THIS week, Sunday Life caught up with the legendary Jimmy Phiri, scorer of the odd goal that sunk Highlanders in the 1988 Chibuku Trophy final at Barboufields Stadium.

It was at a sombre occasion as thousands of city residents mainly from Sizinda and Tshabalala came to bid farewell to Ephraim Mwale at the Holy Cross Parish and Umvutshwa Cemetery.

Mwale, the former Eagles and Caps United winger died recently in South Africa.

Phiri was the most recognisable of the former players with the other being Mwale’s younger brother, Thomas Chimenya, the former Railstars and ZPC Hwange bomber.

Apart from the fact that Mwale tried his luck at Saints with no joy as Phiri was establishing himself, the former Chikwata midfielder was there as a family member.

Phiri took time to speak about his career and Zimbabwe Saints.

He recalls an accident in 1981, in which he said they were lucky to survive with minor injuries with the worst affected being Gibson Homela who was the driver on the day.

Chikwata who were in the Super League, had played lower division side Shabanie Mine in a friendly in the asbestos mining town of Zvishavane. There was so much excitement about the game because a majority of the players were trialists coming to replace the old guard of Gibson Homela, Max Tshuma, Ebson Muguyo, Emmanuel Sibanda and the likes of Itai Chieza who were 30 and above.

“The players that were in the kombi were Misheck Sibanda, Chemmie (Jethro) Hunidzarira, I can say the entire team and the leaders were involved in the accident. They were still building our team to be strong,” said Phiri.

“After the match, as some players were drinking, so we looked for beers. Suddenly, after finishing buying beer and eating as the players, Homela was driving us on our way back, the kombi hit a cow, I heard people shouting inkomo, inkomo, I couldn’t see because I was seated in the boot, after that I don’t know what happened, we found ourselves at Zvishavane Hospital.

“Homela was the last man in the car because his feet and body were stuck in the car. He was removed by patriotic Zimbabweans and he feared that may be players had died. That’s why even today his leg still gives him (Homela) some problems, we were supposed to die but due to our Gods’ grace that saved us, no one died,” he said.

Phiri said it would have been a dark day for the club. He said Homela and Jani were the only ones injured on what was the first trip for many with Zimbabwe Saints.

He said the vehicle fell by its side and rolled three times with Homela remaining trapped while some of the players were thrown out and others retrieved from the wreckage.

Chiwororo, very prominent since their Nyore Nyore Cup win of 1974, the Castle Cup and league title of 1977 as well as the 1979 regional league title, had over half a dozen aging players and succession was top of the agenda.

Ephraim Mwale

“We came to life around 4am in the morning and most of us were shocked to find ourselves in a hospital,” said Phiri.

Phiri paid tribute to club veterans Muguyo, Philemon Dangarembwa, Tshuma and Douglas Maneto for welcoming them into the fold.

He said the club was very patient and kept the boys together adding a few towards making a great side.

He said players had a torrid time getting to play for Saints if one was not from Mzilikazi suburb.

Phiri and his young colleagues got a chance to play for the first team when senior players went on strike on the eve of a cup game and were thrown into the fray.

“It was difficult if you were coming from suburbs like Tshabalala to play for Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints. We were brave enough to go and experience the competition,” said Phiri.

By the time the likes of Ephraim Chawanda arrived with Joseph Machingura in the 1983-84 period, Misheck Sibanda and Phiri were now established players playing alongside Josphat Munetsi, Josphat “Mazhambe” Humbasha, Hunidzarira, Mayor Eric and Andrew “Mai Maria” Kadengu.

Phiri retired in 1991 and at one stage was manager of Railstars.

Saints have since 1988 failed to make a big impression on the local scene despite producing good players like Lloyd Jowa, Howard Mago, Dumisani Dube, Phathisani Hlabangana, Nkosana Gumbo, Mlungisi Ndebele, Ronald Sibanda and Muzondiwa Mugadza.

Phiri an enterprising and hardworking midfielder was among the 1988 Soccer Star of the Year finalists, in a season Ephraim Chawanda was voted Zimbabwe’s Player of the Year.

Jimmy Phiri’s Saints X1
John Sibanda, Misheck Sibanda, Josphat Humbasha, Josphat Munetsi, Kenneth Mathe, Ephraim Chawanda, Jimmy Phiri, Stanley Mutasa, Obey Sova, Labani Ngoma, Joseph Machingura

Lovemore Dube

PRISON inmates have been urged to grasp skills to use after their release so that they will make a living out of what they would have learnt.

This was said by the Zimbabwe Correctional and Prison Services (ZCPS) acting officer commanding Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Assistant Commissioner Greenfield Bulala at Khami Maximum Prison on Thursday, when the prison received sportswear for inmates from the Editor of The Sunday News, Hatred Zenenga.

Asst Comm Bulala said sports keep inmates busy and healthy.

He praised The Sunday News for its corporate social responsibility programme, which he said on the flip side of rehabilitation may go a long way in helping some of the inmates turn to coaching or playing after serving time at Zimbabwe’s correctional facilities.

“You are all kept busy by soccer here. Life does not end here, the day you leave, you will leave with something to help you out there. The Sunday News people have come with a soccer kit, a uniform, which makes you distinct from others.

Zenenga presents Assistant Commissioner Bulala with a coach’s jersey

“Looking at the flip side, some of you will play and some will coach from the skills gained here, so when you have left, we expect you to impact positively to the community.

“You can be a star and sustain your family. The challenge that is there, is to come out reformed and never to return here.

Return to donate, not as criminals, I wish you all the best,” said Asst Comm Bulala who was speaking before over 700 inmates.

Inmates have their hall league and play regularly to keep fit and entertain their colleagues.

Winners of the kit, a light blue and white strip that resembles Argentina’s famous one will represent Bulawayo in the inter-inmates games next month.

Some former players have served time and come out to shine.

The Sunday News is keen to assist inmates get coaching badges in a number of sporting disciplines for use outside prison.

Zenenga said his publication had sourced the kit from abroad from Thamsanqa “Majinkila” Ndlovu, Boga Matiwaza and Stella Shimell.

“The sports kit we sourced is genuine, not from mabhero (bales). It is original and we advised our friends that we have a project, it is the beginning of our relationship with you here and we hope to keep on improving. We want to bring you a former coach to assist you,” said Zenenga.

The Sunday News Editor challenged the players to rise to it as others before have played in the same environment and come out to excel outside prison.

“Some in the Premier League started here until they went out and blossomed,” said Zenenga.

Matiwaza, on behalf of Shimell and Ndlovu said they were impressed with the new prison concept adopted by Zimbabwe.

She said the fact that they were in prison does not mean that it is the end of the world as they are now being moulded to adapt to life outside.

She said at times society is to blame for those serving time.

“We failed as society. Let us give them a second chance, they are family and part of our community. In the African set up, even those with disabilities are still family.

“If through this gesture and many more to follow, we can add a smile and provide a platform for these guys as players and future coaches, we are happy to donate periodically. Soccer keeps them busy, an idle mind is dangerous because it is scheming, who knows, stars and future coaches may emerge,” said Matiwaza.

The inmates were presented with the kit and sports jackets to be presented to the most outstanding players of the tournament.

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

WHILE the whole of Zimbabwe was in a celebratory mood when Tugwi-Mukosi Dam was opened in 2016, Tendai Maulana and other residents who were working near Lake Mutirikwi were apprehensive at this new development.
Lake Mutirikwi reigned as the country’s largest inland dam since the 1960s.

Now, 56 years later, that reign was over and Maulana and others thought the water body’s crowning glory would take away interest in Lake Mutirikwi.

Zimbabweans, they thought, were now likely to turn their attention to the new kid on the block, ignoring the water jewel that Masvingo has been exploiting agriculturally and in the tourism sector.

Life for Lake Mutirikwi was already tough enough as it was, given that it is located in the shadow of the Great Zimbabwe monuments. A second counter attraction would be fatal, they thought.

However, eight years later, interest in Lake Mutirikwi is at its peak and that is partly due to the US$14.5 million mini-hydro-power plant being developed by Great Zimbabwe Hydro-Power Company.

The five-megawatt (5MW) power station, which is expected to enhance the energy supply in Masvingo Province and feed into the national grid is expected to be commissioned in the next six weeks.

While the commissioning of the power station is a welcome development for the country’s strained electricity generation capacity, the construction efforts have left an impression on those who live near the dam, giving what was already a picturesque place an added dimension.

Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa)

As more people flock to see the new Lake Mutirikwi, Maulana, who works for the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) is chuffed at the increased traffic of visitors they have been seeing.

