The director of Human Rights Watch for southern Africa division, Dewa Mavhinga, has died in South Africa, a close relative has confirmed.
Mavhinga's young brother, Dr. Edgar Munatsi confirmed the news to Jonga Kandemiiri of the VOA Zimbabwe Service but did not disclose details about the cause of death.
A regular on the VOA Zimbabwe Service, Mavhinga was described by many as a bold and staunch defender of human rights and often testified before various committees in the U.S. Congress about the state of human rights in Zimbabwe, which he often criticized the governments of both former President Robert Mugabe and his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.