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Sam Munyavi: Remembering ‘A Lighter Look’

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MESSAGES of condolences keep pouring in following the death of veteran journalist-cum-artist Sam Munyavi, who died on Saturday night at Bradford Hospital in England.

MESSAGES of condolences keep pouring in following the death of veteran journalist-cum-artist Sam Munyavi, who died on Saturday night at Bradford Hospital in England.

BY ROPAFADZO MAPIMHIDZE

Several journalists who interacted with the late Sam and readers of his comic column in Saturday Herald, A Lighter Look, of yesteryear took to social media networks to express their feelings at Sam’s loss.

“Oh painful for sure… I also remember dearly how we would not miss a copy of The Sunday Mail to read his beloved Baba Bruce Column that left even the hardest hearted one in stitches. You ran your race successfully and Journalism is indeed poorer without you, Brother Sam,” John Nyashanu said.

Another scribe who worked with Sam, Sifelani Tsiko, also recalled how Sam had a way of infusing humour into serious issues. “(This is a) sad loss of a man who used the blade of humour to alert us to numerous issues of life. Humour was a crucial facet of his personality. We will miss his adventures and penchant to give a comedic spin to intense issues,” he said.

UK-based journalist Chofamba Sithole remarked: “That’s so sad, rest in peace Sam. I was one of his readers from when I was a young schoolboy. I used to enjoy his Sunday Mail column, tales about his fictional family Baba VaBruce, Mai Bruce and Master Bruce himself, and their jolly jallopy!”

Another journalist Ivy Ncube Nyamariwata, said she was deeply saddened by Sam’s passing.

“There was never a dull moment in your company. My family will forever cherish the memories of the happy times shared with you — the laughter, humour and the impromptu get together with the Binali family from Tynwald North changed everyone’s first name to end with — izho (Samizho, Ropizho and Farizho).”

Enock Chihombori, the man who created the Gringo cartoon strip which was turned into a television series noted that Munyavi acted in the first two Gringo series on television.

“Munyavi was a journalist, but my association with him was purely on the artistic side. Like everyone else those days (early 90s), I got to know about him through his humorous articles in The Sunday Mail where he used to write about a young character named Bruce,” read his condolence message on Facebook.

“Judging by his writings, I thought Sam Munyavi was a young mischievous man. Later, most people got to ‘know’ him when he started acting in television dramas. His acting ability caught my attention in one particular drama in which he acted as a boss in a newsroom. I was very surprised to realise that the bossy gentleman in that drama was the writer of the naughty Bruce that was portrayed in Laughing it off.”

Former Zimbabwe Union of Journalist President Matthew Takaona yesterday said the media fraternity had “lost a humble, creative and artistic journalist”.

Munyavi was a gifted writer who made people laugh through his humorous articles. Whilst most people are trained to become journalists, Munyavi was born a writer.

Munyavi’s book, a collection of his articles, titled Laughing It Off was launched on October 10, 2004 at the now defunct Book Cafe. “I remember that day more than 13 years ago when A Lighter Look column was born in the new Sunday Mail Magazine,” wrote Munyavi in the book.

He had been told by former Sunday Mail managing editor Isaac Zulu to do a light piece for the dummy issue of the magazine, which would be a monthly publication. He agreed without much hesitation because he had already been writing for The Herald where the character Bruce was born, hence he was known as Baba Bruce (BB) or literally father of Bruce.

“But then things suddenly changed as they do in jobbing places everywhere. The editor (late Charles Chikerema) said the magazine was now going to be published once a week,” he recalled.

He noted that it took 10 long years for Zimbabwe Newspapers to grant him permission, on August 2 1994, to publish in book form, articles from the highly popular column.

“I wanted to do my own thing but alas and alack! I did not have the necessary. Despair set in when the Zimbabwe Culture Fund (ZCF) almost 10 years to the day and eureka the deed was done.

Laughing It Off column ran from 1991 to 2000, and week in week out, almost without fail. Almost, on account of three or four occasions, it was dropped because there was no space to run it.

“Really, but why chop my column? Why not drop the stars (horoscope) section or something? I would wail, tearing my hair out (That is how I lost my hair, if you didn’t know),” Munyavi wrote.

“Before I knew it, the week would be through and the Magazine editor Sarah Tikiwa would be shouting for copy: ‘BB where’s your piece? The sub editors are breathing fire here!’

“And trying to find a bit of humour every week could be, well, trying at times. The title of the column, Laughing It Off, didn’t help matters. People expected to laugh and some of the 12 million readers or so, grumbled if a piece didn’t at least raise a smile or a chuckle.

I celebrate this man who spent his life making us laugh both at work and in our private spaces. He was a genius — and a clown at times.

There is a saying that laughter is the best medicine and this has been proven medically. Munyavi healed wounded hearts through laughter in the newsroom when story deadlines were pending. He joined Zimbabwe Newspapers as a reporter on May 1, 1988 and rose through the ranks to become Features and Supplements Editor in 1993.

He resigned in 2000 and joined the Daily News for a few years before he left for England when the newspaper was closed down. His other books include The Village Plantation and Nzou’s Party and Other Stories which are both children’s books that were published by Longman Zimbabwe.

Munyavi was in the process of writing yet another book, following his retirement from his UK job as a community relations officer.