Zimbabwe: Obituary - Fare Thee Well Thomas Deve

The death of arts critic, journalist and Pan Africanist Thomas Deve last Sunday robbed the nation of a man of many talents.

I first met Thomas in 1987 when I started lecturing at the University of Zimbabwe.

This was also the period in which I was a presenter of the reggae session on Radio 3 on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Thomas had also started lecturing Economic History at the same institution the year before me.

Our offices were close to each other. What united us was the conscious reggae music which I was churning out on my programme.

Thomas was an ardent listener of my sessions and when he realised we were at the same institution, he came straight to my office to give advice and direction on how I should conduct my reggae sessions.

He would at first say, "Fred, the people would be happier if you played The Mighty Diamonds, Dennis Brown, Cocoa Tea, Culture, Burning Spear and Black Uhuru."

I realised months later as I got to know him better, that although he mentioned "the people", these artistes were his personal choices.

After visiting his home at a later date I also noticed that he had the named artistes' albums among his collection.

We visited so many musical places together and travelled together to various venues with the Frontline Kids Band.

Around 1992 he decided to be the manager of Vadzimba Band and would come to me every now and again for technical advice.

We shared a lot of cultural thoughts and would talk politics and the direction we thought the country could be developed.

Thomas was a jovial person who did not mince his words when he wanted to share his thoughts.

Thomas was born on the December 22, 1962. December 22 was later to be declared National Unity Day in Zimbabwe.

This is how I remember his birthday. In 1990, I remember him remarking, "I wonder why they chose my birthday to be a national holiday?"

I would say to him "it is because you are destined for bigger things".

Indeed, Thomas's life was filled with great achievements.

After his A levels at Bernard Mizeki College in 1982, he went straight to the University of Zimbabwe where he completed a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Economic History.

Dr Mashingaidze, who was the then chairman of the department saw the brilliance in this young man and offered him a temporary post as a teaching assistant in the subject.

Thus Thomas became an employee of the University of Zimbabwe from 1987 after graduation.

After five years as a lecturer he moved to Sapes Trust where he started off as a researcher and ended up being the managing editor of Sapes Books.

Thomas kept improving on his qualifications.

 

By Fred Zindi

 

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