'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAf/2gAIAQEAAAAAm6//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAECEAAAAB//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAhEAABAgQHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMABBEhBQYUFjJDgv/aAAgBAQABPwCTzLLm+b+iFG2GuKlUqkSXG1EtG6cNXqdTykf/xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABL/2gAIAQIBAT8A2jf/xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABL/2gAIAQMBAT8AyIX/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Dr. Alex Magaisa, a former special advisor to the late Morgan Tsvangirai, has reportedly died.
Zimbabwe researcher and novelist Ibbo Mandaza broke the story first, before journalist Hopewell Chin'ono confirmed it on Twitter. Dr. Magaisa had a heart attack at Margate Hospital in the United Kingdom this morning.
Hopewell Chin'ono had intimated that a dark cloud had descended across the country twenty-eight minutes before revealing the news, before informing his followers that he would publish the information after the deceased's family gave him permission.
Citizens Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa said:
“It’s a huge blow. He has died without seeing his heart’s desire: a new great Zimbabwe.”
Magaisa was sent to the hospital on Friday "after a series of blackouts and experienced a cardiac arrest at around 10 am" on Sunday, according to a family spokesman. Doctors desperately tried to save him when his wife was summoned, but he died before she arrived.
He taught law at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.
What is known about late Zimbabwean lecturer Dr. Alex Magaisa?
Magaisa was born in Zimbabwe's Chikomba District. He completed his high school education at St. Francis of Assisi High School, which is a boarding school.
He then enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1997.
Dr. Alex Magaisa was a well-known Zimbabwean lawyer and constitutional specialist who taught law at the University of Kent Law School in the United Kingdom.
He was former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's advisor from 2012 to 2013. Dr. Magaisa was also a member of the core group that advised COPAC, the body in charge of developing Zimbabwe's Constitution, which was ratified in 2013.
Dr. Magaisa had to leave the University of Kent in 2011 to participate in the constitution-making process.
The prolific academic received his first law degree from the University of Zimbabwe before enrolling in graduate school at the University of Warwick in 1999. Magaisa received a PhD in Law from the same institution in 2003.
He was the author of a well-known blog that provided in-depth analyses of Zimbabwean law and politics.He was well-known for his legal, political, and social comments on Zimbabwe and other developing-country concerns.
During his fellowship, Dr. Magaisa wrote a handbook on citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms under the new constitution, as part of a project to strengthen Zimbabwe's constitutionalism and democratic citizenship culture.
Alex Magaisa evaluated Zimbabwe's election preparations and examined democratic prospects, including post-election scenarios and the military and international community's involvement.
Dr. Magaisa appeared on the BBC, Al Jazeera, Radio 702 in South Africa, and the SABC, among other international venues, to discuss Zimbabwean political events.
He was also the creator and author of The Big Saturday Read, a "platform aimed at critically evaluating legal and political problems relating to Zimbabwe, Africa, and the world in general."
