Prominent journalist killed

Gauteng Police are investigating a case of house robbery and murder in which retired journalist Jeremy Gordin was killed. Gordin’s family reportedly became concerned, when the former Sunday Independent editor wasn’t responding to messages from Friday night. The family had been on a visit in Cape Town, while Gordin remained at their Parkview home. A friend gained access to the home – which had been locked from the outside – and found it had been ransacked and his body had been covered. A television and his car were stolen. ‘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. In August 2009, Gordin joined the Wits Justice Project where he investigated cases of wrongful conviction. ‘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,’ Harber told the Daily Maverick. One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane said: ‘This is a tragic story and we must never get used to this. We must address crime in this country.’ Born in Pretoria 1952, Gordin studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and Unisa. The Citizen reports that he went on to become a three time recipient of the Mondi Shanduka South African Journalist of the Year. The Sunday Times reports that he co-authored two books, The Infernal Tower and A Long Night’s Damage but is widely known for the biography on the life and times of President Jacob Zuma entitled Zuma: A Biography. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Full Sunday Times report

Full report in The Citizen

Full Daily Maverick report