from the heart, and tell you how much this man meant to me personally………

I’ve always had some political consciousness from a very young age. And I particularly loved reading and a times, writing. I read newspapers, religious followed news on our national broadcaster. With time, I became disillusioned by the constant propaganda, and sought to find independent alternative news coverage. Among the many, was the “Big Saturday Read” cutting edge analysis. I marveled at the brilliance of the writer, whom I didn’t know much, save for the fact that he had been Dr Tsvangirai’s advisor, eventually playing a huge role, in helping birth the 2013 Zimbabwean democratic constitution. Every Saturday, after reading his popular articles, I became more and more interested in the scribe, and sought to want to learn from him. Eventually, I had to create a folder on my old laptop, wherein I saved all the BSR articles, and I’ve kept the tradition. Around the same time, I had begun subscribing to the thinking that the “fight” for a better Zimbabwe demands we all locate ourselves in the struggle, and contribute accordingly. I quickly convinced myself that I could do so, through the pen. Quite ambitious, but I was willing to try. With time, I joined twitter, where I knew most of the political stuff came from. And of course, Dr Magaisa, the man I had idolized for so long, became one of the first people I followed. Me idolizing Dr Magaisa, is one of two main reasons why his demise has pained me so much.

Though I’m intending to, I still do not think I’m capable of putting to words, how much I idolized Dr Magaisa and obsessed myself with wanting to be just half as good as he was. It may not mean much to many, but the height of my admiration of Dr Magaisa, was me asking him to be one of the only two people I’ve ever asked to be my mentors, the other one being mukoma Thabani Mpofu. With both men, I waited until I felt I had gained their respect, to actually formally make the request. Writing as much as I possibly could, mainly as a way of contributing to the struggle for an emancipated Zimbabwe, I eventually earned a “follow-back” on twitter, from the great Alex Magaisa. I deliberately didn’t express how much that meant to me when it happened, but believe you me it did. Eventually, the follow back turned into random retweets, responses, random interactions. So eventually, I sent him a private message, asking that he mentor me, as a “writer”. He cryptically responded to that part of the request, promising alternatively, to read and react to one of the articles I had written. Surely he did. Part of what he said was simply that ‘..carry on, you already understand what you want to do, and you’re doing it.’ I’ve not looked back since. And every time he responded, it was a constant reminder that my mentor and idol, was keeping an eye.

With time, Dr Magaisa meant more and more to me. Particularly because he was a “Save”, my mother’s totem. From a day I cannot quite remember, I stopped calling him Dr, and could never call him by his first name. It only became “Sekuru” and he would always reciprocate, or reach out either by calling me “Muzukuru wevaera Dziva”, or sometimes “mzaya”. Those who may have noticed this, yet oblivious of its genesis, may think that we had a blood relationship because to me, he permanently became “Sekuru” and he would reach out to me both publicly and privately, with the same affection. Today, I’ve lost my Sekuru.

Dr Magaisa is the ultimate reason why I became, as I enjoy putting it, a wordsmith, especially on twitter. When I wrote my first ever article, I tried as much as I could to imitate his style. I would write a paragraph, quickly rush back to one of his articles and see whether I was still going about it the right way. For me, the Magaisa way is the right way. In one of our interactions later on, he reminded me of the importance of striving as much as possible, to just be myself. Though I obsessed with writing as much as him, I failed on that, partly because of time, and also because i realised not many would read articles shared from a different cite. Alternatively, I began doing threads more frequently. One of the things I picked from him was the signature “wamagaisa” line at the end of all his BSR articles. I penned my own. “enkosi”. Of course there’s more to that “enkosi”, but inspiration did come from him.

I also created illusions in my head, over how our paths could be similar. From his writings, I recall vividly that he captured the attention of his eventual Boss, Dr Tsvangirai who then sought for his services because of the indisputable skills he possessed. Fast forward to 2018-2019, my random tweets captured the attention of the Tsvangirai succeeding generation, generational leader, Advocate Nelson Chamisa. I will respectfully keep our private interactions private, save to say that, it felt like I was walking in my idols shoes, though they were too big and will forever be. Of course I'm neither the first nor the last person Adv Chamisa has engaged, yet for me still, in my delusions of grandeur, it still made me feel like a Magaisa-lite. Part of the reason being that Dr Magaisa eventually made a Chinua Achebe reference of himself and me, four years later, just as he had made one regarding Dr Tsvangirai and Adv Chamisa, on the 19th of February, at the former’s funeral. At the funeral, Dr Magaisa cryptically quoted “Things Fall Apart”, tweeting four pictures of Adv Chamisa addressing a sea of MDC mourners, with the caption, “Where are the young suckers that will grow when the old banana tree dies?” This random tweet then, would mean a lot to me, years later, becoming part of the fuel that kept me going.

Another one of the attributes that made Dr Magaisa stand out, was his general knowledge on pretty much everything. This I learnt, he picked from his love for reading. Dr Magaisa was clearly an avid reader and follower of current affairs, if his writing and interactions were anything to go by. My God, Dr Magaisa could explain virtually anything, with so much precision and accuracy. You could talk to him about politics, about Arsenal, about Simon Chimbetu, about game of thrones, about the Art of War, about the Ukraine War, about Guptagate in South Africa and be impressed. I quietly tried to imitate him and eventually found interactions with him exciting because you could honestly have an enriching exchange with him, about so many things. It’s a rare quality and it made him stand out. Dr Magaisa to me, was the ultimate academic.

