Masiba’s wife revives magazine

MORE than a year after the death of Ponko Masiba, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Christian magazine Let’s Praise Him, his widow has picked up the pieces and carried on with his legacy.

Masiba was one of 115 people killed when a hostel of Pastor TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed in Nigeria on September 12 last year. Of the deceased, 84 were from South Africa.

Masiba, who was a photojournalist for the publication, was on assignment in Nigeria when the structure accommodating pilgrims collapsed.

The magazine, which has gained popularity since its launch in March 2010, published its last edition in September last year.

After more than a year of mourning his death, his widow Tobeka TongoMasiba decided to revive the magazine.

In an interview with the Daily Dispatch, Tongo-Masiba said she was optimistic about the future of the relaunched Let’s Praise Him magazine.

The first edition will be on store shelves in January.

“Let’s Praise Him is a magazine that informs, educates and entertains the readers’ needs as I have developed more than 20 new topics that are very informative for the development of our communities. That alone shows that this is a new dawn and a child is born,” said Tongo-Masiba, who is also a computer programmer.

Masiba worked at four publications that include the now-defunct Imvo Zabantsundu, Daily Dispatch, Kei Mercury, the Bhisho/King Capital and City Vision. He worked for Media24 and was Sunday Sun regional editor before he started Let’s Praise Him with his wife.

“It is indeed a great pleasure to relaunch the magazine. The magazine has built on a solid relationship with the public sector over the years. The purpose of this relaunch is to revive, nurture and strengthen these ties going forward,” said Tongo-Masiba.

The magazine will be published in English and Xhosa and will be available online.

“Some of our main public relations goals is to create, maintain and provide government of the day and other stakeholders with a marketing space to express its values and, by engaging civic departments, to use the magazine as a platform to inform the community about its development plans and activities,” said Tongo-Masiba —