Long serving Zimbabwean broadcaster, Ray Watson Chirisa has died.

According to John Masuku, a veteran broadcaster, the United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean radio broadcaster died after battling a long illness.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share the sad news about the death of Ray Chirisa, a 1970s fellow broadcaster at the RBC African service now ZBC Radio Zimbabwe. Ray was based in the United Kingdom where he passed on about an hour ago,” he said.

“Sadly, when he called me and another same generation broadcast colleague Maguire Godzongere on his last visit to Zimbabwe not so long ago for us to meet and go down memory lane we were all engaged with other business and could not regroup.”

He said that it was only two weeks ago that Temba Trust Chigwada, Ray’s nephew from my childhood neighborhood, sent me a photo of wasted Ray in a UK hospital that made my hope fade away.

Ray Chirisa has followed departed broadcasters of his time at Harare studios now Mbare studios like Sam Sibanda, Cephas Chimanga, Lisbern Nasasara, Albert Kashiri (Mtimanzi), Jackson Sithole, Brighton Matewere, Philemon Jusa, Rowell Tapfumaneyi (Sigobodla), Masimba Musarira and Benjamin Tarumbwa, among many others.