“We are grateful for the power generation project because it has taken Lake Mutirikwi back on the map,” he said in an interview last week.

“We had fears that because of Tugwi-Mukosi, which is larger, Lake Mutirikwi would cease being the attraction that it used to be in the past.

“However, this project has meant that we still capture the imagination of Zimbabweans and we are grateful for that.

There is curiosity among people who thought Lake Mutirikwi no longer had anything to offer. They can see it is now very vibrant again. As residents here, we are also interested in seeing the power generation project taking shape because, for a lot of us, it is the first time seeing something of this nature being built.”

With Kyle Recreational Park near the lake offering activities including skiing, fishing, boating, yachting and game viewing by boat, it is no wonder why Lake Mutirikwi has become a hit with tourists from home and abroad.

A dam that was initially built to provide water to the farming estates in the Lowveld to the southwest around the town of Triangle has managed to reinvent itself many times over and it is now a hub for tourism, power generation and agriculture. It is an evolution that the likes of Maulana have watched unfold with keen interest.

“When it is full, it carries a capacity of 1 400 cubic metres of water and that means it can churn out five megawatts of electricity. It was important for the water in the dam to be converted to that purpose because there was a realisation that when it was not used, it would just end up flooding agricultural land. Of course, this is meant to be water for agricultural purposes but there was a need to use it for other purposes.

“This dam was initially meant for farming but in the modern era, tourism has also become one of its main offerings. It is now an old structure with a long history stretching back to the colonial era and that has made it attractive. In addition to that, while we might not have any major companies operating here, we have fishing co-operatives that are reaping the benefits from Lake Mutirikwi,” he said.

While domestic tourism was thriving at Lake Mutirikwi, Maulana said more still needed to be done to entice international visitors, as most only wanted to see the Great Zimbabwe when in Masvingo.

“We do get many visitors from countries like South Africa and Zambia but I think our greatest challenge is positioning it on the tourism map. We are still not as prominent as Great Zimbabwe. We would like to see more people from those countries come in greater numbers. I think we need to strike up more partnerships with Great Zimbabwe because the dam is part and parcel of it. Some of the Great Zimbabwe’s ruins are buried here,” he said.

Tumburai Tumburai, a loss control officer at Zinwa, said they were getting a lot of visitors, who included church groups. While others sought a view of a beautiful African sunset, others only sought to be closer to their maker at Lake Mutirikwi’s waters.

“We have a lot of school children coming here for trips and they have a lot of curiosity about the place. They want to know what rivers feed Lake Mutirikwi and other such information. Then we also have a lot of people that come here for a nice time, to have a braai while looking at the spectacular view.

“People spend the whole day here, experiencing nature because what they see here is not there in Harare and other places in the urban parts of Zimbabwe.

“Schools have always been a major clientele for us but recently, churches have also joined in. A lot of them come here for prayer sessions. We also have the local people from Masvingo and Zimbabwe at large who now have a renewed interest and are trickling in to see Lake Mutirikwi in larger numbers.

“Most of our clientele visit us on weekends and public holidays. A lot of people want to spend their special days here and watch the sunset,” he said.

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

THE road to the Chilojo Cliffs at Gonarezhou National Park in Masvingo Province is not for the faint-hearted.
The twists and turns on this stretch of earth leave one unsure of their bearings, wondering, which direction is north or south.

Just as one thinks it is all smooth sailing, they find themselves confronted with hills that seem to explode from nowhere, giving a thorough examination of the driving skills of whoever might be at the wheel.

From a safari car, the view from some of these hills is spectacular. Far below, the waters of the Runde River seem to flow at a snail’s pace nine months into what has been a very dry year.

Thomas Chinyanyani

As one drives further into the park, they come across all manner of animals. They cross paths with elephants that have laid waste to hundreds of trees over the years, marauding through the forest as they search for delicious tree sap. Gonarezhou means “the place for elephants” and from the trees littering the ground, it is clear to see why.

Vultures circle overhead, indicating their intention to take part in a prospective buffet if a fresh kill has been made nearby.

There are no sightings of lions but their footprints on the wind-battered soils indicate that the king of the jungle is lurking somewhere in the thick forests.

The entire scene is bewitching for a tourist but sitting on the driver’s side of the safari car, Thomas Chinyanyani is not altogether enchanted by it.

He has an eye on a worrying sight. On the banks of the Runde, he has spotted a buffalo and this has piqued his interest. To the ordinary eye, this is merely another animal seeking to quench its thirst after journeying around the park.

However, Chinyanyani, a guide at Gonarezhou, knows better. “I saw a sub-adult male on the north-western side of the park, perhaps between two and three years old,” he tells another member of his team later on.
“It was alone, so I am assuming that maybe it is sick. You should check on it.”

With just a glance from his binoculars, Chinyanyani had seemingly not only managed to diagnose the buffalo’s condition but also its age.

This is daily life for the guide, whose life seems to have been intertwined with the fate of the animals at Zimbabwe’s second-biggest national park.

Born and bred in Mahenye, a village inhabited mostly by Shangani people on the borders of the north-eastern boundary of Gonarezhou, Chinyanyani recalls a time when, as a young lad, he did not have a great love for some of the park’s four-legged inhabitants.

“As a youngster growing up near the park, things were not always easy. It was tough because some people were hostile towards the animals because they felt that animals stray into their space and destroy crops or eat and kill domestic animals like cattle and goats.

“However, these perceptions have changed over the years because people are getting jobs from taking care of these same animals that they once saw as enemies. Once people started benefitting directly and indirectly, they started changing their attitude towards animals,” he told Sunday Life during a media tour organised by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.

In 2007, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) invited Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) to help restore the park, with FZS initially supporting anti-poaching patrols, better training, and improved infrastructure. Ten years later, FZS and ZPWMA strengthened their partnership by forming the new Gonarezhou Conservation Trust (GCT) to manage the park.

From such partnerships and initiatives, the likes of Chinyanyani switched from being bystanders watching life unfold at the national park to active participants seeking to save the lives of animals they once saw as sworn enemies.

“Relations between the park and local communities were sour a long time back but now, they are very good. I am a local community member myself.

I am from Mahenya and my presence shows the improvements that have been made in relations between the park and local people. Gonarezhou also employs a large number of people like me, who are from the local community. I would say three-quarters of the people who work here are from nearby communities,” he said.

Elephants roaming the National Park

Whenever he goes back to Mahenya, Chinyanyani said he takes it as his duty to educate the local population on the importance of looking after the animals and plants in the national park.

“We are spreading the gospel of conservation back to the community whenever I go back. I make sure that I spread that message to my people because we need to take care of the wildlife.

We are benefitting directly and indirectly through tourism because when people come here sometimes, they buy things from the community,” he said.

It has been a long journey for Gonarezhou, which saw its rhino population decimated in the 1940s and 1994 due to rampant poaching.

“In 2021, we introduced 28 black rhinos and have 38 rhinos now, which shows that they are doing well. We do get poachers, especially those from neighbouring communities. They mostly come here to poach for fish and other small animals for subsistence. It is mostly subsistence poaching, with people killing animals for eating.

“Some time back, we had problems with the Bemba people from our neighbouring Mozambique but ever since we struck an agreement with the Zoological Society of Mozambique, poaching incidents became low,” he said.

Despite all efforts, a few lives are still lost to human-wildlife conflict. “There are still incidents of human-wildlife conflict because when people come here to do some poaching, they get bitten by crocodiles or even killed by elephants.

Gonarezhou authorities also make sure to arrest those who are doing any kind of poaching but sometimes, a few people end up in spaces dominated by animals and conflicts ensue,” he said.

Even though he grew up on the doorsteps of the park, Chinyanyani is still in awe of its beauty. He knows by heart the dimensions of the iconic Chilojo Cliffs, which lie at the heart of the park.

He speaks with pride when he recalls that these cliffs, famed for their “changing face” which shifts when exposed to morning or evening light, once graced a Zimbabwean $10 note.

It is this beauty that he wishes to hold on to and preserve. “Chilojo means the inside of an elephant’s mouth. The cliffs stretch for about 14km and from the riverbed to the top of the cliffs it is about 180m.

They are part of the reason tourists come to Gonarezhou. They want to see their beauty. No one can say when the cliffs were formed but we can assume that they were made years ago through agents of erosion like wind and rain which act upon the rock.

The rock is red sandstone and because of this, some parts are stronger while others are weaker. The weaker parts are the ones that are eroded which in the end give us this stunning view,” he said.

Faith Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

BULAWAYO award-winning ensemble, Khaya Arts recently launched an innovative sports project, which is set to bring together local sports and art enthusiasts to explore the intersection of physical activity and creative expression.

