Nobuhle Virgie Ajiti

DID you know that the Ndebele name ‘‘imvana’’ was originally a mocking name? When a man marries a woman who already has a child, the man’s friends would mock him and say “wadonsa ugatsha lamahlamvu alo”. Usually it was a nickname given behind one’s back. Imvana is obviously something not “top grade”, if we are to follow this line of argument.

Today there are certain people behaving like villagers of old and are still stereotyping single mothers. Before I give my opinion, please bear in mind that this is a sensitive topic I am about to write about. I know certain sections that will insult me after they finish reading this, but hey,  it’s my opinion. Everyone is entitled to one.

I have often been asked in my inbox, “I have found a nice lady, she is cute and respectful and everything, but the problem is she has a child, what should I do?”

This is one question I don’t answer because I believe when it comes to picking a partner, each man must make up his own mind by himself. Besides, if you love somebody, love covers a multitude of sins, the Bible tells us. Without a doubt, the number of single mothers is on the increase to the extent that if you follow social media closely these days you will just see pictures of mothers with their kids only. And there are many women who are not on social media by the way.

This is a problem for everyone. It takes two to tango, so this isn’t an issue for the ladies alone. Men are also guilty. I have never heard of a sperm bank in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Victoria Falls or anywhere in Zimbabwe where women go for artificial insemination. So guys ingane esizibona kufacebook ngezikabani?

But before we cast the first stone on single mums, let’s take into consideration some few facts: Firstly, when I see a single mum, I get encouraged. You know it’s no easy at all. Walking around for nine months with an illegally acquired big stomach, with evidence that you had sex illegally. At home parents and family are giving you that look, church members think you are the chief whore, at work your friends are gossiping about you and at personal levels, many plans are delayed because of thinking too much about the future of the unborn child. We have to put all that into consideration and have a human heart before judging single mothers.

So please do not laugh at single mothers. If it were not for condoms how many would be single mothers? If we were to be judged by the number of condoms we have used who would survive the scorn? I’m certain we are not talking about a bunch of Catholic nuns and priests here.

Secondly, before you laugh at a single mum, bear in mind that she had the option to abort, but she chose to keep the pregnancy. Abortions nowadays are quiet easy and cheap with just a few pills which can be found almost in any pharmacy over the counter, but those women braved the “shame” and chose to fear God and not man. 

Here is the truth that most people don’t want to hear. Everyone knows at least one or two women who have terminated pregnancies at some point, but appear innocent. Some are your wives and girlfriends guys. You wouldn’t know because a woman’s heart is a deep sea of secrets. You will never even know her “mileage”.

Women go through a lot in life, by the time a woman is 25, she would have met at least five stupid men. Some of these men are PHD holder liars, who came very innocent promising the world but ended up eating the cake, throwing the plate and running away. Be merciful when judging single mums.

It’s strange that even families do not support their own when they want to marry single mothers. The funny thing is even if your own mama got you out of wedlock, the moment you mention you are dating a woman who has a child, she won’t smile at such. That is one battle that brings a lot of pain and sadness, especially if you love the woman. 

My friend, if you are in such an arrangement, just be strong, this is a real  nightmare! Some men usually think an ex-girlfriend owes him something, some guys will go and ask for “pension and retirement benefits” from ex-girlfriends, just to confuse and make life emotionally hard for the woman to move on. Some men come under the cover of visiting their kids, but they will be harbouring some dirty intentions, just to bring drama to your life again. Things become worse if the single mother becomes successful. The man would want to force his way back into the relationship, yet keeping his other relationship after supposedly “moving on”.

Lastly, and the biggest of all hindrances, it’s you (man) and your over-active mind. Trust me, you will start asking silly and immature questions. You start thinking, so some other legend has already passed through this route. So David Livingstone has already explored the beauty of this Falls. You will be thinking, “So she has lived with another tall, dark dude. What if she is sick? What if she still secretly goes to his cabin? What if she still has feelings for her baby daddy?” Honestly speaking, dating a single mum, let alone marrying a single mum is not kids’ play or for the immature or the faint-hearted. You must be ready to accept her kid or kids as your own and treat them the same way you would treat your kids. 

If your kids will go to a private school, your wife’s child must go to the same school, and dress the same. So my friend, it’s either you love the woman enough to shut up and look the other way and not waste her time or take a walk and go find your Miss Perfect (who probably has had two or three abortions).

To be frank, I would advise even a male virgin to marry a single mother. It’s not a bad idea at all.  Single mothers have seen it all and are ready to love and be loved whole heartedly. After a heartbreak, most women become warm, humane and friendly. They really see things differently after parting ways with the father of the child.

As the Malawians say “Munda wakale siwuvuta kulima” (Insimu eyake yalinywa ayihluphi ukulima) meaning such women are now ripe to work with.

Raisedon Baya

I REALLY don’t know where to start since I have not written something like this before. A preview or review of her album would have been a walk in the park. I would have started by perhaps describing the quality of her voice or the way she lays her lyrics down. I would have probably compared her to one or two local talents or better, some divas outside. But today is different. It’s not an album review or a critique of her performance. Today it’s about her and her shout for help.

Most of you know Prudence Mabhena as the young woman who won an Oscar. Some journalists even described her in big headlines as the “first Zimbabwean to win an Oscar.” We were all happy, we jumped up in our thousands and even drove to the airport to welcome her back from a USA trip where she had met the legendary Oprah. We all wanted a piece of her then. 

I remember some skirmishes behind the scenes with some not happy they were not being credited for discovering her and training her. But it was one big lie a local journalist had fed us and in our hunger for international success we had swallowed the lie hook, line and sinker. The truth was. Yes, Prudence was talented. Yes, she had featured in a documentary that had won an Oscar. Yes, she had gone and even met Oprah. But it was not true she had won an Oscar. The documentary film Music by Prudence was the one that had won and consequently the award belonged to the director of the film. It is unfortunate that even later we were all not honest enough to admit the truth. But that is not the reason for the article. The reason is more important and yet very simple. Prudence Mabhena has made a shout for help. She needs a wheelchair as the one she has been using has broken down because of age and use.

Prudence features here today, not because she needs a wheelchair. There are a lot of other people who need wheelchairs but never make it to the pages of newspapers. Prudence features here for two reasons. One: she is an artiste and this space speaks to an issue relating to arts. Two: Prudence is a daughter of this city. 

My intention today is to appeal to these two communities to stand up and help our dear daughter and colleague get her desired wheelchair. Mind you the wheelchair she needs is no ordinary one, it comes with a rather high price. But it the kind she needs to live her life as she lived before — able to do a lot of things on her own. 

To the artistes’ community I say a proper benefit concert for Prudence is very due. She is our daughter/sister and colleague. If the arts sector can’t hear her shout and cry for help, who else can hear her? Let’s get the City Hall Car Park and fill it with well-wishers — something like Prudence and Friends Concert or The Prudence Mabhena Benefit Concert. Something big and bold. To the Bulawayo community as a whole all I can say is Prudence is your own child. No one should hear her cries or shouts more clearly than Bulawayo. May we all rise up and make this wheelchair dream a reality. If Bulawayo ignores her who will listen to her cries?

You really don’t have to have a deep pocket. Every cent counts. Every idea that could help her raise the needed money is welcome. 

Prudence Mabhena can be found on her twitter handle @prudymabhena.

Lovert Mafukure

They say boys never grow up, only their toys get bigger and more expensive. From pushing plastic or wire cars to pushing real cars across the quarter mile line. 

It’s all passion — passion for speed, passion for winning and passion for that adrenalin rush but above all its passion for all things motoring. 

Amid the turmoil in the country, the fun isn’t stopping because we have the 2nd lag of this year’s drags on 4 August. The motto is the same, Race the track and not the streets. I always say, Drag racing is a sport unlike any other because it requires a certain level of skill but besides skill, it requires one to have two balls whereas other sports require players to haggle around a field with one ball so, if you have a set come and experience what you won’t experience anywhere else. Come and burn your tyres, come and race and above all come and have fun.

All car clubs are invited to come and battle it out, all new faces are most welcome to have a feel of the track. The Bulawayo Motoring Club (BMC) has designed such an event for all the pedal happy petrol heads that believe their cars have what it takes. If clubs want to race against their on its all welcome. 

The last drags on 25 May had John Pietersen coming out fastest with best quarter time of 12,61. He was hauling his 6,1l V8 Lumina SS Ute. Dean Norman with his 4 banger turbo Mitsubishi Evo 4 was tight on John’s bum managing a cool 13,04. His father Byron Norman also with an Evo 4 was just 2 seconds shy of beating his son. 

There’s a monster that’s coming out of the closet this time, it’s the mighty Cobra! Not the one you are thinking of but Terry Allberry’s super nitrous fed V8 Cobra. The Cobra is one of the fastest and coming to scare all the small boys with its 11 second status. The cobra has been hibernating for a while now so we are all waiting to see what monstery tricks it’s got under its sleeve. 

