HARARE – NewsDay court reporter Charles Laiton has died aged 48.
The father-of-five succumbed to kidney failure on Monday morning, his family said.
Colleagues remembered him as “principled” and “humble”.
His sister Sophia Chalenga said Monday: “He was not well after being diagnosed with a kidney ailment and we took him to Harare Hospital where he was admitted and discharged last week.
“His health deteriorated again last Friday and he was admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital and was placed in a Covid-19 isolation ward. His Covid-19 results came out negative this morning and he was then transferred to another ward where he was supposed to get treatment for his ailment. But he was in a very critical condition and sadly, he died at 11AM this morning.”
Alpha Media Holdings publications editor in chief Wisdom Mdzungairi said Laiton “was among great journalists.”
“He was very principled, very focused and a man of purpose. He was very humble, but deep in thinking and a mentor to many journalists. Charles will be sorely missed for his professionalism not only at AMH but the profession at large,” Mdzungairi said.
Laiton joined AMH in 2010 after working as an interpreter at the Harare Magistrates Courts and went on to distinguish himself as one of the top court reporters in the country.
Always impeccably dressed, Laiton earned the respect of his colleagues with his command of his beat, no doubt assisted by his background as a former interpreter.
Ex-colleague Nqaba Matshazi added: “He was one guy you could count on in court reporting, and a smart dresser who loved his suits.”
