[imagesource:jeremygordin]

South African journalist Jeremy Gordin was found dead in his home in Parkview, Johannesburg, on Friday, March 31 after his family unsuccessfully tried to contact him.

The gruelling reality is that he was senselessly and brutally killed, seemingly over a TV and his car, which were the only items stolen on that fateful day.

The Gauteng police confirmed they were investigating a case of house robbery and murder in a statement issued on Saturday, noting that the father of two was found dead when a family friend went to check up on him, per News24:

“It is reported that the family of the deceased was in Cape Town when they tried to contact him but he could not be reached,” said a statement issued in the name of Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, a police spokesperson.

“Upon arrival [of the family friend], she found the back door of the main house locked and the key of the door was in the lock on the outside… she entered the house and discovered that it was ransacked,” added Masondo.

Gordin was found on the floor, covered, with multiple injuries – his TV and car gone. Masondo confirmed that no arrests have been made and a manhunt for the suspect(s) is still underway.

Industry colleague and friend, Anton Harber, said that Gordin would be remembered fondly:

“He was a big character, passionate about writing, literature and life, with a prodigious appetite for it all,” said Anton Harber, the executive director of the Campaign for Free Expression and Caxton professor of journalism at Wits University.

Harber mentioned that Gordin will be mostly remembered for his investigating work at the Wits Justice Project – an award-winning public interest programme at the Wits Centre for Journalism – where he investigated how prison inmates were wrongfully convicted, per Daily Maverick:

“Most notable was his role in tackling the case of two innocent ANC men, Fusi Mofokeng and Tshokolo Mofokeng, who were jailed for many years and neglected by the organisation…

“Jeremy was central to the team that investigated and campaigned for their release over a number of years, tackling it with the passion and care he always brought to his work and to issues of justice and human rights.”

Harber lamented that it is “shocking that he should die in this way” adding that “he leaves a big gap in our lives”.

Specialist foreign affairs writer Peter Fabricius, who worked with Gordin in previous years, noted that “Gordin was a classic journalist, irreverent and fearless. He wrote what he thought and felt, regardless of who he offended — that sometimes got him into trouble”:

“His journalism was also underpinned by deep knowledge as he was, in his spare time, a classical scholar,” Fabricius said. “His cruel murder has robbed South African journalism of one of its best.”

Gordin was an editor at The Star and Sunday Independent, as well as the author of Zuma: A Biography:

In recent years, he was a regular columnist for Politicsweb and even published three volumes of poetry:

May the poet Jeremy Gordin live forever in his beautiful poetry:

I sit before the paper, pen in hand,
And think of all the poetry I’ve planned,
Of words that soar and dance and sing,
And all the joy they’re sure to bring.

But as I start to write them down,
The words all…

— Jacques Joubert (@jfjoubert) April 1, 2023

Acting director-general of the government communication and information system, Michael Currin conveyed his condolences to Gordin’s family, friends and colleagues:

“He will be remembered for his generosity, humour, knowledge of literature and history, and the numerous lives he touched, in addition to his outstanding contribution to journalism in South Africa.”

Gordin leaves behind his wife, Deborah, and their two children, Jake and Nina.

We also send out our deepest condolences.

[source:dailymaverick&news24]