The idea behind drag racing series is to bring all the street racers to a controlled environment where they can race and prove that they are not just keyboard racers hiding behind computer and smartphone screens. Now, to spice things up all the car crews out there are invited to come and battle it out even against their own. We all know that beefs know no car-crew  boundaries and car guys have some of the biggest mouths. 

We really want to see which crew has the fastest cars and the fastest drivers. Some say it’s all about the car, some say it’s all about the driver . . . we will see on the 4th. More racing and less talking. 

For those that may not know, Drag racing is a type of motorsport that involves two cars or bikes competing to be the first to cross the finish line over a short set distance. It’s usually a quarter mile and the first car to cross the quarter mile line wins. This is a sport that requires a controlled environment as it is dangerous. .  

All competitors will need to buy a days’ licence for a small fee of ZWL$15,00 and it’s ZWL$10,00 for spectators at the gate. Come early if you are racing so you don’t miss the registration, we don’t want to hear that as an excuse as to why you didn’t race. 

Drivers of closed cars are required to wear helmets, closed shoes, and safety belts if the vehicle is equipped with some. Those with no access to helmets can come and borrow from the club. Drivers of open cars on the other hand are required to wear helmets, long sleeves, long trousers, gloves, closed shoes and safety belts if their vehicle is equipped with some.

All competitors will maintain safety standards so that the club can also maintain its safety records. Riders of motorcycles must wear helmets, gloves, full-length trousers, long-sleeved jackets and closed shoes, minimum boots preferred. Leather is preferred for riders because it offers better protection. Lastly, competitors in the bakkie category must ensure that there is nothing loose in the back of their vehicles.

As usual there are different classes with the Class A Cars with engines up to 1600cc, Class B cars up to 2000c, class C cars with engines up to 2500, class D cars with engines up to 3000cc then E is open class with all other bigger engines. Turbocharged vehicles only have two classes. Those with up to 2000cc and those over 2000cc.

The BMC is trying to promote motor racing in a safe and controlled environment. Do not race on the streets, bring your street car to the Bulawayo Motorsport Park on August. See you there! Feedback – lovert10@gmail.com 

Tafadzwa Gwetai 

Ancient art forms and ancient cultures throughout Africa and internationally have always had creations that primary types of art used in Ancient Africa. These were sculptures. 

Sculptures were one of the most important types of art in Ancient Africa. Sculptures were mostly of people and sometimes animals. African artists often used wood for their sculptures, but they also used bronze, stone, terracotta, and ivory.

In Africa, art was seldom used for decorative purposes, but rather to give life to the values, emotions and daily customs of the various ethnic groups throughout the continent. African art and culture, in many instances deals with making sense out of the world. It also deals with the religious aspects of life.

African masks often represent a spirit and it is strongly believed that the spirit of the ancestors possesses the wearer. 

Ritual ceremonies generally depict deities, spirits of ancestors, mythological beings, good and or evil, the dead, animal spirits, and other beings believed to have power over humanity. 

African masks should be seen as part of a ceremonial costume. They are used in religious and social events to represent the spirits of ancestors or to control the good and evil forces in the community.

Any work of art, to be appreciated, has to be understood in context of its cultural origin and culturally cherished values. 

You cannot view a piece of art in isolation of its origin. In fact, it would be appropriate to say that sometimes the culture speaks through art, and art helps us in understanding a particular culture better, in whatever form it may be. 

Ancient traditional African art, considered for a long time by the western world as primitive and unevolved, is now being hailed as aesthetic and meaningful. Part of the change in perception is due to the efforts of contemporary African artists and the diaspora, who have tried to blend the traditional with modern, using new creative mediums to express the ideas behind these antique works.

Our context being Zimbabwe, our artists are the window through which the world has a glimpse of what Zimbabwe feels. As much as visiting a history museum can provide an understanding of a country’s emergence and political shifts, artists have also been informally documenting the changes about the human condition. 

Like our ancient artefacts that were created with cultural purpose, the question is whether their modern creations give off the same energy. 

Our ancient creations are mostly all over Europe behind glass in store rooms and private galleries. 

These same ancient creations gave a hint of geographic location, the nature of the people that created the art, the purpose for the art in relation to the origin of the artist and the strategic use of symbols for specific ceremony or community. 

Our modern artists are faced with the challenge of achieving the same level of purpose through their creations. As a result of consumerism, foreign cultural influences and foreign funded artistic influencers like international art galleries. It is hard for the artists in this time to tell their own true story. 

Our Zimbabwean artists have been finding their voice from pre-colonial times to the current times. Artists such as Tapfuma Gutsa, one of Zimbabwe’s prominent sculptors and art influencers gave an intellectual argument in revolt against being branded. 

They were branded as “Shona sculptors” as this was a colonial and as well a limiting status.

In the early 1980s he was Founder and Organiser of the Utonga Art Group, Tafara, Harare, Surprise art Centre, Shurugwi, Zimbabwe and Pachipamwe workshops. He has also immersed himself with the Tonga culture with emphasis on basketry which resulted in a solo exhibition titled “Mulonga”. 

This also gave rise to the Basket Case workshop and exhibition in partnership with National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare. The workshops and exhibitions that Tapfuma Gutsa has been engaged with, tell a story of a desire to have pride in our cultural heritage and the revival of ethnic symbols that relate to the immediate society. Tapfuma Gutsa’s agenda to explore the mythical aspects of African cultures gave rise to a strong pursuit of meaning among many artists in Zimbabwe.  

Earlier, the Westerners undervalued African art. 

However, once they comprehended that this was not just a random art-form to adorn walls but had deeper meaning embedded within it, their perspective towards it changed. Artists like Picasso, Matisse, etcetera were greatly influenced and inspired by the geometric and abstract qualities of this simple yet complex art form. 

African art depicts the relationships between people and the unseen forces. It strives to attain a greater understanding and knowledge of the world by combining the seen with the unseen. 

The intangible heritage that is preserved mostly through spoken word in Africa carries the essence of the work created. 

This in modern day art language would be the “concept of the created piece”. 

The “why”, “reason” and “purpose” of the created art form is crucial to the full understanding and appreciation of art from Africa. Our contemporary artists have been left such an expressive artistic legacy by those gone before us in ancient times. A legacy that the artist has to fulfil in order to firmly preserve what little we have left of our “African self”.   houseofmenka@Facebook.com/ mailto:houseofmenka@Facebook.com

Rumbidzai Mhlanga, Sunday Life Reporter

Poet and musician Proficiency Cadder, warmly known as Kadder has explored both her talents and has decided she has a stronghold on being a musician.

The 29-year-old female artiste started singing at the age of 14 while staying in Gwanda and got her inspiration from Decibel and later fell in love with being a poet too. The songstress narrated how she became a musician and what inspires her.

“I started singing at the age of 14. There was no studio in Gwanda where I was staying so I could not record yet I used to tell my friends that they would one day see me on television. Initially I was inspired by Decibel’s song Chido. It was so good, it made me want to sing too. However, now I am inspired by the ghetto, the challenges and strengths of its youth, I then released my first album when I was 19,” said Kaddar. 

Kaddar, who started off as a musician then ventured to poetry has decided to come back to the music industry.

“I did not really leave the music industry, I have a passion for poetry too so when Starbrite came to Bulawayo I took the opportunity to develop myself as a writer and poetry chanter. But even though I was at Starbrite I used to perform at music functions such as the Jam Sessions. While working on being a poet I got the chance to perform alongside Cont Mhlanga at the Zimbabwe International Poetry Festival 2016 in Harare which was a good experience and made me grow in the art industry in some way.

“Doing both poetry and music made me realise that I have a stronghold on music. I am good at performing musically and that also helps me in my poetry performance but I have a larger following in music but the experience I had during Starbrite helped a lot musically in terms of earning from music, before I used to do free shows most of the times so as to market myself but Starbrite taught me about sales, that is how to make money through art. I learnt about branding and how to keep adding value to my name,” she added

The artiste shared with this publication her achievements.

“I won an award for the Most Upcoming Artist at the Hustlers Road to Fame in 2009.  I am a Starbrite 2016 Poetry finalist, former Amakorokoza actress and I recently featured in a ZTV drama titled Golden Belt as a gold panner.

“I already have two albums; Planet Kadder Volume 1 with six tracks Kulendawo, Jika majika, Touch the floor, Thul’ungakhali, Emafletsin’yarokka and Planet Kadder Volume 2 with  five tracks Dlala Bek’bone, Phez’kwamanzi, Sukuma, Toleka, Aziwe-ke. I’m currently working on my single titled Kikirikiki which will be part of my third album.

“I titled my upcoming album Kadderlicious because most people usually mistake Kadder for a guy so this is a way of redirecting them and revealing more of my feminine side instead of the hard-core kwaito artiste they know,” she continued.

