Gathered at The Empire Events Venue, the media fraternity, family and friends remembered former journalist and broadcaster Eusebius McKaiser at a memorial service on May 6.
McKaiser died on May 30.
Fondly known as ‘Eueby’, McKaiser was described as a ‘no nonsense’ intellectual who was passionate about reading and current affairs.
McKaiser attended Rhodes University to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Philosophy and later attended the University of Oxford where he did doctoral research but never completed it.
He was also the author of Run Racist Run, A Bantu In My Bathroom and Could I Vote DA.
The publications the late journalist wrote for included Mail & Guardian, the Sunday Times, and Business Day to name a few.
His family requested that those who attended the memorial service bring books, instead of flowers, to be donated to a charity of his family’s choosing.
Author and friend Joanne Joseph said the common interest she shared with McKaiser was their passion for reading.
“Eusebius’ social media posts spoke about the joys of reading and the infinite pleasure that books gave him. They [posts] were also a call to action for his followers to set aside time to read as means to expand their worlds. Learning for him did not end in university, reading was a consistent part of his daily regime.”
Joseph added the late journalist tried to convey that it was dangerous not to read, especially in a country where people in positions of power regularly used words to mislead, misrepresent and detract from the truth.
A friend Vukani Mde said his friendship with McKaiser began in the Business Day newsroom. “I met Eusebius in 2005 when we worked with the late former journalist Karima Brown and we later all became friends. A speaker before me mentioned that Eusebius spoke a lot about his friends, but he gossiped about his friends and what was different about his gossip was he began by highlighting the attributes he respected and liked about a person and proceeded to dress you down.”
McKaiser’s partner Nduduzo Nyanda noted that among the many things he would miss about his late partner was watching television and listening to music together, and cooking for him. He also vowed to remain authentic and not accept mediocrity from anyone because the late broadcaster did not as well.
Specialist legal reporter Karyn Maughn said she was glad to have crossed paths with McKaizer. “He was an intellectual who debated the big questions of life, he discussed court judgements as well as what certain court phrases meant. I always walked away from Eusebius with more knowledge.”
Journalist Redi Tlhabi concluded that the late broadcaster’s friendships were rooted in respect, and McKaiser had the special ability to make people seen and heard.
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