My friend Lewis Machipisa, who has died aged 52 after a short illness, was a Zimbabwean journalist who spent nearly two decades at the BBC World Service in London working as a producer and editor.
Lew, as colleagues knew him, started his career as a correspondent for Inter Press Service in Harare in 1993, before joining the BBC World Service’s Zimbabwe bureau.
Over the next few years he kept the BBC’s global audiences informed through a range of analytical reportage on Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, including on the controversial seizure of white-owned farms – dispatches that ultimately forced him to leave his homeland in the early 2000s and to relocate to London.
He later covered the historic birth of South Sudan as a nation in 2011, spending a year there and forming deep connections with both the country’s leadership and its citizens.
Lew’s impact extended beyond the newsroom. In London’s Zimbabwean diaspora he was instrumental in facilitating access for high-level Zimbabwean officials and musicians to the BBC and other global media platforms.
He was born in Salisbury (now Harare) to Tapson Machipisa, a hospitality industry administrator, and his wife, Rebecca (nee Mhari), a trader in embroidered materials. After attending Allan Wilson high school he completed a diploma in mass communication at Harare Polytechnic before starting his journalistic career at Inter Press Service.
Lew will be remembered by his colleagues at the BBC for his light-heartedness, professionalism and respect for the craft of journalism. He had a whiff of mischief about him, and a dogged refusal to take life – or himself – too seriously. But one thing was clear: he did not joke with his job. He loved a good story and dedicated himself to delivering proper journalism to BBC audiences across the world.
His connection with BBC African Service listeners was particularly special, built on his natural warmth and storytelling ability. He had an extraordinary talent for making instant connections with people from all walks of life, treating everyone he met with the same genuine interest and respect.
He is survived by three children, Dudu and Dumi from his first marriage to Theresa Mutsvangwa, which ended in divorce, and Chikomborero from his second marriage, to Chipo Mutakati, who predeceased him.