Rutendo Chidawanyika 

JUST like artificial hair and nails; fake lashes are the in thing. False eyelashes have been in the in for a couple of years now. They add something extraordinary to the eyes and make you look gorgeous. There are those who can actually do them at home, then the rest of us get them done at the lash salon. There are three types; individuals, strips and clusters.

Currently false lashes are no longer made from human hair. Instead, they are made of plastic or mink. Mainstream lashes come in different styles and have vast prices.

Apart from the impact on your look that it creates, falsies actually benefit your natural eyelashes. Unlike mascara that can make your lashes brittle and weak, false eyelashes act as an alternative to reduce the impact on your natural lashes, thus allowing them to grow thicker and healthier.

Individuals 

A full set of volume lashes, takes about 2 hours. The length will always vary from 8-14mm. Individual lashes may last 3-4 weeks depending on the growth of your own lashes. The way you care for them will also determine durability. The great part about individual lashes is that they look real, almost like your real lashes, just longer and more put together.

Identify the proportions of your lashes that will require volume. Using an eyelash curler and a mascara, curl your natural eyelashes. Dip the individual lash into an eyelash glue. Apply the falsies into your preferred parts. Stick it into sections as you prefer.

Strips 

The strips are the ones that look like a belt, they can be reused over and over. Find the right type of false lashes for your eyes and face shape, there’s no one size fits all. Always cut them to fit the size of your eyes as you don’t want overlapping eyelashes. Always apply lashes as close to your lash line as possible.

Clusters 

These are very versatile as you can create any effect with the different lengths, but they take longer to apply. The more strands you apply the thicker the volume.

If you are a first timer, it does take a few tries before finally nailing the desired effect. First start with your eye makeup. Then apply eye shadow, liner, mascara and finish off with the falsies.

Maintenance — dos and don’ts 

1. Avoid getting lashes wet for the first 12 hours.

2. Avoid rubbing your eyes and don’t pick or pull your lashes. 

3. Avoid getting your lashes caught on towels or clothing.

4. Don’t dry your eyelashes with a towel or a hairdryer, let them dry naturally. 

5. Don’t wear mascara as it interferes with the bonder.

6. Do not use any eye makeup removers, cleansers or oils on the lashes.

7. Avoid crushing your lashes into your pillow when sleeping.

8. Please keep the eye area clean. Improper hygiene can result in an infection. 

9. Brush your lashes daily with a clean mascara wand.

False lashes come in variants, you are sure to find the one that you most prefer wearing. Usually the most popular materials used for false eyelashes are plastic, human hair and mink.

On occasions when photos will be taken here and there, you can’t afford to look less than fabulous. While the makeup you’ve applied, as well as the lipstick you put on earlier starts to fade, you can be sure that your eyes remain beautiful.—Additional information from online sources.

Email: rutendochidawanyika3@gmail.com

Thobekile Khumalo, Sunday News Reporter

A JOURNEY of a thousand miles begins with a single step. That is the story of Agape College which was on Friday recognised as the best independent college in Bulawayo.

In an interview, the college administrator, Mr Sihlobo Nyoni, said that the college began in 2013 as an education project of Agape Mission church.

“The college was founded in 2013 in a very small way with only 80 students and continued to grow every year until now with 216 students. We are registered with the Ministry of Education, we are a center for Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) and a Cambridge centre,” he said.

Mr Nyoni said that since the college started they have managed to achieve a number of things.

“Our greatest achievement is that the parents and community are realising the value that we are adding to community in bringing quality affordable education. When we came in we were using the church hall only, we didn’t have another building but now our capacity has risen to accommodate about 500 students with no problems. We also have another dimension that is to assist orphans and the less privileged in the community by taking in capable students but are not able to afford school fees,” he said.

He said the college has managed to create employment for 24 workers.

“The college has 16 most committed, passionate, motivated but highly qualified teaching stuff and eight non-teaching staff,” he said.

He said that they are proud as a college of their achievements.

“Four weeks ago we won an award for being the best school in Advanced level with 100 percent pass rate and on Friday we were awarded for being the best performing independent college in Bulawayo,” he said.

He said they have managed to build five classroom blocks.

“The block being built is our fifth block and despite the economic challenges we try to make sure that each and every year we complete a block because we are not so much after profits because this is more of a calling for us,” he said. 

Asked on future plans, he said that there is a lot they are expecting.

“We still want to expand the college and introduce professional courses in the college that include ACCA, CIPS and even local ones. We also want to introduce night school to accommodate those who cannot attend during day but eager to learn,” he said.

He said that growing the college to be recognised has been a challenge.

“Giving parents a reason to bring their students to this college has been a huge challenge for the past years but we are happy that even though we have not reached our goals we are still expanding heading towards our goal,” he said.

The college’s vice principal, Mrs Constance Mbeba, she said that they not worked alone to get where they are now.

“The college works with other organisations such as National Aids Council , schools within Imbizo district, the community and the ministry itself that has recognised us,” she said.

She added: “I encourage Bulawayo people and Zimbabwe at large to come and enroll with us because there is a lot to benefit from us as a college because we don’t not only uplift academically but also spiritually.”

The college is based at Nketa Seven in the city. —(Advertorial) 

Bruce Ndlovu/Langalakhe Mabena, Sunday Life Reporters 

HOW many people can claim to have at one time entertained Oliver Mtukudzi, Dan Tshanda, David Masondo, Moses Ngwenya, Hugh Masekela, Patricia Majalisa and Freddie Gwala in their home? 

Considering that most of the names on that list have passed on, few among those that can claim to have entertained these illustrious names are themselves still alive to tell the tale.

One of the few men who can make such a lofty claim is Albert “Bra Jomo” Mkandla. Before he closed shop in 2012, Bra Jomo was one of the city’s longest standing shebeen kings. 

The harshest of critics will say that when it finally folded, Bra Jomo’s illegal drinking spot went out with a whimper rather than the bang that it had been known for over the years. 

Before then, when thick smoke used to snake towards the sky from Bulawayo’s still booming industries, men and women would drink the nights away at Bra Jomo’s Mpopoma home, a place that now, without the hustle and bustle of shebeen life, looks like any ordinary house in Mpopoma. 

Back when Bra Jomo was in his prime it was a business. Now it is the home of a shabeen king who had the rare pleasure of hosting some of Southern Africa’s A-list stars.    

“I started operating in the 1970s but by then I was specialising in selling alcohol only, in 1980 soon after Independence, I then opened a shebeen where I developed a concept of hosting people,” he told Sunday Life in an interview.

The 1970s were a difficult time. Iron-fisted colonial rule had chased black pleasure seekers from leisure spots nearer the centre of town towards the townships. It was an illustration of the senseless nature of colonialism, a system in which the colour of one’s skin could prevent them from enjoying the wise waters from wherever they fancied. 

From such painful, prejudiced rejection, shebeens were born. These illegal social gatherings became a hit, providing a platform for black expression, fashion and music. 

For Bra Jomo, these places were his chance to break social molds during an era when the shebeen king was rare, playing second fiddle to the much more common shabeen queen. 

“It was very difficult to start the project because I didn’t know how people would react to my business. What made it worse was that during that time I was the only shebeen king around. However, because of the hospitality I had in hosting my clients, people started to gain interest, the place then attracted people from all over Bulawayo,” said Bra Jomo.

His shabeen, which hit its peak after Zimbabwe’s independence, attracted scores of people from all over Bulawayo. Soon word got around and it even reached the ears of the famous. 

One of these celebrities that was seduced by tales of a place in Bulawayo where the beer was cold and the music loud was late musician Oliver Mtukudzi. 

 “Even though the shabeens were illegal, mine became known as far as Harare. In fact, it attracted the late Oliver Mtukudzi, may his soul rest in peace. Nzou is the first celebrity who visited my place and I was stunned because he was a hugely famous man.

“His reaction when he came to my spot shocked me because I always judged him based on what people and the papers wrote about him, only to find out that he was a social person who has an open heart and preferred to be treated as an equal and not as an idol,” said Jomo.

When Mtukudzi was satisfied with Jomo’s hospitality and services, he promised him he would bring a surprise guest at the shebeen, and Jomo reflects the so called guest was Tuku’s long time friend Bra Hugh.

Given his extensive knowledge shebeens, hosting Bra Hugh would not be an easy task. After all, this was the man who had performed in Kofifi, now known as Sophia Town, during the darkest days of Apartheid. When the trumpeter came, Bra Jomo would be ready for the task. 

“Mtukudzi came for the second time and fulfilled his promise as he brought along the late trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Upon his arrival, Bra Hugh tipped me and said he grew up in eMalahleni (Witbank), a place that was famous for its numerous shebeens.

“He didn’t believe that he was in Bulawayo as he said the place was more vibrant than other shebeens in South Africa. Bra Hugh also inspired me to start the Sunday Jazz Chill Out sessions and sponsored me with a collection of Jazz records including some of his albums and that of other artistes,” said Jomo.

