The Zimbabwean political activist Patson Dzamara has died ahead of scheduled surgery for colon cancer.

He became widely known after the abduction of his journalist brother, as he campaigned for an investigation into his disappearance.

Itai Dzamara was a well-known activist and had been a vocal critic of then President Robert Mugabe before he was abducted from a barbershop in 2015.

Patson Dzamara was supposed to undergo surgery for colon cancer and nearly half of the $28,000 (£22,000) needed had been raised through donations, according to a fund-raising page.