The project, running under the theme “Sport is Art and Science of Wellness” was launched at Sizinda Vocational Training Centre last Saturday. Khaya Arts, is a pioneering entertainment company established in 2011, which has been dedicated to empowering young people through creative expression. Recognising the importance of providing positive outlets for youth energy, Khaya Arts has expanded its scope to include sports development.

Through the sports project, the company aims to engage young people in a constructive and healthy activity, diverting their attention away from harmful behaviours and fostering a sense of community, discipline and teamwork.

Speaking at the launch, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South constituency, Raj Modi complimented Khaya Arts for launching the project, noting it would have many benefits to the community.

“In Zimbabwe, the development of sports is the mandate of the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). However, the development of sports in our country demands our collective effort as a constituency and nation at large and cannot be left in the hands of the Government only,” Deputy Minister Modi. He also applauded Khaya Arts’ leadership for taking a bold step towards complementing the efforts of SRC.

“This is a commendable initiative, which every responsible resident of Sizinda, Bulawayo and Zimbabwe should emulate,” he added.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi

The Deputy Minister also highlighted that the vision of President Mnangagwa is to develop sports and leverage it to empower the youth, foster national pride, grow the economy, promote sports inclusivity, foster partnership locally and internationally, develop infrastructure and promote sports tourism.

“This initiative has the potential of contributing significantly towards the attainment of this vision. As a nation, let us continue supporting the arts and sports sector. One of the Government’s key strategies for promoting the arts is through collaboration. Hence we are witnessing the collaboration between arts, sports, business and the community,” he said.

He further encouraged the youth to work extra hard as they are the future and tomorrow’s leaders. Khaya Arts founder, Future Dube, said their main inspiration is to contribute to the community through the efforts that are made by the Government to try and eradicate all the harmful activities that are done by the youths.

“We are trying by all means to bring the activities that can take all the time for the youth so that they have something meaningful that they can do and shun all the other activities that can lead to all sorts of problems in life,” said Dube.
“Sports bring people together, when they come together, they share ideas, so we want to achieve a zero in child marriages and even health-wise,” he said.

The group also revealed that they had paid school fees and bought uniforms for their 22 junior dancers who are still in school.

LAST week, we talked about general punctuation starting with the use of capital letters. When we write the actual words spoken by people, we are using direct speech. In writing, we use quotation marks (inverted commas).

All the words and punctuation marks, which would be inside the speech bubbles, also go inside the quotation marks.
Some rules for writing direct speech: Only the actual words spoken are written inside quotation marks. The first word of direct speech begins with a capital letter. The quotation marks at the end are placed after the punctuation mark which comes at the end of the spoken words. (,” .” ?” !”).

Direct speech is always separated from the rest of the sentence (said Leon) by a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Begin a new paragraph each time a different person speaks.

Indirect speech: The actual words spoken by a person are called direct speech. When we retell or report something which has been said, we use indirect speech. Compare the following examples of direct and indirect speech: “I am coming to see you this evening,” said Laura. Laura said that she was coming to see me this evening.

Sihle asked, “Am I too late to put my name down for the young farmers club?” Sihle asked if she was too late to put her name down for the young farmers club. Why is there no question mark? “Put your bicycle in the garage, Simon,” said his mother. Simon’s mother told him to put his bicycle in the garage.

Punctuation

Did you notice? No quotation marks are used in indirect speech. We need to use extra words like that, asked if and told when reporting what has been said. The pronouns change, for example “I” becomes “he” in the first sentence. When using indirect speech, we usually change the verbs to past tense because we are reporting something that has already been said.

Look at these examples: “I am going shopping,” said Bill’s mother. (present tense) Bill’s mother said that she was going shopping. (becomes past tense) He said “I saw you all there,” (already past tense) He said that he had seen us all there. (Saw becomes had seen) Will you help me? Asked Rita. (future tense) Rita asked if I would help her. (will becomes would)

These are some of the words, which can change to past tense in indirect speech: “am” changes to was, is –was, are –were, shall – should, will – would, can –could, may – might. have –had, may – might, has – had, today – yesterday, that day, etc., this morning – that morning, last week – the previous week – next week – the following week and tomorrow – the next day, the following day.

Change these sentences to indirect speech, using the past tense. “I am getting new jeans for the party”, said Ludo. “My dad said, the surprise will be here soon.” “I bought my mother a plant for Christmas,” said George. “I’ve asked my aunt if you can come with us,” said Sineke. “Can you tell me where the library is?” she asked. “I may go to visit my niece in Maputo in December,” said Irene.

Reflexive pronouns (myself/yourself) The reflexive pronouns are: singular: myself, plural – ourselves. Yourself (one person) yourselves (more than one person) himself/herself/itself and themselves. We use the reflexive pronoun when the subject and the object are the same: Peter cut himself while he was chopping firewood. (Not Peter cut him).
I don’t want you to pay for me. I’ll pay for myself. The old man sat in a corner talking to himself.

Don’t get angry. Control yourself! (said to one person) If you want more to eat, help yourselves. (said to more than one person. The party was great. We enjoyed ourselves very much. But we do not use “myself” after “bring/take something with . . .”

I went out and took an umbrella with me. (not with myself). We do not normally use “myself” after “wash/dress/shave”. I got up, shaved, washed and dressed (not shaved myself). But we say: I dried myself.

Both/both of, neither/ neither of, either/either of: We use both, neither and either when we are talking about two things. You can use these words with a noun: Both students are very good. (not “the both students”) Neither restaurant is expensive. We can go to either restaurant. I don’t mind. (either = one or the other, it doesn’t matter which one). I didn’t’ like either restaurant. (not the one or the other).

You can use both/neither/either with “of. . .” When you use these words with “of,” you always need the/these/those/ my/your/his etc. You cannot say “both of restaurants.” You have to say “both of the restaurants”. Both of these restaurants are very good. Neither of the restaurants we went to was very expensive. We can go to either of those restaurants. I don’t mind.

Learn how to use these expressions.
For views link with charlesdube14058@gmail.com or sms to 0772113207.

Taboka Tshuma, Sunday News Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN gospel singer, Abigail Mwembe has been nominated for the prestigious South African Gospel Recognition Awards (Sagra) that will be held at the Guild Theatre in the Eastern Cape, South Africa in November.

The South African Gospel Recognition Awards, which are in their third edition, are meant to acknowledge up-and-coming artistes showcasing their talents through music. They are a special event to celebrate global gospel artistes who may not have held the limelight, but who played crucial roles as backup singers or up-and-coming artistes.

Mwembe has been nominated in the Best Gospel Project category for her album; Basking in his Glory. The 14-track album, which she worked on with local group Hassana from Harvest House Church and other artistes, broke into DStv Channel One Gospel and ZBC TV.

Abigail Mwembe

In an interview with Sunday Life, the gospel muso expressed her gratitude for the nomination and continued recognition of the work she is doing in the service of the Almighty God.“I am humbled and thrilled by this incredible nomination and continued recognition of my work, let’s vote and with your support it is possible,” she said.

Born and raised in Dete, in Hwange District, Matabeleland North Province, Mwembe began singing at a young age. With both her parents being leaders at Zion’s Forwarding Church, young Mwembe would request to sing in front of people at church.

Her parents were encouraged by her primary school teacher who she performed to one morning when they were in Grade One and from then, she became part of the school and church choir throughout her childhood years until she moved to Bulawayo for tertiary education.

“I love singing about the presence of the Lord, it hasn’t been an easy journey, but I kept pushing. From my very first failed album, I never gave up,” she said. The Bulawayo-based star first recorded her Makabongwe album in 2001 in Harare and it didn’t do well, she then recorded Tataleza in 2005 before the hit album Basking in his Glory.

Just like any other female musician, the young gospel star has also had her fair share of challenges while trying to stand out in the spotlight, she highlighted issues like lack of support and financial strains of working on independent projects.

“Piracy and lack of support, especially financially, have been significant hurdles,” she said. Drawing inspiration from artistes like Dunsin Oyakin, Nathaniel Bassi and Benjamin Debe, Mwembe’s music focuses on her faith and inspires listeners to seek a deeper connection with God.

Lovemore Dube
COULD the US become the foundation of the Mighty Warriors going forward?

A fortnight ago Ru Mucherera, a US born and bred Zimbabwean was in the country to get the passport of her parents’ country of birth. She expressed a desire to play for Zimbabwe and paid the Zifa’s women soccer desk at 53 Livingstone Way a courtesy call.

She even visited local elite women’s soccer side Maningi Academy and got to interact with the girls and technical staff.