Mtukudzi and Masekela’s surprise visit would soon unleash an avalanche of celebrity guest appearances at Bra Jomo’s modest home as South Africa’s disco music princes and princesses made it their first port of call whenever they visited the City of Kings.  

Splash Godfather Dan Tshanda, Soul Brother’s David Masondo (late), Moses Ngwenya, Jazz, Thabile Mazolwane of the Peacock fame, Splash diva Patricia Majalisa were some of the names that would make the shabeen’s Hall of Fame if it was ever written. 

So smitten was Majalisa with the Mpopoma hideout that she still visits Bra Jomo from time to time. However, when Sunday Life visited Jomo at his house in Mpopoma, it became clear that despite the illustrious names that have walked through his modest home’s doors he has a particular soft spot for the Township Disco/Splash artistes. The men and women whose 80s and 90s hits are still the soundtrack of any party in any of Bulawayo’s surviving shabeens adorn the walls of Bra Jomo’s home. 

“I have a spot in my heart for Splash music because its founder, the late Dan Tshanda, was my friend who later on became a brother. Every time when he came to perform in Bulawayo, he would come to my place with his crew. He took me to most of his gigs and treated me as a VIP. Patricia always visits me every time when she is around in Bulawayo,” said Jomo.

However, with his finances in the red and after a series of raids from the police, Jomo decided to stop operations. With the heavy traffic that used to characterise his place now reduced to a trickle, Bra Jomo was left only with the memories of his heydays, the glorious days when he used to compete with the late Special Mpofu from Mpopoma Block 48 and Magwegwe North’s Silver Ndlovu for the title of Bulawayo’s shabeen king.

Despite all that, Bra Hugh still has a spark in his eyes. It is a reflection of the flame of hope that burns within him as he says that, once the country’s economic stabilises, his shebeen will once again rise from the ashes and take its place at the top of the pile where it belongs. 

Nhlalwenhle Ncube 

IT seems nowadays the relationship status of saying it’s complicated is more fashionable than the old ones of getting to know if someone is in a relationship or single. More and more people are finding themselves in situationships.

In trying to hide their pain, they make it appear sexy and normal when you are talking of relationship status by choosing to stick to complicated. Unfortunately some people have been in those complicated relationships for too long. 

Situationships seem to be the name of the game in the dating world in this century and truth be told it’s hurtful as it tortures the soul and the mind. People might pretend as if they are happy and content in those relationships, but they are not. 

No normal person wants to be in a complicated relationship or in a situationship. Worse, some are even taking it to the public domain, you see them changing their Facebook status to, “It’s complicated.” What could be so complicated?

The minute I see any of my friends changing status to that, I know that the person is in big trouble and hurting though they never agree when you confront them.

Back then whenever someone claimed to be in a complicated relationship, you knew they were having problems with their partners and there were both chances of separating or ironing things out. But now the list seems to be endless.

The most common complicated relationship scenarios people find themselves is in an “undefined” phase. You have been seeing each other for a few weeks but you are not really sure if you are really together or not. It is not healthy to keep things hanging and wasting your time, the best thing to do here is just talk about it with the other person and get clarity. It’s important that you are both on the same page than keeping it complicated.

Sometimes people go from “in a relationship” to “it’s complicated” because they are on a break or experiencing problems. If you are in this situation, think about what it is that you want. Some relationships can put you at physical and emotional harm and at risk to your safety. It is a serious issue which deserves serious consideration, so think about your own safety and self-respect. You will rather be single than die in  situationship.

Then there are the on-again, off-again relationships. These situations actually happen a lot when people know they should break up but can’t let go of each other for one reason or another. It might be because you are so used to being around the person, because you have been together for so long. 

On-again, off-again relationships are not really healthy because they can be emotionally draining and can keep you from living your life. If you have outgrown your relationship or know that your partner is not healthy for you, consider cutting ties permanently. There is no happiness in that kind of situation. Relationships are a choice. 

No one should be pressured into getting into one. If someone is unsure about their feelings for you, or seems like they don’t have any feelings for you, you owe it to yourself to move on. It’s unfair for someone to expect you to wait for them to like you back. 

Put yourself first and be with someone who is honest and sure about wanting to be with you. And if you don’t like someone, don’t get into a relationship with them. It’s okay to say “No” to something you don’t want.

At times some people make things really complicated for themselves by getting to be with someone’s person. This is a really complicated one because it can get messy. When there are more than two people involved in a relationship and it’s based on lies and sneaking around, someone is bound to get hurt. You should consider whether it’s actually worth being with someone who can’t commit to one person — not you or the other person they are seeing. Healthy relationships are based on trust and honesty. You are never settled in such a situation and it haunts to know that he can choose to be with the other person  when you also need his company. This is only for the strong hearted.

Some complications are not worth the trouble and always remember to protect yourself emotionally. In most situationships where complications become  normalised, breaking up becomes the best option. Yes, breakups are hard, but sometimes they are worth it. Eventually you will realise that you did what was best for you. It’s like going to the dentist to get your tooth removed. It will be scary and it will probably be painful. It will hurt for a while but once it heals, you will feel much better.

Sometimes you are better off taking your relationship status to either “In a healthy relationship” or “Single and okay with it”. Don’t settle for less than you deserve. You should never settle for crumbs when it comes to your heart. Life is already complicated enough to have other complications by choice!

Let’s keep talking on womenforum460@gmail.com

Charles Dube 

THE first part of this presentation comes as an afterthought from the last presentation. I am talking about using minor sentences in writing. Minor sentences are a type of sentence that does not contain a main verb. They may contain no verb at all, or they may contain a non-finite verb. A non-finite verb may be: a present participle ending in “-ing”, such as “sleeping” or ‘running”. 

In addition to the definition of an infinitive verb stated last time, that it is the part listed in a dictionary, here is another view: an infinitive is the basic form of a verb which begins with “to” such as “to be” or “to watch”. Before getting deeper into sentence discussion I feel it is worthwhile to go back to basics and define a sentence. A sentence can be defined in a number of ways. 1. A sentence is a group of words which begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

For instance: Butho is reading a newspaper. Is it true that Butho is reading a newspaper? Butho reading a newspaper! 2. A sentence is a group of words usually put together according to grammatical rules. Usually a sentence has a subject, a predicate. The subject of a sentence is the word or words that represent the person or thing that is doing the action expressed by the verb. For example, in the sentence: She likes swimming, – she is the subject. The predicate is the rest of the sentence.

It contains a verb which tells what the subject is doing, or what happens to the subject. The subject is – She, the predicate “likes swimming”. It is important to note that the subject does not always come at the beginning of sentences. To find the subject you must identify the main verb. Ask yourself what or who? What came or who came? For example: After the speech, came a noise of whistlers. The answer to the question will be the subject of the sentence.

Sentence construction and punctuation. Use capital letters at the start of sentences. Every sentence starts with a capital letter. Jack is carrying a stick. I think he wants to attack Ralph with it. Both of these sentences need capital letters at the beginning. “I” has a capital letter wherever you use it. Some words always start with a capital letter even in the middle of a sentence. For example: 1. People’s names and titles: Julius Caesar fought many battles; Aragon, Prince of Morocco.

Names of organisations like AU — African Union. Titles of books and plays: Lord of the Flies and Romeo and Juliet. Short words like, “of”, “the” and “upon” do not have capital letters. Towns and names of places: Plumtree, Maphisa. Countries, nationalities and languages — Zimbabwe. I am Zimbabwean. I come from Zimbabwe and I speak Nambya. Capital letters are also found in religions, names of gods and religious believers. Christianity is a religion. Muslims worship Allah.

Names of days and months are also capitalised — Wednesday, Friday, June, July and August. This also applies to public holidays and religious days — Easter, Heroes Day. Names for particular people, places and things are called proper nouns. Some nouns are capitalised sometimes, but not at other times. For example: Some kings rule their countries forever. The King dismissed the Prime Minister. If you are talking about a particular king, you need a capital letter.

Harare is a capital city with a capital “H”. Use punctuation to finish sentences correctly. Full stops end sentences — they are used to end statements. If you are writing an essay you will finish most of your sentences with a full stop. Examples: The Christians portray Shylock as evil. This reflects their prejudice against other religions. Question marks show the end of a question. They show that you are asking a question.

For instance, — Why were you making noise in the Dining Hall? Some sentences tell you about a question but do not actually ask one.  For example: Piggy asks Ralph why Jack hates him. This is not actually asking a question, so there is no question mark. This is a statement about what Piggy does — it just needs a full stop.

Use of commas — Without commas, lists would be a jumbled-up mess and long sentences would not make much sense. Commas separate items in a list. Examples: She went to the market to buy cabbage, potatoes, carrots and beetroot. Without commas this sentence would be hard to understand. Add a comma after each item to make your list clear. You only need to use commas in lists of three or more items.

Use commas to separate two adjectives next to each other which could be separated by “and” like, “She was a cruel, heartless queen. You could put “and” between cruel and heartless, so you need a comma.

For views link with charlesdube14058@gmail.com/or sms to 0772113207.

