Award -winning Journalist and the Durban University of Technology alumni wants to be counted amongst the finest crop of journalists that KwaZulu-Natal has ever produced.

Vusi Khumalo scooped two awards recently at the 2017 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) region. His collection of work showing the plight of people living with albinism who were targeted, killed and mutilated won him the Best Radio Hard News item. The motive behind the atrocities were often related to muthi killings involving traditional healers mostly reported in the UMkhanyakude District on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. Khumalo brought to the fore the pain and anguish experienced by people living with albinism and their families in that region. The KwaDukuza born Khumalo also walked away with the award for Radio Feature where he highlighted the life-threatening daily routine of school pupils in Jozini area who are forced to cross a crocodile- infested river everyday just to reach their respective schools. He was awarded for his cutting edge journalism, unbiased and brave style of reporting.

This did not signal the end of Khumalo’s achievements, on the 11th of November, he was again crowned the Environmental Journalist of the Year by the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife for his reporting on rhino poaching. He was hailed as a leading journalist in the province for continuously reporting on nature conversation issues and assisting in the war against rhino poaching. This included covering the different court trials on rhino organized syndicates.
Recapping on his accolades, Khumalo said: “Well, personally these awards will be proof and a constant reminder in 20 years to come that I contributed positively in the field of journalism. They will be something to remind people that I was counted amongst the finest crop of journalists in KwaZulu-Natal but more than anything it belongs to the people of three districts that I am serving as the head of Richards Bay Bureau – uMkhanyakude, Zululand and King Cetshwayo. These two awards (Radio feature and Hard News) belong to them especially our sources whom we owe great deal of recognition. Career wise, it earns you respect amongst your peers and also adds growth into ones’ work,” explained Khumalo.

Khumalo recalls that journalism and the love for reading was introduced to him as a young boy growing up in the Groutville area, saying Mrs Carol Pilz, a local white woman where he worked as a garden boy made him fall in love with reading and writing and ultimately to pursue journalism.

“Carol and her lovely family, especially her son Emerick would always give me their Sunday newspapers to take home and read them. In the following weekend she would test me to see if I had read them. So this kind gesture somehow pushed me to want to know more and educate people about anything under the sun. Tax was her favourite topic. We would discuss this under shrubs we were cutting to make her garden look beautiful and they used to say I had a green hand in that everything I touched turned green. Though they never told me anything about journalism but the exchange of big newspapers every weekend played a part in influencing my decision to pursue journalism,” recalled Khumalo.

Khumalo’s dream of becoming a journalist was not a walk in the park as he had to wait three years after matric working as at a local filling station as a petrol attendant trying to raise money for university.
The man affectionately known with his tagline “Vusi kaMapendana Khumalo” a reference to his father who is a well-known painter and builder in the KwaDukuza area says he looks up to respected journalists like Mzilikazi Wa Afrika, Sunday Times reporter and SABC’s presidential correspondent Mzandile Mbenje.
“I envy the work done by these journalists including former Sunday Tribune reporter, Agiza Hlongwane. His way of writing used to stand out but he moved to government communications,” he said.

Pictured: Award-winning journalist Vusi Khumalo with his Environmental Journalist of the Year Certificate bestowed to him by the KZN Wildlife. Khumalo received the honours for his extensive coverage of the rhino trade in the province.

Sandile Motha