Last week Mucherera made her debut for Mccabi Hadera in the Israel Women’s Premier League and scored in the 3-3 loss. On Thursday she scored her second goal. Another player based in the US Rudo Marufu has emerged and looks very much one for the future. She is a mature 24-year-old footballer. She has had a blistering start to the season playing as a centre-back.

Now at Florida Memorial University, her blistering start to the 2024/25 season has seen her score one goal in five matches and four assists from her centre-back position.

Marufu joined the Florida Memorial University this year from Louisiana University where she was impressive there too.

By any woman standards she is an imposing centre-back. The Zimbabwean was at Louisina from 2022 to this year and played under renowned coach Courtney Murdoch.

She managed to have her team go as far as the second round of the National Junior Collegiate Athletics Association (NJCAA) regional tournament.

Marufu graduated from Westridge High School in 2021 and was groomed by head coach Malvin Moyo.

So outstanding was she that in 2015 she was part of the boys’ team at her high school. Growing up in Harare Marufu was part of KidsCan Cancer Organisation and the Celebration Church Infant Care Living Springs Elderly Care Home.

In Zimbabwe she was also capped in the private schools national hockey team. US-based coach who has a keen interest in women’s football and has assisted a number get scholarships in that country.

Tawanda Kaseke described Marufu as a very good defender who deserves consideration for the Mighty Warriors.

“Women’s soccer here has caught up and lived up to expectations. US women’s soccer rates among the most competitive in the world, there is good collegiate competition. Marufu could fit in any team with her talent. She is also a natural athlete who has even played collegiate basketball here,” he said.

Among some of her achievements are:
Four-time basketball national team select (2016-2019)
2019 Westbridge High School Athlete of the Year
First girl on the men’s soccer team (2015, 2019)
2019 deputy house captain
Marufu chose FMU because of her relationship with the coach and to experience the Miami life. Her favourite part about FMU is the diversity of people. Marufu’s interests include:
Favourite sports team(s): FC Barcelona, Chelsea FC, Inter Miami, AC Milan
Favourite athlete(s): Lionel Messi, Thiago Alcántara, Edén Hazard, Bojan Krkic, Ronaldinho
Favourite food(s): Sushi
Favourite movie(s): Colombiana
Favourite TV/Streaming show(s): Bluey
Favourite vacation spot(s): Anywhere with a beach
Most influential person/people in her life: Her mum, her old coach Malvin and Lionel Messi
Favourite musical artist(s)/group(s): Brent Faiyaz, J Cole, Tame Impala
Favourite book(s): The Alchemist
Hidden talent: Chicken Sounds

Faith Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

GIFFORD High School’s debate team will in December represent the country at a SADC regional debate competition, set to be held in Botswana.

This comes after the Bulawayo-based school recently won the Orate Africa Debate National Tournament 2024 in Honde Valley, Manicaland Province, outshining 50 schools to secure first place.

The triumph earned the school an opportunity to represent Zimbabwe in Botswana at the Orate Africa Debate Regional Tournament, facing off with other teams from the SADC region. The team comprises three Form-Three pupils, Victor Garai, Kuda Mahambo and Joshua Chatindo and Lindani Ncube who is in Upper Six.

In an interview, Gifford High School head, Bongai Dewa, expressed her gratitude to the debate patron, Jack Irimayi who guided the team to victory. “Debate has been doing well under the supervision of Mr Jack Irimayi. We are very excited, overwhelmed that we won that prestigious national trophy and we pray and believe that the team will come back victors in Botswana, raising the country’s flag very high,” said Dewa.

“Debate is a very important club in schools, we groom leaders and through debate they gain confidence about themselves and they can convincingly express their views, hence it takes a lot of practice to be where we are today,” she said.

In an interview with Sunday Life, Irimayi said the team is now awaiting tournament motions to finalise preparations, expressing confidence in their ability to deliver outstanding results. “We are not going to represent Gifford High School, but we are also going to positively represent Bulawayo as a province and represent Zimbabwe as a whole,” he said.

Gifford High School

He, however, revealed that as the team prepares for the international competition, they are grappling with logistical challenges, particularly raising sufficient funds to cover travel costs. To facilitate their attendance, the team seeks over US$2 000.

“We are still trying to find organisations or willing individuals that can assist the school in making us get to that tournament that would be held in Gaborone, University of Botswana,” Irimayi said. Despite the challenges, the team confidently says it is on good feet to win the tournament and will shock the other participants.

“Ever since we have been running the debate team as of 2016, we have done great, this is not the only national tournament we have won. As a school, we have managed to clinch the Africa Debate Tournament (2024), Royal Parks Debate Tournament (2023) and the Zimbabwe Code Debate Tournament (2016),” said Irimayi.

“We have never run out of brilliant and talented speakers that are willing to take debate to another level.” Members of the debate team said they were excited to be ambassadors of the country in the regional tournament.

“Debating isn’t just about representation; it’s showcasing Zimbabwe’s talent, values and impactful argumentative skills,” said one of the debate members, Victor Garai. Another member, Lindani Ncube, highlighted that they want to showcase the Zimbabwean culture and traditions to the world.

“Regardless of the bad things that people say about Zimbabwe, which are not true to start with, we want to show them the massive good things and talents that the world had not yet prepared to witness,” said Lindani.

Lawrence Maphosa, Guest Writer
WHEN Caps United staged a dramatic comeback on Match Day 26 at Rufaro Stadium in Harare against Highlanders, William Manondo led the Caps United strike-force from the front by scoring the first goal from the penalty spot.

There was something special hidden from the celebrations as no one from the football fraternity appeared to appreciate the milestone Manondo was marching towards a lifetime feat.

Due to the poor keeping of football statistics in this country many, including the player himself, may have missed the fact Manondo had notched his 95th career goal, and the highest number among active players today.

He joined some of the country legends like Norman Komani, Norman Maroto, Gilbert Zulu, Ralph Matema, Maronga Nyangela, Lazarus Muhoni, Limited Chikafa, Alois Bunjira to name but a few notables who have scored more than 90 career goals.

The list also has Gift “Ghetto” Mpariwa (Dynamos), Phillip Marufu (Chapungu United), Leonard Tsipa (Caps United), Max Makanza (Dynamos), Agent ‘‘Ajira’’ Sawu (Zimbabwe Saints), Albert Mbano (Lancashire Steel), Gift “Guava” Kamuriwo (Black Rhinos), Lloyd Hlahla (Masvingo United) and Murape Murape(Dynamos).

The list also has a few strikers who did well in their respective clubs besides scoring 90 plus, Walter Musona before he left FC Platinum last season, was and is still the club’s all-time top goal-scorer with 49 goals overtaking Rodwell Chinyengetere in the process, while Mkhokheli Dube became the 50th player to score an FC Platinum goal, with Khama Billiat achieving the same feat for Yadah Stars (50th player for the club to score).

The team of the moment Simba Bhora has Tymon Machope (16) as their all-time top goal-scorer overtaking Tinashe Balakasi (10) who had a stint in Botswana during the first half of the season, while Walter Musona (10) is now the second best top scorer for Simba Bhora, he is chasing a milestone for the second time with his third Zimbabwean club.

Lynoth Chikuhwa of Highlanders took his tally at Bosso to 25 same as Chipo Tsodzo. Among the active players at Bosso, Chikuhwa is the highest goalscorer.

Lynoth Chikuhwa

Ralph Matema in recent years has scored the highest number — 65.

Obriel Chirinda left a record at Bulawayo Chiefs of being the club’s all-time top goal-scorer in just two seasons with 21, wiping away Arthur Musiyiwa’s record of three seasons (16) and he became the first Bulawayo Chiefs player to score a hat-trick, while Innocent Mucheneka is still chasing that one goal for Chicken Inn to equal Tendai Ndoro’s all-time top scorer for the club of 23.

Khama Billiat is chasing the same record at Yadah Stars that Matema set during his stay at the club of 23 goals. Khama is now the second-best all-time top scorer at Yadah Stars with 10 goals, he now needs 13 goals to clear Matema’s mark, while Junior Zindoga remains the only player from Yadah Stars to score a hat-trick, having done so last season in a league tie at Baobab Stadium.

Khama Billiat

Manondo now finds himself just five short of his century of goals while he is the leading scorer in the new Chibuku Super Cup with 20 goals, 19 for Harare City and just one for his present club Caps United.

He still has a chance to add more since his club is still in the running in the tournament this season.

He has scored 95 goals in league and cup games for Kiglon, FC Platinum, Gunners, Harare City and Caps United.

Manondo’s Premiership goal count got off the mark with a goal on Match Day 20 of 2010 when Kiglon drew 1-1 with Bantu Rovers in Bulawayo. Manondo has so far scored 38 goals for his new club Caps United, 37 league and one cup goal.