Simon Gama

You have been dieting for weeks to lose bodyfat but can’t seem to shed the rest of those fat layers. Sounds familiar? 

One problem might be that you have been in a calorie-deficient state for too long. Your body has adjusted to that calorie level and has stopped burning fat as a result. When denied enough food, the body begins to feed on protein in muscles. Because muscle is the body’s most metabolically active tissue, depleting it lowers your metabolic rate. To break the plateau you must make a number of changes:

1. Move into a caloric-surplus state to recharge your metabolism. For several weeks gradually increase your calories  —  even to the point of gaining weight at the rate of a pound per week per 100 pounds of bodyweight.

2. Be sure to increase your calories with the proper foods — lean proteins, starchy carbohydrates and fibrous carbohydrates.

3. Without shorting yourself on calories, try dropping starchy carbohydrates (e.g potatoes, rice, yams) from your last meal of the day. This modification will further stimulate your body’s fat burning capacity. One easy way to keep your calories up and stimulate your body to burn fat is to obtain your calories from supplementation with MCT oil.

4. Avoid conventional fats and simple sugars at all costs. Both are easily converted to body fat through various biochemical pathways.

The muscle gain plateau 

Maybe you have been trying to pack on muscle by performing “killer” workouts  but getting nowhere fast. Believe me, I endorse killer workouts, but only if you’re taking in enough quality nutrients and calories. If proper nutrition isn’t there to help you recover, those workouts won’t do any good.

 Here is what to do: Boost the effectiveness of intense training with supplementation. Proper diet involves more than just eating the right foods. You must also eat the foods at the right time of day.

1. Get in the habit of making your nutrition as intense as your training. Increase your caloric intake for a few weeks to see if you can start gaining muscle again.

2. Design a supplement programme for yourself that, along with proper food, will help your body’s muscle-building machinery work more efficiently. These supplements include a maltodextrin-based carbohydrate supplement that, when taken immediately after a workout, helps restore muscle glycogen for faster recovery: a protein powder to ensure that your body obtains enough muscle building protein; MCT oil, a source of extra calories with the potential to naturally elevate growth in the body; and creatine monohydrate, a nutrient that increases certainly energy compounds at the cellular level, thus allowing you to work your muscles even harder during workouts.

3. With high calorie, nutrient-dense nutrition to undergird your muscle-gaining efforts, adjust your workouts. Lift heavier weights, change exercise or adopt a new routine.

4. Be sure you incorporate my technique of fascial stretching into your workouts. This stretching is done between exercise sets when muscles are fully pumped. Muscle size increases when fascial stretching is a regular part of your training programme because it stretches the fascia, protective sheath of connective tissue that envelops the muscle.

Tafadzwa Gwetai 

Art in all its many forms has always been in the background of many ceremonies and the silent reason that motivates people’s line of thought. 

Forms of art such as the spoken word, written word, paintings, sculpture, theatre and music. 

These various types of art forms stimulate our way of thinking and  how we relate to the world. The duty of the artist is to stimulate thought and arouse emotions out of the viewer or the listener. The artist now assumes the role of being an “influencer”. 

The term “influencer” is a modern term designed by the “millennial” generation. The meaning is still the same but slightly redefined in what it represents. An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience. 

We are faced with both genuine and self proclaimed influencers, which poses a challenge on what trends one desires to follow. 

A social media influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry. A social media influencer has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach.

Artists are influencers in their own right as they aim to trigger thought, gather more followers or set fashion trends. African art has been the focus on a  global scale for centuries. The initial interest was as collected artefacts for trade and museum exhibit. Art forms from Africa were not initially considered as art but this gradually changed in the early 1900’s when European artists began to see the aesthetic quality that the masks, wood carvings and stone sculpture from the African continent possessed. 

Modern painters have been very influenced by exposure to artefacts and art of other cultures. The Cubist period, founded by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, was the most heavily influenced Western art movement by African “Tribal art”. 

During the early 1900s, the aesthetics of traditional African sculpture became a powerful influence among European artists who formed an avant-garde in the development of modern art. European artists began to incorporate African influences into their work. 

Pablo Picasso has had enormous influence on 20th century art and worked in an unprecedented variety of styles. After Cubism, his major contribution to modern art is the freedom which characterises every aspect of his painting, sculpture, ceramics and graphic work.

Africa has finally taken a front row seat in many genres art and is currently “trending”. Our time to shine has finally arrived and it is now the artists agenda and motive of what they are attempting to “influence”. As artists, the form or level of expression that one uses can influence the next person as the aim of art is to relate and connect with the viewer and the listener. Global trends are being influenced by Africa. 

The “Naija” sound or Nigerian music is currently setting the dance and fashion pace globally. Their music is characterised by a genuine honesty to their culture and language. 

They add an authentic touch that identifies “themselves” with “themselves”. They took the role of being an influencer  to their own people as opposed to other African countries music and paintings that absorb too much of the west into their creations. People from Europe and the West have always had a fascination with “authentic Africa”. Authentic Africa has strong roots to a past where Africa was once proud and strong and undiluted by foreign influences.

Zimbabwean art has also found its place in the world discourse of art in all forms of artistic creativity at high levels and international platforms. Artists in these genres such as painting and sculpture have been travelling a long journey where artists who have gone before us have set the pace.

Zimbabwean fine art influencers such as the late Louis Meque and Keston Beaton were significant influencers in our time and their painterly and sculptural energy lives on in many established and upcoming artists. Keaton Beaton attended BAT Art School of National Gallery of Zimbabwe (Paul Wade being the instructor), worked with Tapfuma Gutsa, Utonga Workshop and Surprise workshop. It is a beautiful thing to see artists who are being influenced by our own. 

We live in a time when African identity is very questionable and eroding as a result of foreign ideas and trends being forced upon us. We take pride in our artists who strive to preserve the African dignity and heritage. 

His intricate sculptural forms revolutionised the entire found art genre in Zimbabwe. At the time, early 1980’s,  Zimbabwe was evolving from traditional sculpture and Keston Beaton championed this field and left an “artistic legacy” for the upcoming artist. He also established Zimbabwean art as a recognisable global force.  Zimbabwe has current influencers such as Tapfuma Gutsa, Portia Zvavehera, Virginia Chihota, Gareth Nyandoro, Misheck Masamvu and Masimba Hwati. 

Their creations reflect our Zimbabwean narratives and their techniques have inspired a whole generation of artists. As much as they may influence other artists it is up to those being inspired to keep to their true self and not get caught up with imitating and duplicating the source of inspiration as you face the risk of losing yourself or never finding your self.

houseofmenka@Facebook.com/houseofmenka@gmail.com

Hi Sis Noe

I want to get pregnant but his sperms keep coming out of my vagina after sex. Please help, I am worried.

Reply

Sperm leakage from the vagina is normal and to be expected when there is enough of the ejaculate. Sperm leakage means there is enough of the ejaculate. Most women notice some discharge immediately after sex and some think it’s the cause of infertility. The fluid coming out of the vagina after his orgasm is a portion of the ejaculate. But less than five percent of the ejaculate is actually sperm — over 95 percent is made up of other fluids.

Leakage of the ejaculate from the vagina is highly unlikely to prevent you from getting pregnant. In fact, it’s totally normal for some of the ejaculate to come out of your vagina after intercourse. If he ejaculates deeply inside you, then you can be sure that no matter how much of the ejaculate leaks out afterward, enough sperm will reach the cervical mucus. This leakage of the ejaculate is usually not a cause of infertility. It is probably a good sign that some ejaculate leaks out because it may mean that he is depositing his semen normally in your vagina and that there is enough of it.

Hi Sis Noe

I am a 17-year-old girl and I want to find out whether I can get any diseases from kissing?

Reply

There is no need for you to be worried. As long as you are BOTH HEALTHY, kissing including French kissing is highly unlikely to transmit any disease, including HIV, the virus that causes Aids, and other STDs. Some diseases that you can get are the common cold and flu. The herpes virus that causes cold sores on the lips or inside of the mouth can be spread through kissing, too. Hepatitis B and some forms of bacterial meningitis could also be transmitted through kissing alone, but this is much less common than getting a cold or flu from swapping saliva or hand-to-hand contact with an infected person.

Hi Sis Noe

I am 18 and have never had sex before and I am growing big pimples on my vagina and they are very painful. Is it normal?

Reply

There are some people that will or develop a pimple/s close to their vagina and this is actually fairly common therefore do not become alarmed. If you are at all concerned about bumps around the genital area it is important to seek medical advice. When you talk to your doctor they will be able to give you medicated cream that will help to solve the problem.

These spots can sometimes be the result of a yeast infection therefore it is best to get them checked so that you are aware of what you are actually dealing with. It is very important to get checked by the doctor as the symptoms can become quite serious if not treated. These pimples may grow if untreated and then they will burst and become very sore.

