VETERAN journalist Innocent Kurwa (63) died in the early hours of Sunday morning after his car was involved in a head on collision with another vehicle along Leopold Takawira Avenue in Bulawayo.
According to the police, Kurwa was travelling from the city centre to his home in Sunninghill suburb when the fatal accident occurred.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the accident which happened at 9 pm Saturday near Ascot Shopping Centre.
“I can confirm that that two cars, a Nissan Almera and Jaguar were involved in a head on collision along Leopold Takawira Avenue near Ascot Shopping Centre on Saturday night. The driver of the Nissan Almera sustained severe injuries after he was trapped in the wreckage while the other motorist sustained minor injuries,” he said.
“They were both rushed to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) but unfortunately the driver of the Nissan Almera Innocent Kurwa of Sunninghill suburb in Bulawayo died a few hours later,”
The police spokesperson said a culpable homicide charges docket had been opened against the driver of the vehicle.
“The driver of the Jaguar was speeding and failed to control his car resulting in him encroaching onto the lane of oncoming traffic resulting in a head on. He is being charged for culpable homicide,” said Ncube.
At the time of his death, Kurwa was the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) Bulawayo provincial adjudicator.
Kurwa worked for The Chronicle, Daily News and the now defunct Motto magazine.
VMCZ board member and a close friend to the deceased Tapfuma Machakaire described Kurwa as an unwavering journalist.
“I worked with Kurwa at The Chronicle in the 1980s for a long time. He was one of the old school journalists who were thorough in whatever they were doing. He was also a straightforward man who loved his profession,” said Machakaire.