Daily Dispatch journalist Mkhuseli Sizani dies at 42

Daily Dispatch senior reporter Mkhuseli Sizani has died.

Sizani, 42, died in hospital in Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday evening.

Born in the Eastern Cape farming town of Alexandria, Sizani grew up in Gqeberha. 

Before joining Sowetan's sister publication the Dispatch in May, Sizani wrote for the Daily Sun and GroundUp.

Sizani, who loved covering people’s stories and socioeconomic issues, covered the Nelson Mandela Bay area while working with the Daily Sun.

Later, at GroundUpwhere he covered stories in the former Transkei .

At the Daily Dispatch, Sizani continued to cover socioeconomic issues.

Dispatch editor Cheri-Ann James said Sizani had already made a name for himself, not only in journalistic circles but in many communities in the Eastern Cape, “as a journalist who used the power of the word to help bring positive change to residents who had been neglected and ignored by authorities”.

“When Mkhuseli joined our newsroom, his first words to me were: ‘I want to be out there, telling the stories of our people’.

“Mkhuseli was determined to put the voice of those who had long been silenced; a principle he instilled in our young interns.   

“We have been fortunate as a team to have had an opportunity to work alongside Mkhuseli and to learn from him. We pray for his family during this difficult time,” James said. 

GroundUp editor Nathan Geffen said Sizani was a prolific journalist.

“We are devastated that Mkhuseli is no longer with us.

“He started writing for GroundUp in 2019 as a freelancer and then joined our staff.

“The articles he wrote unrelentingly held the Eastern Cape government to account .

Sizani is survived by his two children, wife, parents and three brothers. He will be buried in Despatch on September 23.