Hi Sis Noe

I am 21 and my boyfriend is 27. He wants to marry me but I am not ready for marriage. I love him and he does too but I just feel like this isn’t the right time for marriage. What should I do?

Reply

In all seriousness, if you feel like you are not ready for marriage yet and your boyfriend’s proposal freaked you out, then you really need to have a discussion with him about your ideal time-frame. And make sure you two are on the same page or, at the very least, aware of what road you are walking. Marriage is a scary thing, for sure. Getting married is a big deal, and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed by the idea. In fact, I would have been more concerned about you if you told me you are going into it without a thought.

If you know in your heart that you are with the right person and you know you want to marry him one day then I don’t see the reason to worry too much about feeling scared or freaked out about making it real. Talking all this over with your boyfriend will help. Tell him that you are not ready; I don’t know how you will do that.

But, as long as you tell your boyfriend that your feelings are only because you take your love for him and your commitment to marriage so seriously, and not because you doubt your choice. But … on the flip side, if your feelings are because you doubt your choice, then, obviously, you need to be truthful about that first to yourself and then to him before you agree to marriage. Listen to your heart; it probably won’t lead you astray.

Hi Sis Noe

I am a guy aged 23 in a serious relationship and very happy but the thing now is that we rushed into a relationship without asking each other about our ages,  now I just found out that she is 28 and we were planning on getting married. Should I go ahead? I love her.

Reply

It sounds as though you have some doubts about your girlfriend and you don’t feel very safe. I can’t say I blame you. In a relationship it is very important to feel safe, secure and understood by the other person. It is good that you are aware that you feel uncomfortable that she is five years older than you. Even though you are uncomfortable about the age gap, it sounds like it’s difficult for you to express your age without causing discomfort to her.

While five years may not seem like a lot to her, it can make a big difference to the younger person. You feel pressured into things that you may not be comfortable with, like marriage for example. If you are not comfortable with anything you absolutely have the right to say NO. If you are getting pressured, this tells me that this woman is not looking after your best interests. She is 28; time is ticking away for her. She needs to settle down quickly and you are eager.

She is taking advantage of you. I am not surprised that you are talking about marriage. Am I wrong to say she is the one who came up with the idea of marriage? You are still young to be thinking about marriage especially to a woman who is older than you. 

Lovert Mafukure

Some years back, I got behind the wheel of a 1998 Toyota Chaser with a 1G straight six cylinder engine for the first time. 

Every time I think about the time I smile, not because it’s the best car but because it defiantly was better on my graph than a C class Mercedes. 

Someone once said that a Chaser is a broke man’s Benz, if you ask me — they didn’t lie, they had picked something you will not pick by just looking at it. Its not so much the looks, it’s the feeling you get when you jump into this baby’s cockpit. 

Perhaps it’s the frameless doors that give you a sense of class and have a sporty look or it’s the white fluorescent feel glow from the instrument cluster when you turn the key on or it’s the distinct swish the 2000cc straight six-cylinder engine makes when it turns on . . . it’s pure bliss, luxury and sports functionality all in one package.

The Toyota Chaser is a front mounted engine Sedan with power transmitted to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission which is rare and quite expensive or a four-speed Automatic Transmission. Some limited models with the 2jz have the electronically controlled 5-speed automatic transmission (ECT). 

The majority of the Chasers are rear wheel drive while a select few come with the Four G Package – it simply means they are four wheel drive. These are not as much fun I presume, not mainly because I haven’t had a chance to drive one but for reasons known to real car guys, I will opt for the rear-wheel drive. 

The Avante G Chaser came with the best engine that ever came out of Japan — The naturally aspirated 2jz Ge. Some models of the Avante G however, came with the baby Supra engine — the 1 jz-ge in the Tourer S and 1jz-gte in the Tourer V. Avantes were more inclined to the luxury side of life with some of them coming with the digital speedometer just like some of the Toyota Cressidas that graced our fathers’ days. Toyota Cressidas, Mark IIs, Chasers, Crestas all share the same x100 chassis. The Cressida was the African Chaser — the king of the jungle. You can also get the chaser on Gx platform, the Gx comes with a 2-litre 1G straight six twenty four valve engine. This one is a bit lenient on fuel. 

The smallest of all the engines and not as much fun is the 4s 1800cc. Its probably what Jeremy Clarkson would term “boring”.

The Tourers are the sportier Avante cousins.  Entry level tourers have the 1G naturally aspirated engines and have a sportier look than the Avantes. Noticeable differences are there on the instrument cluster and different seats that are actually nicer than the ones you get on the Avante. The Gear selectors are different as well, they opted for a Mercedes look on the Tourer. They also come with bigger 16 inch wheels.

Whenever you hear about the Tourer V, then you should know that it is the chaser that gives all the Mercs and BMWs headaches. It’s the 280HP 1Jz-gte driven beast. The 1jzgte is the baby Supra engine that’s turbo charged and delivers power that you cannot begin to imagine. The tourer V is the most powerful of them all. The TRD spec Tourer V tops all out at 280 and comes with a claimed 320km/hr top speed. These are quite hard to get and quite pricey. But hey, a standard Chaser still is a lot of fun.

If you are lucky you can get that Tourer V TRD version that’s tuned by the Toyota In house Tuners — Toyota Racing Development TRD. It comes with the TRD grill, spoilers and side skirting and complete with the TRD wing. Strut braces also come standard from the factory with other fancies like the limited slip differential (LSD), front mount inter-cooler and the TRD performance exhaust. Price more than anything will be a barrier in getting one.

The Tourer is the model that comes with an N/A 1Jz-Ge engine. N/A is short for naturally aspirated, that it does not rely on forced induction from a turbo charger or a super charger. The interior is the same across all the Tourers and is more appealing to me than the Avante as I mentioned earlier. However, both models do not disappoint on performance unless you get that 4s model that will bore Jeremy Clarkson out. 

Toyotas are well known to endure the long haul. They are strong and reliable. They are easy on maintenance and not too bad for the pocket either. Ask that one person that owns a Chaser and they will tell you without any shadow of a doubt in their heads that indeed the Chaser is the broke man’s Benz . . . Happy motoring 

Feedback lovert10@gmail.com

Rumbidzai Mhlanga, Sunday Life Reporter

Eveline High School hosted a two-day Theatre Nights event last weekend.

Playwright and Theatre Arts teacher Thabani Moyo and his team, for the love of arts started the theatre nights with the motive of making students familiar with arts.

“It was our first time to have such an event, the Eveline Theatre Nights, the whole idea is to take learners through the whole theatre experiences where the school showcases performing arts talent to the parents and the general public. We also wanted our own learners to appreciate the art of storytelling.

“The two days went well, we had parents coming through, we were also impressed by the attendance of the Provincial Education officers, the Provincial Education Director Mrs Olicah Kaira and the Bulawayo Central District Schools Inspector and Education officer in charge of Sports, Arts and Culture Mrs Loice N Ngulube.”

Moyo as a teacher, used the theatre nights to give learners an opportunity to showcase their creativity, marketing skills and managerial skills.

“The first play was Social Media Ghosts which was devised by the students and it is about an addicted teenager who is attacked by social media characters in the form of Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, the lesson there was proper and responsible use of social media. The second play was titled The Debt that I wrote, the story is about a couple who are in serious debt after visiting loan sharks and the message was never spend more than you earn.

“Acting by the young cast was impressive. In both plays they displayed good acting skills and team work. The lighting was perfect and helped to create appropriate mood. These are the technical skills that we aimed at imparting on young creatives,” he added.

He said Eveline High School is passionate about arts.

“Eveline is a vibrant school when it comes to the arts. Early this year we won Isiphiwo Sami Talent Search and we also won the Plan High schools poetry. Our curriculum has Music, Visual Arts and Theatre Arts. And the school is very active when it comes to workshops, hosting and competition,” Moyo said.

Sunday Life Reporter

ZIM Dancehall chanter, Tocky Vibes, put up a spirited performance at a church gala in Kadoma last week in what will probably go down as his musical radar regaining show following his unusually low profile this year.

His two-hour scintillating performance at the All Families International Church (AFIC) ministries centre in Rimuka, Kadoma, the Mari hit-maker proved that he is still a force to reckon with as he sent the crowd into delirium.

Thousands of congregants at the church who were celebrating their 2019 Big Sunday had to put aside their Bibles for a while and slide into jubilation as the Zimdancehall star took them through his yesteryear hit songs.

He belted out jams such as Mari, Tocky aenda nenyika and Mhai among other songs that brought the roof down at the venue packed by a crowd of about 8 000 people.

Speaking soon after the show, the dreadlocked artiste said he was moved by the people of Kadoma and highlighted he never thought he could be so loved at a church platform.

“Firstly I would want to thank Prophet Chamunorwa Nyamupinga who accorded me the chance to come and perform at his church. When I heard that the church was in Kadoma, I thought I would perform in front of a small crowd but I was wrong because there was actually a crowd bigger than those I encounter in Harare and elsewhere,” he said.