It would be a great tribute to a proven goal-scorer if he scores five to make it 100 goals.

Very few players in the Zimbabwe league have scored 100 goals or more.

Matema missed the century last season by only three goals before retiring, while Hwange’s Gilbert Zulu was the last centurian with 110 goals to his credit when he called time on his career, some years ago.

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

IT was meant to be the edition that marked a milestone in the life of Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo.
After 20 years, this was the edition that would announce that the arts extravaganza, now officially out of its teens, was fully grown up. It would be during this edition that it would showcase the kind of resilience that had seen it weather countless storms over the last two decades.

Intwasa had survived it all. It had lived through disgruntled performers, harsh critics, and even a pandemic that threatened to wipe it off the arts calendar.

Sure, Intwasa coughed for a while but with grace, it regained its poise and the arts in Bulawayo looked like they were now on a better footing.

Then in 2022, disaster struck as after 17 years during which the festival had always unerringly announced the arrival of spring in the city, things took a turn for the worst. Intwasa would not be held that year, organisers announced, as funding challenges had put paid to any hopes of banishing the ghost of Covid-19 once and for all.

Now two years later, Intwasa has announced that there will be no song or dance to announce the arrival of spring in Bulawayo again this year. The same funding challenges that dogged the festival two years ago have returned to haunt it again, organisers announced this week.

Scenes from previous editions of Intwasa2

“Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo wishes to inform all artistes, partners, stakeholders, and the general public that the 2024 edition of the festival, originally scheduled for the 25th to the 28th of September, has been postponed to a later date.

“While the main festival has been postponed, Intwasa will continue to host stand-alone activities throughout October and November 2024. These events will keep the spirit of the festival alive and provide ongoing opportunities for artistes and audiences to engage with the arts,” read part of the Press statement.

The announcement was a body blow to arts lovers in Bulawayo, who hoped that the city’s premier arts festival was now fit again. The latest postponement has once again led to questions on the health of the arts extravaganza, with some expressing fear that it might one day find itself defunct like the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa). Once the country’s biggest festival, Hifa folded in 2018 and has not returned since.

In an interview with Sunday Life, Intwasa Arts Festival Director Raisedon Baya expressed hope that Intwasa would see out the worst of its troubles and not end up like Hifa.

Raisedon Baya

Baya said while such concerns were valid, there was now a need to acknowledge that Intwasa was now active throughout the year and thus did not need a single event to validate its existence.

“If we are talking about Intwasa, for me and others there’s no fear that we might fold and go the way of other festivals in the country.

Like every company and institution in the country, we face a lot of challenges and things are not as rosy as we would like but we are doing a lot of things to fill the void in the meantime. We will be doing a lot of activities throughout the year like workshops, films, and workshops. Over the past few years, we have been evolving. We are no longer just a one-week event. We do a lot of other things, including Intwasa short stories and other projects that are outside the festival. All those are still ongoing and there’s no issue with that,” he said.

Baya said in their search for perfection, they had decided not to host a shoddy festival, as most of the resources that they had been promised would only be delivered after September, the month that the springtime festival is usually held.

“The resources we were getting were coming late, so we shifted some events to October and November and maybe then we will just do a smaller version of the festival in December. We have mentioned the challenges that we have faced in the past and this is just due to the basic funding challenges that are being faced by everyone. We all know the situation faced by everyone. Be that as it may, we will still be doing stuff that is aligned with the Intwasa Festival over October, November, and December,” he said.

Baya said that they felt that if they held the festival with the little resources that they so far managed to muster, they would deal a fatal blow to an event that was meant to be the prime advertisement of Bulawayo as the country’s cultural capital.

“We have faced a few issues when it comes to the organisation of the festival because we knew that in terms of resources, we might not get all that we need by September. As organisers, we felt that because things were looking tight financially, we could do a shoddy thing for the sake of just doing anything. So, we just moved it to December so we can tighten our programmes. We want to make sure that we know just how much we have in our coffers and then we can go ahead and pick the events that give us value,” he said.

Baya said they had not concluded the line-up for forthcoming events due to pending agreements with prospective sponsors. The plan, he said, was to make the festival sustainable and lessen its dependence on well-wishers and sponsors.

“What this means is that at the festival level, certain things and models might need to change for sustainability. In the past, we were doing the festival just for the sake of enjoyment for the people of Bulawayo. It was a product that we just needed the city to enjoy. Now things are different. We need to make this sustainable and that is what we are spending our time working towards.

We do have a plan for the programmes that we want to roll out in November and December but we have to wait before we announce anything because some agreements need to be signed and sealed first before that happens,” he said.

CHIPO Tsodzo who was well-travelled as a player having played in Bulawayo, Hwange, Masvingo and Mwana Africa, says it was not about money that he heeded the call to play in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the 1995 ebola outbreak.

It was a sacrifice for his country. Many others had before put their livelihoods and lives at stake for the sake of millions during the liberation struggle.

Many years after the war had ended Tsodzo and a group of brave Warriors sacrificed for the badge and the local game to play in the DRC.

The foreign legion turned down the call-up fearing for their lives. Their clubs also insisted on insurance which Zifa could not afford and a decision was made that legendary Gibson Homela calls up locals to fulfill the fixture.

Gibson Homela

He hastily called up the guys who arrived at night at the Sheraton Hotel in Harare (now Rainbow Towers) and travelled on the day of the match.

“That was my volunteering as a patriotic Zimbabwean. For your country, the effort and sacrifice have no monetary measure. Hopefully one day my colleagues and the departed ones may be honoured by Zifa or by the Sports Commission for what we did for our country. We put our lives on the line.

“Heroes are in many categories and I support the Hall of Fame concept, it’s got to take off and we see our heroes celebrated,” said the man many call Jackroller.

Tsodzo was then a 20-year-old striker playing for Zimbabwe Saints.

Homela had promoted him to the first team in 1993. “I joined the Zimbabwe Saints Under-16s from Juaki Lunga’s Gold Star. There were several good players at the club and this was after Gift Lunga (Snr) had impressed upon me that I was a better player for Gold Star and deserved better. I went to Saints and started developing into a better player. I am grateful for Juaki’s patience in nurturing me and many others.

“The juniors I played with from the Under-16s were Mlungisi Ndebele, Muzondiwa Mugadza, Chris Kawema, Lloyd Jowa and Matambanashe Sibanda and I was thrust at the back where I would play at right-back or centre-back,” said Tsodzo who attended Lobengula Primary School in Mzilikazi. He said he started with the primary school juniors before he joined Gold Star at Makokoba’s 11th Street pitch.

“Talking of Makokoba we were never short of inspiration. So many legends had come through Thabiso and 11 Street pitches. They were our heroes and we wanted to be like them.

“Remember Adam, Peter and Madinda Ndlovu, Tanny Banda, Netsai Moyo, Gift Lunga (Snr), Nkululeko Dlodlo, Makheyi Nyathi, Doughty Sithole were from Makokoba. We had all the reason to want to emulate these top players from our neighbourhood,” said Tsodzo who says at Sobukhazi High School he played alongside renowned choreographer, playwright and event manager Simon “Mambazo” Phiri of Siyaya Arts.

“Mambazo was our goalkeeper, we had Chazaza (well-known gangster of the 1990s) and Kelvin ‘Mchawa’ Maseko. We had so many good youngsters back then who did not take up soccer,” said the Bulawayo soccer legend.

Tsodzo said with the 1980s generation retiring in the early 1990s, Homela and juniors coach Lazarus “Juju” Zimangi who inherited the role from the late Jani Gwede, did not bother going into the market.

They turned to Tsodzo, Dumisani Dube, Godwin Mangayi, Muzondiwa Mugadza, Howard Mago, Henry Ndlovu and Themba Ndlovu from their juniors and Ronald Sibanda who Highlanders turned down and wanted him to stick around in their junior teams,” said Tsodzo.

David Sibanda, John Sibanda and Innocent Rwodzi were among the senior players at the club back then and were joined by Lovejoy Mugadza who added experience.

Tsodzo said they were a youthful team of boys who had played junior football together and combined with some senior players for a futuristic team. Tsodzo said his best season at Zimbabwe Saints was in 1995 when he scored for fun having been converted to a striker.

He speaks highly of Homela, Zimangi, the legendary William Sibanda and Philemon Dangarembwa who all took turns to nurture him to be a better player.

He was among the stand-out players when Chikwata whacked Dynamos 5-0 in the Champion of Champions clash in 1995. DeMbare were in no show for the second leg at Rufaro Stadium.

Tsodzo eventually left Saints in 2001 for Masvingo United teaming up with the likes of Joe Kwangwari and Lloyd Hlahla.

