Chamisa welcomes Alex Magaisa’s body

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The body of prominent lawyer and constitutional expert Alex Magaisa arrived in Harare yesterday to a sombre atmosphere ahead of his burial.

Magaisa, a former adviser to late former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai, died on June 5 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kent, England, after battling a heart ailment.

Scores of people including Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa, his deputy Tendai Biti and civic society leaders welcomed his body at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Chamisa described the academic as a citizens’ hero.

“Wangu is now back home. The Citizens’ hero, our change champion deserves all the honour. Life is a puzzle,” Chamisa said on Twitter.

A memorial service will be held today at the Showgrounds in Harare.

Academic Phillan Zamchiya said: “Genuine party cadres understand better how to respect the Sunday service.

“They have seen it all. It’s not the outside that matters now, but the inside. We love you still.”

Family spokesperson Esteri Magaisa said police had given the greenlight for the memorial service to go ahead.

“We will have a memorial church service for his friends, family and the Big Saturday Read fans at Eastend Hall at the Showgrounds, Harare.

“This has been cleared by the police,” Esteri said.

The family is yet to decide on his burial date as it still wants to dispense with the procedures available, but all signs point to tomorrow.

Magaisa served as an adviser to the late prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai towards the end of the inclusive government formed by Zanu PF and MDC-T in 2008.

He was also one of the people behind the drafting of Zimbabwe’s new constitution that was enacted in 2013.

Magaisa through his popular Big Saturday Read dissected contemporary legal issues in Zimbabwe and political developments in the country.