Gospel diva, Bethan Pasinawako also wowed the crowds at the same event and left the congregants asking for more. The Ndinzvereiwo hit-maker got people singing along and exhibited theatrical stage craft.

Prophet Nyamupinga, the promoter of the show, highlighted that the church’s objective was to tame all the youths by bringing entertainment for them and at the same time getting them to God.

“As a church we want to promote good values. We want to weed out the bad habits including violence among our youths and promote societal cohesion. We are therefore using entertainment so that we get to them and teach them the gospel of salvation as well as inculcate good morals. 

“We also had to invite the musicians so that people know that outside Harare and Bulawayo, we can still have great places of convergence for the good work of the Lord. We had high profile people who were with us and we wrapped up the day with healing and deliverance of hundreds of people,” he said.

Overseer Pharoah Neuso, highlighted that similar shows would be lined up at the AFIC church saying the church was gratified that the main objective had been achieved.

“It is one of the church’s duties to promote peace, unity and national healing. A lot of youths were inspired by the performances and we are confident that they will want to pursue music and leave bad behaviour. That is our mission as AFIC ministries. Since our formation we have done great things for the people of Kadoma and we are committed to doing more,” he said.

Ngqwele Dube, Life Correspondent

THROUGHOUT history, music and protest songs have inspired revolutions and in Africa in particular they were a driving force behind the liberation of the continent from the yoke of colonialism.

Africa’s shared history in fighting for freedom from colonialism meant countries helping each other resulting in a shared struggle that superseded nationality resulting in people from different countries assisting each other in the fight.

As Zimbabwe this month celebrates their freedom fighters, several African music stars descend on Victoria Falls next week on Heroes Day, 12 August, in a show titled aptly the “Global Rainbow Concert” at Imvuvu Gardens.

South Africa-based Dan Chiorboli, Nseka Gilberto originally from Mozambique, sensational Congolese guitarist Peter Djamba and South Africa’s sensational female bassist, Tebogo “Aus Tebza” Sedumedi are set to headline the main act that would dish out various liberation songs from around the world.

Local acts set to feature in the line-up include Sulu Chimbetu, acclaimed dub poet Albert Nyathi, afro jazz crooner, Mr Prince, world travelled imbube outfit, Black Umfolosi and many various Vic Falls-based acts.

Besides showcasing his own compositions, Chimbetu is expected to perform his late father, Simon Chimbetu’s repertoire that had several liberation struggle songs.

The show, being organised by Big Scale Entertainment, is set to light up the tourist resort over the long Heroes weekend.

Big Scale director, Sibonginkosi Tshabalala said the Global Rainbow Concert is premised on songs from the Liberation Project South Africa, a project that saw musicians from across the world team up to re-record liberation songs.

The resultant three albums, aptly titled Songs That Made Us, produced by Neill Solomon, Phil Manzanera and Dan Chiorboli, features 34 songs after a collaboration of 69 musicians from 17 different countries.

“The songs on the album are mainly taken from Africa, Italy and Cuba. The project has toured several countries and most recently the band was in Italy where they held a successful tour and we felt it was the right time to bring it to Zimbabwe particularly seeing that it is Heroes month,” said Tshabalala.

“Victoria Falls presents the perfect setting to bring the world together to celebrate our heroes and pay tribute to icons Nelson Mandela, Josiah Tongogara, Joshua Nkomo, Chris Hani, Samora Machel, Fidel Castro and fallen music heroes like Oliver Mtukudzi, Ray Phiri, Jonny Clegg, whose track Asimbonanga features in the alubm, Biggie Tembo, Hugh Masekela and many others.

The original Liberation Project features Musical heavyweights such as Phil Manzarena (Roxy Music), Juan de Marcos (Cuba), Cyril Neville (Neville Brothers -New Orleans), N”Faly Kouyate and South Afracan Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse who were involved in the rearranging and recording that took place at Nelson Mandela Theatre South Africa digitally linked to 20 studios worldwide by artistes from countries as diverse as France, La Reunion, Guinea, Burundi, The USA,Brazil, United Kingdom and others.

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter 

INKULULEKO Yabatsha School of Arts (Iyasa) has been involved in a few epic videos ever since the group was born in the classrooms of Mpopoma High School over two decades ago. 

There was the video for Chase Skuza’s remake of his brother Solomon’s Banolila, a video whose visuals took an old song and propelled it back to the top of the charts. 

Recruiting Iyasa was a masterstroke from Skuza, who made few, if any, changes to the actual music that his brother had already earned fame for. How could a hit that was still familiar enough in the ears of listeners suddenly gain a new lease of life? How did it, once again, get to climb the charts at lightning speed, elbowing out tunes that were still hot and fresh from some of the country’s giants of song and dance? 

The answer was Iyasa. With the dynamic, cross-dressing Futurelove Sibanda captaining the ship, Iyasa gave Skuza his first hit and Zimbabwe one of the greatest videos ever made. 

It is a video mentioned in the same breath as Jeys Marabini’s eMarabini, a production that launched a career that is now approaching almost two decades of prominence. That video’s visuals were crisp, Iyasa’s dance gravity defying and the dramatisation and acting done to absolute perfection. 

The retro feel of that video, was a perfect introduction to Marabini, a man whose style and music aims to be timeless, uncorrupted by the trends of the day. That old school feel was to be replicated recently when Jah Prayzah and Iyasa collided in the making the video for his song Sadza NeMuriwo. 

This time Iyasa’s trademark style was brought to life before award winning video maker Vusa Blaqs’ camera lens with Jah Prayzah’s booming voice in the background. While it might have been new to Blaqs and Jah Prayzah, it is a style that Iyasa has fought hard to preserve over the years in a world were styles come to and go like the seasons. 

“The way Nkululeko (Dube, director) built the foundation of the group meant that we never have to chase all these new dance styles that come along. Our act is very jazzy and caters to a more old school style and that is what has put the group were it is today,” Iyasa member Nyasha Dziruni told Sunday Life after the blockbuster video shoot. 

A meeting of Jah Prayzah, Vusa Blaqs and Iyasa on one video shoot seems like a match made in musical heaven. Yet for Iyasa’s new generation of stars, controlling their excitement before they met the man who arguably wears the crown in the music scene locally was a priority before the video shoot. In the same breath it was a confirmation of how Iyasa had already charmed the local music industry. 

“It was a great experience but a big challenge as well. I mean this is one of Zimbabwe’s biggest artistes and just being in his presence is daunting. For me personally I took it as a step ahead in my career. They fact that he wanted to do this video with us felt like a just acknowledgment of what we do. It shows that our work even has an effect on these people that the whole country regards as superstar. It was my first time working with an artiste of his stature and I really would like to do something of that nature again in future,” said Dziruni. 

For all their fears of being star struck, Iyasa were put at ease by Jah Prayzah’s own character and demeanour. 

“He is not a hard person to get along with. He is very light hearted and that helped us ease into the set. He is also incredibly open with everyone and whenever he felt that there was something that he needed to express he wouldn’t pull you aside but instead he would come out outright and say it. Even during the shooting, he didn’t separate himself from everybody else but instead openly mingled with everyone on the set,” Dziruni said. 

Whenever a video featuring Iyasa debuts some viewers may sometime try to imagine what might have been happening behind the scenes. When one sees the jaw dropping dance moves and wide smiles, it is hard to imagine that the making of the video was a sad affair. This, said Iyasa member Shyleen Mutano, was indeed the case. 

“We had a lot of fun on set. At times it didn’t feel like work at all because there was a lot of socialising in between the shooting. At the end of the day I felt like I had achieved a goal in my career,” said Mutano.  

Like others on set that fateful day in July, Mutano confessed to being an avid Jah Prayzah fan. 

“It was such an honour because before anything else I think that I’m one of the biggest Jah Prayzah fans. To be on a set with him and help him achieve his vision alongside Iyasa is something I’ll always treasure.

With a meeting with one of Zimbabwe’s stars on the cards, Iyasa member Kelvin Nyoni had found it hard to even sleep the night before the day of the shoot. The day of the shoot itself was the culmination of a lot of hard work as veteran choreographer Richard Ndlovu took them through the paces on the days prior to the shoot. 

“When I woke up on the day of the shoot I just had that urge to just meet him. I just wanted to shake his hand. Even on my way there the excitement was just hard to contain. When I met him I was just humbled because he spoke and acted like a grounded person. He came to me and spoke about how what we were doing was how we could make a living as artistes. That was a big moment for me in my career.

“It was crazy experience. I was just so happy when that vision came to fruition because it was hard putting the choreography together. We rehearsed day after day just to get it right and we would mix that style with that one and then discard it. So it wasn’t easy,” said Nyoni. 

While he might have been star struck, Nyoni admits a talk with the star of the show calmed his nerves and gave him a new perspective. 

“He came to me and spoke about how what we were doing was how we could make a living as artistes. That was a big moment for in my career,” said Nyoni.

