National

Obituary: Damian Cook, remembered for his passion for Africa

Published

3 years ago

November 22, 2022

Damian Cook, founder and MD of E-Tourism Frontiers – a global programme that focuses on developing online tourism across emerging markets – died from a heart attack in Kenya on Sunday (November 20) at age 54.

Cook served for many years as digital/social media adviser to the African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA) and as a much-valued board director from 2013 to 2018.

Half day Gauteng easy e-Bike with wild game

Always at the forefront of global digital tourism, he worked with tourism boards and organisations around the world, to train and educate tourism professionals in e-Tourism, while at the same time facilitating business across the global tourism industry.

ATTA posted this tribute to Cook on its website:

“Damian’s passion for Africa began at a young age, learning Swahili from a Tanzanian agricultural student when he was at university studying English and History in Brisbane in the late ’80s.

His first trip to Africa was in August 1990 and he stayed for three months travelling from Zimbabwe to Kenya – very much the mirror end of what would be his last Africa trip – Zimbabwe and back to his home in Kenya, where for a night he reconnected with the much-loved dogs and his home in Watamu, filled with art and objects collected from his travels.

Damian was a global traveller and he had friends around the world, but his heart was in Africa and he would be happy that he will be laid to rest in Africa.

He was passionate about the travel community and was a champion for many different issues. His legacy will be working to promote African tourism, particularly online, with recent projects with the Zimbabwe tourism community and the Rwanda Gorilla project. His favourite line #keepmoving hopefully will encourage more travel across this wild and beautiful continent – a place he was proud to call home.

It’s also very fitting that the last photo he posted was flying over the Victoria Falls in a microlight glider.

His lust for adventure and travel burned so brightly, and hopefully that energy will live on in the people and the communities that he worked with.

He will be sorely missed by all those he worked with. Our thoughts and prayers are with Elizabeth and family at this difficult time.”A

According to We Are Victoria Falls, a tourism community initiative, Cook worked in Zimbabwe with the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority on numerous occasions over the years in tourism development, strategic planning and digital marketing training projects, with the most recent being under the Zimbabwe Destination Development Program as the lead trainer on the “Let’s Get Digital” upskilling program for tourism businesses in Victoria Falls, and their market segmentation analysis project.”

“His lust for adventure and travel burned so brightly and it is fitting that on his final two trips to Victoria Falls, Damian did the bungee jump, and then his last photo posted was flying over Victoria Falls in a microlight glider,” organisation said.

“On behalf of the Victoria Falls community, our thoughts and deepest condolences and prayers go out to Damian’s family, colleagues and friends during this very difficult time. He will be sorely missed by all those whom he worked with, and by all the destinations he impacted in such a positive way, including ours.”-VicFallsLive and Daily Southern and East Africa Tourism Update

National

Tragic attack in Madlambuzi: Five dead as suspected mental patient goes on rampage

Published

7 days ago

August 22, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

Police in Madlambuzi, Matabeleland South Province has are a suspected mental patient, Phamani Sibanda, following a violent rampage that left five people dead and two others injured on Wednesday.

According to the police statement, Sibanda (43) allegedly attacked seven people in the village using a Mopani log, a blunt object, and an unknown sharp weapon, targeting anyone who crossed his path.

The victims of this tragic attack have been identified by their next of kin:

Elliot Khupe, 101, a male adult from Bellas Village
Butho Tshuma, 97, a female adult from Bellas Village
Constance Sibanda, 66, a female adult from Bellas Village
Tiffan Surprise Ndlovu, 6, a female juvenile from Bellas Village
Catra Matsika, 72, from Central Village

In addition to the fatalities, two other women, aged 90 and 41, sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment at Madlambuzi Clinic and Plumtree District Hospital.

The ZRP has underscored the pressing need for community awareness regarding mental health issues. “We implore the public to promptly refer mental patients to medical institutions for treatment and to actively monitor their behavior to prevent such violent incidents,” the statement elaborated. It encouraged community members to report any concerns to the National Complaints Desk at (0242) 703631 or via WhatsApp at 0712 800197, or to approach the nearest police station.

National

US suspends visa processing in Zimbabwe, embassy says

Published

1 week ago

August 21, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY REUTERS

The United States has stopped processing most visas in Zimbabwe until further notice, its embassy in the capital Harare said on Wednesday, citing unspecified concerns with the government.

