CELEBRATED author Charles Mungoshi is alive contrary to reports that went viral yesterday on different social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp that claimed the writer had died.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
Mungoshi’s son, Farai, dismissed as fake news reports his father had died, saying this had upset the author’s fans and the writing community.
“This is just social media craziness. I do not know why people start spreading such falsehoods,” he told NewsDay.
“It is important to verify things before spreading them on social media. Mr Mungoshi is alive.”
News of Mungoshi’s “death” spread like a veld fire yesterday, particularly after State broadcacster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation TV tweeted its condolences for the writer.
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The broadcaster was later to apologise for its role in the death hoax.
Farai said his father was due to undergo a medical procedure soon, as they were waiting for the doctors to give them a date.
Renowned author Memory Chirere, a Mungoshi family friend, confirmed that the Waiting For The Rain author was alive contrary to social media reports, as he received calls from concerned people.
“You are not the first one to phone me about the issue. I have received several calls from different people among them journalists,” he said.
“I would not know exactly where it emanated from, but it is very sad to spread such malicious rumours.”
This is not the first time Mungoshi has been rumoured dead.
When he suffered a stroke in 2013, which nearly paralysed him, rumours also circulated more than once that he had died.
Mungoshi’s latest publication is Branching Streams Flow in the Dark, which was published in 2013, bringing to 16 the number of books he has published between 1970 and 2013.