Group members will forever remember the suspense filled drive to the venue of the shoot. 

“When we left for Matobo we were even questioning if he was going to be there at the shoot. We thought maybe someone would stand in for him. During the drive we were all confused because we didn’t know where exactly we would be shooting,” said Dorcas Ngwenya. 

While Iyasa members were in awe of Jah Prayzah, other cast members were equally pleased to rub shoulders with members of the legendary group. 

“I’ve never worked with Iyasa before and this is a group that I’ve always watched and been inspired by and this time I finally got a chance to work closely with them. It was like one big happy family. Jah Prayzah I also a cut above the rest, no wonder he is going far,” said model Ben Chest, who was part of the cast.   

Charles Dube

VARIOUS ways of starting sentences can help learners put across their messages and capture the reader’s attention. You need to have effective sentence starters. You need to understand how to start sentences in a range of ways to create variety, pace, drama or emphasis in your writing. The way you structure your sentences — particularly the first word or two can influence the way your reader will respond to your ideas.

Before we proceed, let us consider what better writers do as proffered by researchers of repute. Better writers think about the way in which they start their sentences. They use a variety of vocabulary and a number of different grammatical ways to start their sentences. This can give the writing pace, rhythm or emphasis, making it more engaging for readers. Learners could be perhaps asking themselves such a question:

“How can I achieve more sentence variety in my writing?” There are lots of ways to start a sentence. You can use a determiner such as, a, an, the, my, your, his, our, their. For example: The visitor is sitting outside alone. You can start with a pronoun. For instance: I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. Sentence example — They were excited when the visitor came. “They”, is the pronoun. You can also improve your sentence construction by using an adverb or adverbial phrases of manner. 

For example, (how?), slowly or quickly. In the same vein you use an adverb or adverbial phrase of place (where?) such as beneath the floor tiles or above the head. An adverb or adverbial phrase of time (when?) can be used, such as occasionally, every evening, that night, today etc. You can use non-finite verbs like running, crawling, cracked. Adjectives also come in handy when improving your writing. Examples: slow, huge, violent, and drunk.

Make use of subordinating or co-ordinating conjunctions like: if, although, as, but, and. This bit about the comma could have come with last week’s article. A comma combines two points. Two sentences can be joined with connectives and sometimes with a comma as well. The most common short connectives are: and, while, so, but, yet and or. Connectives are linking words that join sentences or parts of sentences together. When these words are used to connect two sentences, the comma shows where the next point begins.

Longer linking words, like “however”, “therefore” and “nevertheless” are also followed by a comma when they are at the start of a sentence. Example: However, the court decided to bring the case forward. 

Commas can separate information in a list and join sentences. While it is recommended that you can start your sentences with nouns, it is better to use pronouns in your work rather than using the same nouns over and over again. Examiners hate it when you repeat yourself.

Pronouns are words that can be used instead of nouns so you do not keep using the same words. Peter drives to town every day because Peter wants to monitor his business from there. This can be made better by substituting the name Peter with a pronoun “he” where it appears the second time. Peter drives to town every day because he wants to monitor his business from there. Your writing sounds more natural when you use pronouns because you are not repeating yourself.

Pronouns change depending on their function in a sentence. If a pronoun is doing the action it is called the subject of the sentence. If the pronoun is receiving the action it is called the object. Let us examine the following two sentences: I told her. He told her. In the first sentence “I is doing, her is receiving.” You must use I, “you”, “he, she, it” or “they,” if the pronoun is doing something in the sentence.

Pronouns can also show possession. Examples: This book is mine. This is who owns the book. This home is his. This is who owns the home. 

Pronouns also change depending on how many people you are talking about. You need to know the different singular and plural pronouns. Here is a list of singular pronouns. The following fall under doing or the subject: I, you, he, she, and it. The pronouns “you” and “it” are the same whether they are the subject or object of a sentence.

Singular pronouns falling under receiving (object) — me, you, him, her, and it. Singular pronouns showing possession: my/mine in the 1st person; your/yours in the 2nd person. These —  his, her/hers and its indicate the 3rd person. Use “it” for things that are not people. Use plural pronouns to talk about two or more people or things. Plural pronouns talk about two or more people or things. Examples of plural pronouns: we, you, they, under doing. Under receiving we have –us, you, and them.

The following plural forms show possession: our/ours; your/ yours; their/ theirs. Do not use too many pronouns, it will make your writing confusing for the reader. Make clear at the start of a sentence to whom or what the pronouns are referring. Do not use “me” when you mean “I”. If a pronoun is doing the action, you cannot use “me” — you need “I” instead. For example, it is wrong to say: James and me condemned the action. The sentence should be written this way: James and I condemned the action.

If a pronoun is receiving the action (that is, it comes after the verb), do not use “I” — you need me. Talk to John and “I”. This is wrong. But, talk to James and me is correct. 

For views and comments link with charlesdube 14058@gmail.com / or sms to 0772113207.

Tafadzwa Gwetai

WHAT can the visual arts, spoken and written word, theatre and music tell us about an individual or a community? Artists are constantly talking about exploring “identity” through their art forms. “Identity” being a strong belief in knowing who one is and where one comes from. “Identity” is who you are, the way you think about yourself, the way you are viewed by the world and the characteristics that define you. Artists are indirectly the ambassadors of our African identity, cultural heritage and our state of mind. Artists have always narrated their stories and found creative methods of updating our identity.

The dynamic nature of identity is in its constant shift and evolution. Cultures are colliding every day and every hour resulting in new ways of thinking. These cultural collisions result in a metamorphosis of the African individual and gradually there is a new transformed “African”.    

Artists often explore the characteristics that determine our personal and social identity. They construct a sense of who we are as individuals, as a society, or as a nation. Our culture is informed by various forms of artistic and social endeavour such as technology, politics, style, music, performance and the fine arts.

The artists from Africa created work that developed a visual language to convey aspects of individual and cultural identity such as age, status or profession, and spiritual beliefs. The majority of pieces were produced in the late 19th or early 20th century and are considered traditional African art. However, identity is continually being refashioned to meet new needs, and as these roles change we see old forms evolve into new ones.

Art is now engaging a wider variety of subjects and societal habits. Art has shifted from the traditional symbolic representation of a society and basic aesthetic endeavour and has now blossomed into an aggressive medium for communication.

Aggressive in the sense that there is a powerful and positive force that challenges traditional norms and taboos. As we evolve with the current times we absorb a diversity of influences. We live in a new world where we are no longer isolated from distant places geographically. The impact of the “global village” has had many positive results but has also done considerable harm on ethnic identity of African communities. This is now the era of the new artist who tells their story and has gained a new identity in this “glocal” and “global village” context.  

Another new form of “identity” is formed as a result of geographical displacement. Identity and diaspora are addressed from both ends of the oceans. Those that have a longing for Africa (diaspora) and those that have an equal longing for those that were displaced (Africa).  African artists address important and significant issues in their work, two of which intertwine inherently with Africa’s brutal past and the contemporary times.

Identity and diaspora are two major themes found in African art and are explored in a multitude of ways. The human figure has always been the focus of African art, from traditional masks and sculptures to the life-sized pieces.

The African diaspora was the dispersal of African peoples to Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The term is used most commonly for the coerced movement in various slave trades, but the word diaspora has also been used to refer to voluntary migrations from Africa and for population movements within Africa. 

Out of America was born the term “Afrofuturism” to describe the cross-cultural philosophy of artists, musicians, and writers who drew on the utopian thinking of Africa. An Africa that they never knew. One sympathises with those that were displaced unwillingly and never had the chance to make choices such as the modern day African’s who are voluntarily displaced. Those that are in the diaspora feed off mythologies of the African narratives.

“Afrofuturism” is not an artistic style but an approach to the intersections of race and technology that aims to visualise the future. Artists from the 60’s and 70’s drew upon the futuristic energy of science fiction, seeing outer space as an escape from the oppressive social and political climate. Other artists have employed “cyborgs, robots, and aliens as alter-egos to access alternative identities”, such as world famous artistic activist Kenyan-American artist Wangechi Mutu. Wangechi Mutu explores the violence and misrepresentation that women, particularly black women, experience in the contemporary world.

Her work engages the trials women undergo and this is revealed to us from her encounter with America. Art from the diaspora is created by artists who exist in new lands that are far from their birth place and those that never knew Africa. Our brothers and sisters across oceans express their desire for Africa and some express their new identity of whom they have become.

There is a sense of subtle pride exhibited through their creations of music, painting, poetry and sculpture. A pride of new emergence of a strong resilient African. Their creations become a fusion of exchange of identities.

In many pieces of modern African art, there is always a strong reference to an African identity that is in conflict with a foreign influence. This is because Africa as a continent has stories from its past to tell that are still heavily intertwined with the present and future. African art can be used as a tool for teaching the younger generations about past events and how the country moved forward from these into the future. It can also provide a unique insight into how African people see themselves in the future.

houseofmenka@Facebook.com