“We have paused routine visa services in Harare while we address concerns with the Government of Zimbabwe,” the embassy said in a post on X. It said the move was not a travel ban and that current visas would remain valid.

The government of the Southern African country did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The pause took effect on August 7, according to a notice on the U.S. State Department’s website, which said it applied to all visa services with the exception of most diplomatic and official visas.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has restricted travel from a number of African countries, saying it is working to prevent visa overstaying and misuse.

Zimbabwe had a visa overstay rate of 10.57% in 2023, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report.

Starting this week, the U.S. will require visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds of up to $15,000 for some visitor visas. The Trump administration has also paused visa processing in Niger.

Harare resident Angella Chirombo said her 18-year-old son had received a scholarship to do his bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University and had been waiting for a visa interview when the pause hit.

“He was supposed to be in school already. I paid for everything else and was waiting for the visa so I could buy tickets,” she told Reuters.

She said other parents were considering booking interviews at other U.S. embassies in Southern Africa, but that she wouldn’t be able to afford the travel.

“Now they are saying we can go to Zambia and Namibia. I don’t even have money right now and I don’t know where to get this money. They are so many students that have been affected.”

National

Landmark HIV trial begins in Zimbabwe

Published

2 weeks ago

August 18, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY PAUL SIXPENCE

ZIMBABWE became the first site for the administration of a new investigational HIV vaccine. The first doses of the IAVI C114 clinical trial were administered in late July 2025 at the Mutala Trust clinical site in Harare, CITE reports.

“This is a landmark moment for South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the continent. It shows the power of true partnership,” said Dr. Tariro Makadzange, clinical trial lead, Mutala Trust.

“We are edging closer to an HIV vaccine, made possible by global collaboration, with clinical trials conducted in Africa, for Africa, and for the world.”

The development of the vaccine is a partnership that brings together Zimbabwe’s Mutala Trust, ReiThera, the Ragon Institute, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and African researchers who are co-leading every phase of the trial.

In phase one of the trial, the vaccine candidate, Gorilla Adenovirus Vectored HIV Networked Epitopes Vaccine (GRAdHIVNE1) will be administered to 120 adults between the ages of 18 and 50 years including 48 people living with HIV who are virally suppressed on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Besides Zimbabwe, two other clinical trial sites are located in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa.

Trial sites were chosen on the basis of their high HIV burden and to ensure that the vaccine candidate is tested within communities affected by the epidemic.

This phase of the trial will assess the safety and ability of the vaccine candidate to provoke an immune response in the human body in persons living with HIV and those who are HIV negative.

“The IAVI C114 trial is testing a new vaccine candidate known as GRAdHIVNE1. The trial represents the first time this vaccine is being tested in humans and is aimed at assessing the safety of the vaccine and its ability to stimulate the immune system,” said Dr. Vincent Muturi-Kioi, HIV Vaccines Product Development Team Lead, IAVI.

In a statement, IAVI further advised that “trial participants will receive either one or two doses of the investigational vaccine or a placebo and will be monitored over a period of 19 months for safety and immune responses.” Results of the trial are likely to be available in 2027.

In the past, several HIV vaccine trials have been conducted but none proved effective in preventing HIV acquisition. The novelity of this vaccine candidate lies in that, it uses a harmless viral vector to deliver small parts of HIV “derived from critical structural regions of HIV that are less likely to mutate” with an expected likelihood to trigger an immune response.

“GRAdHIVNE1 uses a harmless virus (a vector for the vaccine derived from a non-replicating gorilla adenovirus) to deliver small, conserved parts of HIV (called epitopes) to the body’s immune system. These targets are derived from critical structural regions of HIV that are less likely to mutate, making them good targets for killer T cells in the immune system (CD8+ T cell responses) — a type of immune defense thought to be important for long-term protection against HIV. The viral vector was selected based on its ability to stimulate this type of response. Should the vaccine be successful in stimulating the desired response, it could be tested in future trials to assess its efficacy,” Dr. Vincent Muturi-Kioi further explained.

The initiation of this clinical trial demonstrates the power of partnerships at a time when the world is witnessing funding cuts towards global public health research. The IAVIC114 clinical trial is sponsored by IAVI. The vaccine candidate, GRAdHIVNE1, was developed by ReiThera and the Ragon Institute with funding from the GatesFoundation. African researchers will be leading

SOURCE| CITE