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| Doug Hill |
Agnes Madechihwe
Renowned Masvingo businessman and property owner Alderman
Dough Hill has died, TellZim News can report.
He died last night after fighting what was reported to be an
old-age related illness.
Family spokesperson Alicca Hill, who is the deceased’s
daughter-in-law, confirmed the Alderman Hill’s death but she was not at liberty
to immediately reveal finer details.
“He died last night and we are in mourning. We are compiling
a detailed information package about his life and death and we will share it with
the media,” said Alicca.
Charles Austin Theatre chairperson Charles Munganasa
expressed great sadness at the death of Aderman Hill whom he described as a
hero of the arts.
“He was a theatre hero and icon. He worked for the development
of young artists in Masvingo and we will always remember him for helping to develop
such young talent as Vamayaya, Sabhuku Vharazipi, Charles Munganasa and Khetani
Michael Banda.
“He worked hard to put Masvingo arts on the market. Masvingo
has lost a great person but he left a big legacy which we will always celebrate
for many years to come,” said Munganasa.
Alderman Hill served in the then Municipality of Fort
Victoria before retiring to focus on his businesses as well as on theatre.
He is probably best known as the owner of the Belmont Press
building complex which houses The Mirror newspaper which he started in 1992 as
Masvingo Mirror.
In the early 1980s, Hill started Masvingo Star newspaper which
he then sold to government’s NewZiana which ran the Community Newspaper Group
(CNG) which is now called the Community Newspaper Publishers (CNP).
Hill was a great lover and sponsor of theatre arts, having
worked with the then Masvingo Masvingo Theatre Circle now known as Masvingo
Theatre and Arts Club which is housed at Charles Austin Theatre.
The theatre was built in the late 1950s by a committee on
which Alderman Hill sat as a member.
