Harare — Former Zimpapers chief executive and the first black publisher of The Financial Gazette, Elias Rusike, has died.

He was 68. Rusike died at St Anne's Hospital in Harare after succumbing to stomach cancer. Family spokesperson Mr Simbarashe Rusike, the late publisher's son, said the burial would be on Saturday at his Arcturus farm.

Born in 1941 in Chinhamora, Goromonzi, Mr Rusike completed his primary education in the area before proceeding to Waddilove Institute where he obtained a diploma in agriculture. He went to Mindolo Ecumenical Centre in Kitwe, Zambia, where he did a course in journalism and creative writing. A series of appointments with the media began in 1962 when he joined The African Daily News in Salisbury.

The following year he joined Drum magazine before moving to Zambia to work for the same publication the following year. He later briefly worked for Zambia Broadcasting Services as a sub-editor before moving to Tanzania in 1967.

He became head of Zanu-PF external broadcasts on Radio Tanzania. In 1968, Mr Rusike was sent to Malawi as the Zanu-PF representative there until the following year when he asked for leave to further his education. He went to Bristol University in Britain where he studied politics and sociology. He also obtained masters degrees in communications, media and development administration.

Mr Rusike lectured in Britain before returning to Zimbabwe in 1977. He joined the Public Service Commission before joining Zimpapers in 1983.

In the late 1980s, he bought Modus Publications, publishers of The Financial Gazette from Clive Murphy and Clive Wilson. He launched The Daily Gazette and The Sunday Gazette before off-loading the company in 2003. Mr Rusike is survived by his wife and four children.