There is nobody like cde Zakes
Oarabile Mosikare | Friday April 4, 2014 12:49
I have always associated shedding a tear with women. I am an African man, I reasoned. People will construe my feelings to be that of a weakling. I could not help myself though, on Monday upon hearing of the demise of my good comrade Sakarea Makgapha. Cde Zakes as he was affectionally called by those dearest to him, tragically passed away on Sunday after a car accident along the Serowe/Mashoro road.
When the news broke, I went to the toilet where I cried silently to avoid the ridicule of my colleagues at work.
I worked with Zakes at The Botswana Gazette from 2010 until 2012. He was based in Gaborone, and at the beginning, I was still in Francistown. Few weeks in the job, the comrade did not struggle to steal the front page from the editor Aubrey Lute. The young man was a hard worker.
I joined him in November 2011 as the news editor. We overly relied on him to provide the front-page news. He was a super striker. I once promised a six-pack of beer to any reporter who would finish the weekly five stories on a Friday and he surprised me when he entered my office to demand his prize money. I did not think anybody was up to the challenge and when I checked the folder, Zakes had exceeded the weekly quota by one story.
The stories were well written and I commended him to continue with the superb job as I gave him P50 prize money to buy the six-pack.
I was reliably informed that last week his editors at the Sunday Standard stable convened a meeting and announced that Zakes was the hardest working journalist in the company. I remember I once recommended him to the former Mmegi editor Tshireletso Motlogelwa to recruit him after he resigned from The Patriot on Sunday.
I did not know then that, Zakes was in talks with the Sunday Standard. Our loss was their gain, and I wished him all the best, I told him later.
When I resigned as the editor on September 2012, he called me and jokingly said: “Comrade I’m reliably informed that you have defected from The Gazette. Which stable are you joining?” I also teased him to issue a press release after he decamped to The Sunday Standard. On the other side of the newsroom Zakes was a jovial fellow.
There was never a dull moment with him. He was very inquisitive, provocative, dynamic and dismissive at the same time. I also enjoyed his company even at the drinking holes as he would debate about everything under the sun.
He could also easily make friends as demonstrated by his network of sources across the news beats. He was at his best after enrolling for a law degree with University of South Africa (UNISA). His love for debate was taken to another height. He was also an avid reader and would post pictures and snippets of the law books he was reading.
I never thought one day I would write a eulogy about my comrade. I will always remember you as a comrade, brother, colleague, writer, debater and drinking mate. Death is not fair, as it tends to take the crème de la crème of the society very early in their lives. We will continue to pursue what you stood for; telling the truth. We are consoled by the fact that you are now in the good company of other journalism legends from this country. Robala ka Kagiso cde Zakes.
Ke go tsamaisa ka sefela sa Wesele se se reng:
Gaufi le Morena, gaufinyana
Pel’a sefapano se ka ntlisa
Ke ntse ke phehella go ba gaufinyana
Go ba gaufinyana le Morena
Mogang ke phaphamang - gar’a maru
Ke siyang lefatshe - la matlhoko
Ke tla nne ke bine ke be ke finyelle
Gaufi le Morena, gaufinyana