102 year old Zim author dies in London.

Lawrence Vambe, a veteran Zimbabwean author and journalist recently passed in London. He was aged 102. Vambe was instrumental in mapping out media and journalism structures in Zimbabwe. His books reminisced on the old colonial days when white supremacy was still the order of the day in the country. Vambe exposed what it meant for the black people who were under oppressive colonial rule during the 1970’s.

Vambe’s first book was published in 1972. It was titled “An I’ll fated people”. It was published by media powerhouse Heinemann. The book was a recollection of his experiences in the then Rhodesia as a young boy and his feelings towards the oppressive white rule. His second book was published in 1976 by the same publishing company. It was titled “From Rhodesia to Zimbabwe”. The book also gave a stark reality of the struggles of black people under colonial rule.

Vambe was regarded as one of the few remaining custodians of Zim history. He lived to see the colonialism of Zimbabwe, the iron fist rule of Ian Douglas Smith and the UDI. Vambe also rubbed shoulders with the likes of the former president Robert Mugabe whom he met at Marist brothers which was run by Kutama college. The two were comrades in arms and helped liberate the country.

Vambe, however, had a fallout with the former president at a later stage in their lives. It was at that point that the former president started attacking his fellow black men through the Gukurahundi that Vambe distanced himself. He was also strongly against the ouster of whites from farms in 2000 through the land reform programme.