BY STAFF REPORTER
NEWSDAY Senior Court Reporter Charles Laiton will be buried at 2pm today at Zororo Memorial Park in Chitungwiza.
Laiton (48) died on Tuesday morning at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals after battling a kidney ailment. He is survived by his wife, Stella and five children.
A family spokesperson Sophia Chalenga said Laiton’s wish before he died was to be buried in Malawi.
“The family wanted to respect his wish, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic it will be difficult to ferry his body to Malawi. It will mean that his wife and the five children together with other relatives must get tested for COVID-19. His children used to travel to Malawi using emergency documents (temporary permits).
“His other family members from Malawi are unable to travel to Zimbabwe for the burial tomorrow (today) because they have to first undergo COVID-19 tests, whose results take five days to come out. Resultantly, as a family, we decided that we bury him in Harare. His family from Malawi will, however, come to Zimbabwe probably in January after the burial,” Chalenga said.
Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings Independent Editorial Advisory Board of Trustees Muchadeyi Masunda expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Laiton family following Charles’ untimely death on Monday.
“On behalf of the AMH group’s Independent Editorial Advisory Board of Trustees, comprising Liberty Bhebhe, Retired Judge Moses Chinhengo, Dr Eve Gadzikwa and Dr Angelina Hatendi, I would like to express our heartfelt and sincere condolences to the widow and children as well as the entire family of the senior court reporter, Charles Laiton, who passed away in Harare on Monday, December 21, 2020 as a result of renal failure,” Masunda said.
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He said Laiton was a rare breed of a hands-on journalist who was definitely in a class of his own as a court reporter.
Masunda added that Laiton was thoroughly “au fait with how the judicial system works or ought to work in Zimbabwe by virtue of having served so unstintingly in our country’s administration of justice as one of the ‘old school’ court interpreters”.
“His humility and pragmatic expertise will be sorely missed. We pray that his departed soul may rest in eternal peace,” AMH Independent Advisory Board of Trustees chairman said.
Meanwhile, veteran sports journalist and former Dynamos player, Tendai Ndemera died yesterday.
Details regarding his death were yet to emerge at the time of going to print.