Having made his debut for Chikwata in a 1-1 draw against Wankie in Hwange, Tsodzo believes his best game was against Tongogara at Mbizo Stadium in 1995 when they won 3-1 with him scoring a brace and Ronald Sibanda once.

Tsodzo scored 27 goals in 2002 and was among the Soccer Star of the Year finalists and he had earned himself attention from Highlanders with the team’s manager, Ernest Sibanda convincing him to join Highlanders in 2003.

“My good form earned me a trial at Paphos, a deal organised by Spiro Nicollau who had assisted Rahman Gumbo, Agent Sawu, Joel Luphahla and Noel Kaseke to play in that country,” said Tsodzo.

It was with a lot of expectation at Bosso that he arrived. They were a team that had won support from the fans and four consecutive league championships a feat hitherto achieved by Dynamos 1980-1983 and Bulawayo Rovers in the 1950s.

Arriving as a striker at Bosso, he would later play as a defender.

He partnered Gilbert Banda and Bekithemba “Super” Ndlovu in a team that had goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini, Bekithemba Nkiwane, Anzilom Ndlovu at the back, stylish Costa Maradzike, Richard Choruma, brilliant Honour Gombami and artistic Johannes Ngodzo in midfield and Mkhokheli Dube and Dabwitso Nkhoma in attack.

In 2006 Tsodzo moved to Mwana Africa in Bindura and won the CBZ Cup under Willard Khumalo to get the ticket to play in the Caf Confederations Cup where after he had his Bulawayo friends in bursts of laughter with his, “Ngapha akufani langale esithi mjetshemjetshe-bus, ngale mjetshe, mjetshe ndege (Here its emergency taxi, taxi to bus while in Bindura its taxi, taxi to plane.”

TP Mazembe of the DRC knocked them out of the continental tournament for the FA Cup winners or league runners-up.

The big player joined Chipangano in Division One in 2009 and helped them to league promotion before returning to Bosso.

In 2011 the nomadic Makokoba lad who now lives in Cowdray Park, returned to Chikwata who bounced back into the Premiership after acquiring the franchise of Eagles of Harare.

Like a rolling stone that does not gather any moss, at 37 he played for Tawanda Ruzive’s Quelaton and eventually called it a day in 2014 after a stint with Bantu Rovers where he began his coaching career.

A Zifa Level Four, Tsodzo may be among the beneficiaries of a new programme for former players when Caf courses begin.

Tsodzo is part of the Nkayi United coaching department. Nkayi have been among the top three Zifa Southern Region Division One clubs.

Tsodzo, 49 has three kids who live abroad and are not into football. In his spare time Tsodzo is known for his nimble-footedness and love for Dalom Music and the Mighty Soul Brothers.

Before we rounded up the interview, Tsodzo insisted that the goal attributed to Tapuwa Kapini in 2004 in the 4-3 win at the National Sports Stadium was his.

“Yes, it was a long clearance from the back and I went high and flicked it changing direction to beat a desperate Witness Munkuli in goal for Caps United,” said Tsodzo among the 1990s’ most popular footballers.

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
RISE Kagona’s voice came in a whisper as he spoke as if something had got hold of his throat and was trying to choke the words out of him.

It was April of 2018 and Kagona was speaking on the phone from his base in Edinburg in the United Kingdom.

“Hello, can you hear me?” he hissed several times from the capital of Scotland.

This reporter had spent the best part of a fortnight trying to get hold of Kagona. Countless messages on Facebook and other social media platforms later, an interview had been arranged after Kagona had finally forwarded his number.

On the scheduled day and time of the interview, however, things were falling apart. Technology, so often an ally for the modern journalist, was revealing itself to be an adversary and instead of Kagona’s usual boisterous and forceful voice, only a whisper that could barely be heard filtered through the landline handset.

Rise Kugona

The much-anticipated interview, it seemed, was slipping away. However, Kagona was a patient man. The interview could be done the next day, he said, as it would not be an inconvenience to him.

When the interview did happen the next day, it was quite clear why Kagona was so patient.

Simply put, he was a man who had a lot to get off his chest.

The death of Biggie Tembo in 1995 from suicide was just the delivery of a long-delayed final nail in the coffin of a group that had once promised to be a newly independent Zimbabwe’s leading light in the world of music.

Tembo’s death was almost as tragic as the demise of a group that Kagona had founded in April 1980. According to Kagona, Bhundu Boys died in instalments, with the initial seed of their demise planted by Gordon Muir, the man who began managing the group when it signed with Warner Brothers in the UK.

“Gordon Muir, our manager, got 20 percent off everything that we made. So when the deal with Warner came along, he realised that he wanted a house. But the 20 percent that he would be getting from the deal would not be enough to buy a house so he tried to convince the group that buying a house was a smart idea. This was something that I was resistant to from the start,” said Kagona.

Bhundu Boys (Rise Kugona extreme right)

According to Kagona, Muir had dangled a tantalising £180 000 carrot in front of the group, as he hoped to turn them against Kagona, the man who had brought them all together.

“I wanted us to invest back home. When we left Zimbabwe all of us were living with our parents. I was living in Mufakose; David was from Bulawayo and so rented one room in Harare while Shaky was also from Karoi and didn’t have a home in Harare. Biggie was from Chinhoyi as well.

“So I told them that it wouldn’t make sense for us to buy a house in the United Kingdom because we were there on work permits and Margaret Thatcher could suddenly change her mind and stop foreigners from coming in. Who would carry the house to Harare?” said Kagona.

What stood out from that conversation with Kagona was how even 23 years after Tembo’s tragic death, Kagona still seemed to have found it hard to forgive Tembo for the downfall of a group that had promised so much? When he spoke of Tembo, or Judas Iscariot as he called him at times, there was a bitter edge to Kagona’s voice which betrayed his frustration and sense of betrayal at the events that led to the group’s eventual fall.

In the end, the death of the Bhundu Boys was an act of democracy. When Muir realised that he could not convince Kagona to take the direction he advised, he decreed that the fate of the group would be decided by what the majority wanted.

Keyboard player Shakespeare Kangwena, and bass player David Mankaba had already been convinced by Muir’s proposal but Kagona, Tembo, and drummer Kenny Chitsvatsva were unmoved by Muir’s promises. They wanted to invest back home instead of buying a house in the UK.

When Kagona went to bed the day before they were to sign an agreement confirming that, he slept soundly in the belief that he had the numbers on his side. However, while he slept, Muir was hard at work, wining and dining with Tembo while whispering into his ear, promising him a lucrative solo career should he ditch Kangwena and Mankaba.

Smitten with the idea of finally breaking out of as a solo star, Tembo sunk his teeth into the forbidden fruit. It was a betrayal that Kagona had a hard time forgiving over the years.

“The night before we were to have the vote the manager took Biggie out. At the time we didn’t know what was being discussed there but I was satisfied that my brother would stick by me. On the day that we were supposed to sign the agreement, Gordon all of a sudden called for a meeting.

“I was convinced that the meeting was all about clearing the air. I thought we would go on as agreed but instead called for a vote. That’s when Judas Iscariot (Biggie Tembo) sold us out,” said Kagona.

Things went downhill for the Bhundu Boys from that point onwards. The trust that had once existed between friends who became brothers in the dusty streets of Highfields in Harare had evaporated in the British Isles.

In the years that followed, Bhundu Boys only interacted when they were on stage together. Beyond that, they were perfect strangers.

Muir had a violent falling out with Tembo at Debbie Metcalfe’s cottage upon which details of the dastardly agreement that the pair had struck came to light. The rest of the group refused to forgive Tembo even when he wrote a letter of apology for his actions.
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Tembo died four years after he left the group, hanging himself after he broke free from a straitjacket in a mental institution. For years prior to that, he drank whisky straight from the bottle, telling his wife that it was the only thing that helped him find sleep. Very often, she narrated, he never slept and in the end he started experiencing the hallucinations that would eventually lead to his suicide.

Kagona dedicated his life to music while nursing the hangover from a dream that never truly was. The Bhundu Boys are spoken of as one of Zimbabwe’s greatest exports. This is true. They were signed to one of the biggest music labels in the world and they even raised the curtain for the queen of pop, Madonna. Those are noteworthy achievements in a country that has not had a lot of noteworthy music exports.

However, Kagona and many others were left to wonder what could have been if the Bhundu Boys had gotten genuine guidance or made better decisions.

After Kagona’s death last week, Zimbabwean music lovers can hope that maybe Tembo, Kagona, and the other departed Bhundu Boys can call a truce, belt out Simbimbino, and find the peace that eluded them on earth.