So many things distinguished Dr Magaisa, and on many of those things, I failed to imitate him, though I would always wish to. One of the amazing qualities that I picked from interactions with him, or watching him interact with others, was his ability to maintain his temperament. Not many can claim to have possessed emotional intelligence, like Dr Magaisa. Although he would at times be unrelenting and unwavering on what he regarded as principle, he would still engage his protagonist with grace and respect. That however wasn’t to be misunderstood as naivety. In fact, one day, unbeknownest to me, he quietly followed one of my back and forth interactions with two “varakashi” and eventually saved me from needlessly wasting my energies on people who were arguing just for the sake of it, by saying… “Mzaya this patience with trolls is honorable but it will only waste your time. Send them to go and play with their friends.” This was his nature. When the situation demanded, he would even “insult” excitable characters respectfully, in a way that was extremely hilarious. I marveled at this.

I will miss how much he valued acknowledging credit, where he felt credit was due. He also was not a kiss-ass. In his own way, he clearly understood his weight on the social media 'streets' as we call them,  and positively used his influence to be a voice for the voiceless. When situations demanded so, he would say out some uncomfortable truths, yet in a none combative way, to compatriots. Dr Magaisa would never play to the gallery, for the sake of likes and retweets on twitter. He understood the importance and power of influence, if applied properly. I’m quickly reminded of one time when he rushed to my DM, to continue one of his many cryptic posts where he did a mini survey about influential twitter accounts, for those who remember. Though lost to some, he actually expressed deep felt disappointment and disillusionment, with compatriots in the alternative, albeit skillfully and diplomatically. We engaged on the topic privately, putting me into his confidence, over some behavior which troubled him. When I asked him why he wasn’t being direct and confrontational, it became one of the many lessons he shared, which I won’t forget. Every time he privately reached out to talk about issues he wouldn’t want to discuss publicly, it would feel strange because i thought it would takes a lot to earn such a man’s trust.

Now....the second reason why I’m devasted by his death is knowing fully well, that I will betray the trust he had developed in me. I call it strange because I can never understand why. Perhaps it was my constant reference to him as “Sekuru”, and genuine respect while at it, that had him somewhat develop a soft spot for me. . I again make reference to the Chinua Achebe quotation. But first….on the 27th of March this year, I noticed that my account had attracted the attention of 10 000 followers. I rarely follow such developments, yet on that day, I decided to acknowledge the significance. Consequently, I posted a tweet thanking all my “followers”. In one of the responses, someone drew parallels between myself and Sekuru Magaisa, saying like him, I had become a “…voice of reason and a voice of the people”. I immediately shrug it off, arguing that there can never be another “Alex Magaisa’, and I still maintain it. In fact, I thundered that such comparisons only but belittled and insulted this intellectual giant. Eventually, Sekuru Magaisa picked it up and reacted in vintage Magaisa style, one more time quoting perhaps his favorite writer,  Chinua Achebe. He tweeted: “…Mzaya is being modest and kind. He is doing very well. If Achebe asks where the young suckers are when the banana tree dies, it will be easy to point to him.”

I’ve always guarded against memory loss, by writing down everything that would have struck me. But as for that tweet, there was no need for me to bookmark it, nor write it elsewhere. I knew I would always remember those words. It was a culmination of so much that had happened from the time I first read his articles; to the time when I created a folder with all his articles that I had read; to the time when I joined twitter; followed him, watched him follow me back and began writing as much as possible; to a point where I earned his respect. My goodness the old banana tree has fallen.

In retrospect, perhaps he knew his health was failing him more and more. In fact, for most part of the past two years, he had developed an interest in encouraging young people to come out of their shells and be part of the struggle. He never shied away from reaching out and acknowledging many efforts from so many young people. In a way, I’m convinced he was challenging my generation to invest a little bit more, in playing a role in shaping the ideal society we want to live in, perhaps equally acknowledging that his own generation had done its bit. Perhaps he knew he personally, was nearing his sunset. Sometime in 2018, he publicly put us into his confidence, on his struggles with ill-health with a chronic heart ailment. For most part of 2022, he no-longer was himself, as far as his writing was concerned. Make no doubt about it, he maintained his unmatched intellect, yet the consistency of his writing changed. For some Saturdays, there were no BSRs. He would then explain it away cryptically, at times directing us to one of his old articles, which all read as new. My God we took that for granted. The sorrowful heart cannot help but wonder if he understood how much many of us appreciated him, looked up to him, and needed him.

I’m getting lost in my emotions.

My greatest regret is that it had been quite a while since the last time I had an intimate interactions with him. Perhaps checking on him more frequently could have meant more. I hope others did. I had my own health concerns mid March and decided to take a sabbatical on the 15th of the same month. Two weeks later, on the 27th of March to be exact, I tweeted for the first time, and one of the first responses came from Sekuru Alex, saying to me “…Good to see you Mzaya. I hope you’re well”. I feared something could be off over the past two weeks, when Sekuru Alex became even more disengaged from twitter. I couldn’t convince myself that it all had to do with work and life schedules, because so much had happened in between, and certainly the absence of his voice could be felt. Responding to one of my threads, a fellow citizens asked me to check on Dr Magaisa. I immediately realized I had been procrastinating on doing the same, and decided to message him. Two days later, there’s no response yet. Only that this time, there shall never be any.

Haa marwadzisa Sekuru.

When some mockingly started calling you “Bishop’, I personally found it appropriate. The intellectual religion and all its rituals needed you. I would always say to fellow citizens who dared compare you with anyone, that, “there’s no vacancy at the helm of the church.” There shall never be any still.

Thank you for the visible footsteps, but no Sekuru, your shoes are too big.

Like you warned, the old banana tree has fallen. Soon, they will ask for the younger suckers, yet there shall not be any to show.

Good Night Save.

enkosi!!!