Tichaona Jokonya facts for kids

Dr Tichaona Joseph Benjamin Jokonya (27 December 1938 – 24 June 2006) was an important person in Zimbabwe. He was a politician, a government worker (civil servant), and a diplomat. A diplomat is someone who represents their country in other nations.

Early Life and Education

Tichaona Jokonya was born in a place called Charter District, which is now known as Chikomba. He went to Lourdes Mission and Kutama College for his schooling. After that, he trained to become a primary school teacher.

He taught for six years and then became the Headmaster of Badza Primary School. While working, he kept studying by mail to get more qualifications. He passed his GCE O and A levels, which are important exams. Later, he went to the University of Rhodesia to continue his studies.

Becoming a Student Leader

In 1965, Tichaona Jokonya became more involved in student politics. He was chosen as the Secretary for Political Affairs by the National Union of Zimbabwe Students (NUZS). This group supported "majority rule," which meant that the majority of people in the country should have the power to govern.

When Rhodesia declared itself independent without the agreement of the United Kingdom (this was called the Unilateral Declaration of Independence), Jokonya worried he might be arrested. So, he left the country. He traveled through Botswana and Zambia before settling in Nairobi, Kenya. There, he enrolled at the University to study History.

Advanced Studies Abroad

Tichaona Jokonya was a very good student. In 1968, he received a special scholarship called the Commonwealth Scholarship. This allowed him to study for a higher degree at the University of Sussex in England. He wrote about how the military sometimes gets involved in politics in Africa.

After that, he wrote another paper about how land was managed during colonial times in Malawi. In 1971, he went to the University of London's Institute of Education and earned a teaching qualification. He taught in Birmingham, England, for six years in the 1970s. Later, in 2002, he earned two more degrees from St. John's University in New York: a Master's in Government and Politics, and a certificate in International Law and Diplomacy.

Serving Zimbabwe

When Zimbabwe gained its independence and majority rule began, Dr. Jokonya returned home. He first worked as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, teaching modern British and European history.

Joining the Government

However, he quickly joined the new ZANU PF government in 1980. He became a deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, and Recreation. A permanent secretary is a senior government official who helps run a ministry.

In 1983, Dr. Jokonya was appointed as Zimbabwe's ambassador to Ethiopia. An ambassador is a country's top representative in another nation. In this role, he also represented Zimbabwe at the Organisation of African Unity, which is a group of African countries working together.

Working in Foreign Affairs

Dr. Jokonya came back to Zimbabwe in 1988 to become the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Political Affairs. In 1990, he also took on the role of Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He was concerned about how much money was being spent on diplomatic missions (like embassies in other countries). He set goals for them to spend less and to help Zimbabwe earn more money through exports. He even created a system to track these benefits.

At the United Nations

In 1992, Dr. Jokonya became Zimbabwe's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. This meant he was Zimbabwe's main voice at the UN offices there. In 1999, he was promoted to work at the main UN headquarters in New York.

He was a personal representative of President Robert Mugabe to the G-15 group, which is a group of developing countries. During his time at the UN, he often had to defend Zimbabwe against other countries that wanted to put sanctions on it. Sanctions are restrictions put on a country, often because of disagreements over its policies. These disagreements were about Zimbabwe's land reform policies, which involved changing who owned land.

Helping Tourism Grow

In 2003, Dr. Jokonya was chosen to be the chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. His job was to help Zimbabwe earn more foreign money through tourism. He changed the focus of marketing to attract tourists from countries like China, France, and South Africa, instead of mainly from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. He believed it was better to focus on countries that were friendly to Zimbabwe. His efforts led to a big increase in tourists coming to Zimbabwe from Asia.

Minister of Information

After the 2005 election, Dr. Jokonya was appointed as the Minister of Information. This meant he was in charge of how the government communicated with the public and the media. Unlike the previous minister, Dr. Jokonya tried to work with media groups that were not always friendly to the Zimbabwean government.

However, he often reminded journalists to be patriotic, meaning to show love and support for their country. He was very critical of journalists who wrote stories that were negative about Zimbabwe's government policies for foreign news outlets.

When he started his job, Dr. Jokonya offered to meet regularly with journalists to talk about their news coverage. He wanted to share his ideas with them, including his views on human rights.

He also worked to reorganize Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, which was the main broadcasting company. Just a week before he passed away, he announced that the many smaller companies within it would be combined into two main ones: Zimbabwe Television Services and Zimbabwe Radio Services. He was found dead in his hotel room on 24 June 2006.