Lovemore Dube
FROM playing football at the park to group stages of the Confederation of African Football Champions League reads the story of Zimiseleni Moyo, a former Railstars left-back.

“A Zambian guy saw me playing football in the park in Hillbrow, Joburg and recommended me to Zesco of Zambia,” said Moyo in an interview on Monday last week. Many Zimbabweans have been lost to the streets and parks of Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville in Johannesburg in South Africa after being frustrated by competition or coaches.

Moyo said before that he had played for East Rovers from Bulawayo’s Pumula East suburb and made his break at Railstars in 2005 when senior players went on strike.

He was thrown into the fray and eventually dislodged Mtewa Masiku from the left-back position. After four years, he tried his luck at Motor Action in Harare. “Things were taking too long and after some two months I left for South Africa where a Zambian spotted me playing with guys in the park and I moved to Zambia,” said Moyo. Moyo went on to win three league titles with Zesco and is happy to have played continental football.

After some years at Zesco, Moyo left for Zanaco where he was a winner again and managed to go as far as the Caf Champions League group stages.

He believes they had a good run and were unfortunate to be in the same group with Aly Ahly of Egypt. He played for Lusaka Dynamos as well.

Zimiseleni who has coached junior development projects in Zambia and is now with Kafue Eagles in the Zambian First Division.

He holds a Caf B licence and relishes an opportunity to plough back into his homeland.

Moyo said he felt homesick and would not hesitate with his family to take up an opportunity back home.

He believes with his Caf B qualification and the experience of playing in Africa he can be useful.
“I am happy football gave me so much. Home is best. I would love to plough back. Would like to go to the grounds to see how things are done and what can be improved,” said Moyo an A-level graduate of Pumula High School.

Moyo said Zimbabwe lower division teams have better facilities than in Zambia. One take-away that he had noted in his adopted country was the work ethic exhibited by players and coaches.

He said if Zimbabweans were to inherit that workmanlike approach, fortunes could be better.

Zimbabwe has had some Zambian players like Ferdinand Mwachindalo, Joseph Mwansa, Manase Mwanza, Laughter Chilembe, Ian Bakala and Charles Chilufya who gave the local game a different dimension.

COMMUNITIES all over the world name various objects that they encounter around them and sometimes beyond their immediate environs. The various names that they give reflect the language of those communities and express what they consider, as the main traits of the numerous objects including the named ones, be they samples of flora and fauna, including inanimate objects.

Names serve as identifiers and, for animals that respond to calls, they answer either verbally or through action-related responses. In the case of human beings, they will have identity documents that identify them and sometimes these are accompanied by their facial images. We have in the past dealt more exhaustively with the processes and intricacies of names and naming.

Communities usually name their neighbouring communities because of various reasons ranging from their inter-community relationships, be they good or acrimonious. Essentially, naming is not a hit-and-miss affair. Rather, it stems from underpinning or informing conditions, wishes and commentaries on the goings on at the time of a baby’s birth. Physical characteristics of babies at birth may be the stimuli for chosen names.

Names become indicators of a community’s comprehensive knowledge of its environment; the events taking place in its environment, including the terrestrial one where stars have been named based on their perceived individual qualities, both physical and behavioural. As was pointed out in the last article, named objects have generic or classificatory names such as stars, trees, grasses, mountains and human beings.

Primary or classificatory names are broader and more embracing as they capture common or generic features or qualities. Secondary or individual names point to the unique and individualistic traits associated with particular objects within a broader class. An example of this desire to name all objects is when an unknown or nameless tree was named, “tree without a name,” muti usina zita. That became the name of what hitherto had been an unnamed tree.

A normal community will give names to their children and everything else in line with their spoken language. Inventions done by members of a community are given names in that community’s language, a practice that gives a community some sense of pride and glory. A given community acquires the much-needed currency and relevance in a competitive world where visibility is sought. Not so long ago, I saw an advertisement extolling the virtues and efficacy of a medicinal formulation. The much-vaunted medicine was called Kosorex. I suspected it was a hybridised name combining English and ChiShona. Kosora is a ChiShona word for coughing.

More recently, I heard about a name that sounded Ndebele. The exalted name was Sinamuva Chemicals.

I was exceedingly happy that African pharmacists and chemical engineers were beginning to recognise their languages and giving them some long overdue respect and reverence. After all, who says science is unintelligible in African languages?

Extending dominion over objects around us demands that we name those objects. It is as if the language of a community is becoming a vehicle through which the community exerts control over the environment, including the various peoples found therein. An unnamed world is an unknown world.

Languages identify communities’ developmental histories. A development links a given community with related communities. Where languages are similar, we can surmise that the languages developed from a common root and the people are of a common origin.

Where two languages exhibit close similarities, this may be a pointer to the fact that the two have a recent shared historical origin prior to their fission and separate development. Where a particular plant is called fazhamuka in ChiNyubi and the same plant is called umafavuke in IsiNdebele, we may surmise that the two languages shared a recent common past. Indeed, the two are what Dr Bleek called the Bantu languages found in southern Africa.

Fa, in IsiNdebele means to die. Vuka means to spring to life once again following death. The two words fa and vuka give the IsiNdebele word umafavuke. Fa in ChiNyubi equally refers to death. Muka means to rise again, rising from a condition of death. Indeed, the plant that is so named has the trait of looking as if it is dead in the absence of moisture. Should there be some light rain shower, it assumes a green colour and sheds the brown hue associated with a state of dryness and symbolic or death. It is no wonder the plant is called a resurrection herb in English. This commonality beyond immediate separate ethnic identities is one that embraces different racial groups.

The point in embracing this somewhat convoluted introduction was to provide some background to names of stars and use these to figure out the more closely related languages and their speakers.

However, it is important to realise that where there are shared similarities in names there are shared worldviews, thought, beliefs, cosmologies and beliefs. The names of stars are thus born of a shared view of the world, itself a testimony to shared histories, legends, mythologies that gave rise to the names.

We now turn to the names of stars to unpack shared ideas and commonalities that inform the names and bear witness to related lingual characteristics. The one-shared trait of stars relates to their brightness, ukunkanyazela. In Xhosa, the generic name for stars is inkwenkwezi. In IsiZulu and IsiNdebele, it is called inkanyezi. The two names do seem to be related though I may not possess the technical language skills to analyse the two words.

In ChiShona the name is nyenyedzi. The ChiVhenda version is maledzi. Maledzi and nyenyedzi seem closer to each other than each one of them to either inkwenkwezi or inkanyezi. We may surmise that TshiVhenda and ChiShona are closer to each other than they are to either IsiXhosa or IsiZulu. Both the latter are classified as Nguni languages and that alone tells us they are closer to each other. IsiNdebele, being a Nguni language, uses a name for a star that is closer to the IsiZulu name, inkanyezi.

The Sotho word for star is dina ledi. The Tsonga version is tinya ledi. In Setswana, it is lina deri. Again, we encounter closer proximity among the three languages. History does confirm that. Through scrutiny of languages, we are able to figure out underlying common histories and relatedness among the various languages.

What we glean from this narrative is that naming and names serve as pointers to ideas held by a given community and the choices it makes in giving names to stars and indeed other objects both near and far.

Through names, we are able to detect relatedness and thus separate development of languages.

Perhaps most importantly, we are able to excavate the underpinning commonalities that, in essence, embrace common ideas, beliefs, cosmologies, thought and sometimes philosophies. This is what we are going to find when it comes to names for constellations, galaxies and individual stars.

When we delve into African cultural astronomy or African ethno-astronomy, we shall find similar ideas in terms of the roles stars play in the lives of African peoples, ranging from their (stars) roles as observatories, in navigation, telling time, determining when rituals and ceremonies are to be performed and documenting times of birth of individuals and portending impending calamities.

Beyond the generic name for stars, we shall seek some Afro-centric understanding of stars, the bases for their names and how they have come to influence African beliefs, African astral views, the relationship between spirituality and stars.

Taboka Tshuma, Sunday Life Reporter

IN a heartwarming tale of resilience and determination, 27-year-old Ricardo Dzimiri popularly known as “Ricky” has turned to offering bicycle courier services to make a living, defying all odds to provide for his daily needs.

After losing his job as a cashier at Spar in 2020, Ricky struggled to find new employment. He then began selling bananas in a pushcart in the Bulawayo CBD. However, like many businesses during that time, the Covid-19 lockdown forced him to stop operating, crippling his enterprise.

With the rise of the gig economy and increasing demand for quick delivery services, Ricky saw an opportunity to capitalise on this trend and started his own bicycle courier business where he would offer to get people stuff in town from as low as R5. He kept on increasing this charge as more people asked for his services.

