BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
THE family of the late banker Douglas Munatsi yesterday said they were heartbroken and are still in shock over a fire incident that claimed his life last week.
Munatsi, the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency CEO, died in a house inferno in Harare’s Avenues area on November 29.
He died around 4am on Monday at his 9th floor Northfields penthouse located at the corner of Fifth Street and Josiah Tongogara Avenue.
A memorial service was held for him yesterday in the capital and speakers described his death as a great loss to Zimbabwe.
“He started from zero, I mean zero but he accomplished a lot. He also did so many amazing things, founding a bank,” Harry Munatsi, his elder brother, told mourners.
“I was shocked and surprised to receive the news of his death.
“My heart is really broken. My neighbour came to my house and said my wife was asking why I was not answering my phone.
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“At the time, our area had no electricity and I was charging my phone in the car.
“When I rushed to my car, I found 21 missed calls, and I was surprised and before I started dialling, I got a call from my wife and she said, please just rush to the flat.
“Rush now. I am really heartbroken.”
Harare Provincial Affairs minister Oliver Chidawu, who is also a family friend added: “I find myself conflicted.
“When I was asked by the president to come and speak, I said but you are aware that he is my brother.
“He said you are the rightful person to go and represent me. I knew him very well.
“We had a very strong relationship.
“This was a fantastic man.”
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa and her Housing and Social Amenities counterpart Daniel Garwe, government officials and business executives, among many others from different sectors of society attended the memorial.
Munatsi was known mostly for leading BancABC from its formation in 2000.
Police preliminary investigations indicated that Munatsi was not burnt by flames, but by the heat because his clothes were still intact when his body was recovered.
The police have also launched a manhunt for a woman who was recorded on the security checkpoint book as Coleta, believed to have arrived at about 19:05 hours on Sunday and the guard escorted her to the now deceased’s flat.