Armed with a sturdy bicycle, a smartphone and a determination to succeed, Ricky navigates through the city’s busy streets, delivering packages, documents and even groceries to clients across the metropolitan area.

Despite facing numerous challenges, including harsh weather conditions, physical exhaustion and stiff competition from established courier services, Ricky remains committed to his craft, inspired by the prospect of a better future.

“I couldn’t find a job after being relieved of my duties. I had bills to pay so I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I started marketing my business on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram to be precise. The platforms are unforgiving.

It was not easy as I faced many challenges like being scammed. Some would give me an address that does not exist and I would spend a lot of valuable time looking for it,” he said.

One of the biggest obstacles he has encountered in his bicycle business is having unexpected cycle breakdowns, with his bike needing complete service sometimes.

“I often send my bicycle to a local mechanic to service it to avoid inconveniences when doing my deliveries. Just last year, I motorised my bicycle and I now start an engine and am good to go,” said Ricky.

“In terms of competition from authorised courier service providers I have managed to stand out by responding fast to clients’ enquiries and I am willing to go the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction.

I have introduced what I call a “loyalty programme” where I am offering discounts to clients who want more than one delivery at a time. My charges are still very competitive. When I started I was charging as low as R5 for people in my neighbourhood but as business grew, I am now charging US$5 per trip and I no longer carry loads. I now carry documents, small parcels and do errands like paying bills for people.”

He said the job was not an easy one. It requires commitment but added that he was happy as apart from being his own boss, it allows him to meet new people every day.
His clients praised his reliability, efficiency and friendly demeanor, which has helped him build a loyal customer base.

The entertainment world has been buzzing with excitement as Lupita Nyong’o, the multi award winning actress, model and author, recently achieved a remarkable milestone in her career.

Nyong’o’s new podcast, Mind Your Own made its debut last week with the premiere episode titled The Shadow Side.
This remarkable achievement was celebrated with a larger-than-life billboard at the iconic Times Square, New York.
Nyong’o took to her Instagram page to share a snippet video, her emotions were visible.

“When your dream becomes a reality in TIMES SQUARE! Thank you @amazonmusic for this major,” she wrote.
Standing across the street from the billboard, she expressed her disbelief and gratitude.

“I don’t think I would have ever imagined this. Having a billboard in Times Square with a project that I dreamed up,” said the model.

The moment was clearly overwhelming for Nyong’o as her joy and laughter turned into tears of pride.
“Mommy! We made it!” she tearfully said.

The actress had worked on the podcast for five years. Episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Spotify.

She promises to offer listeners a glimpse into Nyong’o’s world and other African people who are also navigating more than one world.

Furthermore, Nyongo’s heartfelt expression of gratitude touched a number of her fans and even caught the attention of celebrities like Michael B Jordan, Bontle Modiselle, who were quick to offer their congratulations. — IOL Lifestyle

Mzala Tom

The contested coronation of King Lobhengula around 1870 was done in three phases over a period of about three months. This was in line with Nguni customs. The first stage was the welcoming of the new king at his father’s old capital, eMhlahlandlela where his ordination would commence.

On his arrival at the eMhlahlandlela town gate, he was welcomed with a black ox and invited to enter through the north gate. There were around 15 000 soldiers to welcome him at eMhlahlandlela, singing, dancing and parading.

From the gate, he was ushered to the goat kraal, where he was welcomed by a senior inyanga yomuzi who, cleansed and purified him as part of an elaborate purification ritual for kings. The vessels to be used in the festivities for his coronation were also purified.

After cleansing, he was ushered to sit at the centre of the main kraal. His arms and legs were ornamented with brass bangles, threaded beads and tufts made from white oxtails. His shoulders and chest were covered with a tippet of fine hyrax skin. He wore bulky kilts of various animal skins around his waist.

Various military regiments gathered around him, singing, dancing and parading for his entertainment and pleasure. As the sun set, the chief of Usaba regiment, Mpukane Ndiweni stood in front of the new king and shouted to the warriors “Nansi inkosi yenu!”, “I present to you, your king!”. This pronouncement was received with thunderous applause, jubilation and dancing. That evening, the new king departed from eMhlahlandlela heading to his eMahlokohlokweni residence. He was accompanied by his bodyguards and soldiers who were leaping, dancing and singing on the way. The king had to return eMhlahlandlela the next day.

On the second day, he chose to wear European clothes. He wore a suit, veld hat with a long beautiful crane feather and black shoes. He was received with jubilation and rejoicing by his subjects.

He received counsel and guidance from Mncumbatha Khumalo, the regent and other political leaders on his duties as a king.

After that, the new king slaughtered black bulls in honour of the spirits of his departed father and ancestors, dedicating a bull for each ancestor. More cattle were slaughtered. The meat was stored over night for the spirits of the ancestors to “eat” their portions. Early morning, the meat was cooked. Once the cooking was complete, huge plates of meat were taken to the new king at the kraal. The regiments and their leaders were called one by one by the king to come and receive their portions of the meat.

The distribution of the meat by the king to regiment leaders and their acceptance of his gesture was a sign of their loyalty and their acceptance of his leadership as the Commander in Chief.

The last phase of King Lobhengula’s coronation was the building of his new royal capital. He chose a location to the west of eMhlahlandlela. King Lobhengula had initially named his royal capital Gibixhegu.

After the insurrection of Chief Mbiko Masuku, which was quashed decisively by King Lobhengula, he then changed the name of his capital to Bulawayo meaning sengingo Bulawayo- “I am the one they want to kill” referring to Mbiko and his Zwangendaba regiment.

During the first three months of commencing building the new capital, the king was separated from his wives and children. Three temporary huts were built for him and two female relatives who would cook for him and take care of his needs. In this period, the king was further purified.

All the clothes he had ever worn before, were disposed to be replaced with new royal apparel. Inyanga yomuzi and his assistants washed him with special herbs and anointed him with various special oils. As part of the rituals, at times he was stripped naked and was painted like a lion, wild dog and at times a leopard.

At the end of this period, hundreds of beehive shaped huts had been constructed. The last stage of the king’s coronation was the presentation of the state of the kingdom report from Mncumbatha Khumalo.

Blessed Moyo, Sunday Life Reporter

IN a ground-breaking literary achievement, Trevor Mawaka, a teacher at a primary school in Nkulumane, Bulawayo, is set to launch his book, Curating Bulawayo’s Music Space on Saturday, 5 October.

The book offers a comprehensive exploration of the city’s iconic musicians and their enduring legacies, shedding light on the untold stories of Bulawayo’s rich musical heritage.

According to Mawaka, Curating Bulawayo’s Music Space is a compelling five-chapter narrative that focuses on the lives and artistic endeavours of five prominent musicians from the city who are MsizKay, Mzoe 7, MJ Sings, Kinah the Music and Asaph whose stories illuminate Bulawayo’s diverse musical traditions and cultural significance.

Through in-depth interviews, conversations over coffee and meticulous research, Mawaka skillfully wove together a rich tapestry of Bulawayo’s music history.

He highlights the challenges, triumphs and creative breakthroughs that have defined the city’s unique sound.
“As an Arts teacher, my passion for art and music compelled me to document the untold stories of Bulawayo’s musicians and the challenges they face in making their music known,” said Mawaka.

He elaborated that the book’s title reflects the creative process of addressing the various challenges encountered by local musicians such as insufficient airplay and limited media coverage.

“Bulawayo artistes’ music suffers from poor media coverage and low airplay. Currently, there are only about two regional radio stations and a few newspapers in Bulawayo, making it difficult for local music to gain popularity,” Mawaka said.

He expressed hope that the book would serve as a resource for aspiring artistes, helping them navigate the challenges they might face in the music industry.

He spoke of the importance of learning from the experiences of established musicians who have faced similar obstacles.

“Upcoming musicians should understand how renowned artistes overcame adversity to make their music known. They need to know how to conquer challenges rather than give up when they encounter difficulties in promoting their city’s rich musical talent,” he advised.

Mawaka received support from the proprietors of the Hide Out Café, particularly Dumi Nkomo, who provided a venue for the interviews that formed the basis of the book.

Nkomo praised the project, highlighting its significance for Bulawayo’s musical heritage and his admiration of Mawaka’s enthusiasm for the arts.

“We believe in the creative sector and in the work that Trevor has done with various artistes, including his amazing work with people with disabilities. Everything is set for the book launch,” said Nkomo.

The launch event will feature live readings, a book signing and performances by Mzoe 7, Msiz’Kay, MJ Sings, and Kinah the Music, promising an exciting celebration of Bulawayo’s musical wealth.