The Sunday Mail
Emmanuel Kafe
I did not want my vote to go to waste; that is why I came in a cart,” said 84-year-old Gogo Jeni Chuma after casting her vote at the Epworth Local Board polling station yesterday.
She has voted in every election since 1980.
Yesterday, she drew the attention of onlookers when she showed up in a push cart.
She lives two kilometres away from the polling station.
Gogo Chuma suffers from severe back pain and has swollen legs.
Her condition, however, failed to deter her will to exercise her right to vote.
“I cannot afford to hire a taxi, so other means of transport to the polling station were never an option,” she told The Sunday Mail.
“My nephew said he will take care of that part, and since he is a first-time voter, it was easy for us to come here together,” she said.
Her nephew, Ganizani Alfisha (26), hauled his aunt to and from the polling station, an exercise that took at least an hour-an-a-half.
Asked why she was so eager to vote at such an advanced age and given her frail condition, Gogo Chuma said she believes in the importance and the power of voting.
“I have been voting since 1980, and I make it a point to always do the same anytime elections are up,” she said.
“We were always told to exercise our right when it comes to voting, I know the importance of this exercise; that is why I am here.”
The octogenarian said the voting process was smooth compared to previous elections, adding that the polling officers were kind and courteous. “Voting was good; the elderly are being helped, which was encouraging.
“It reminds me of the good old days when we started voting.”
She urged young people to register as voters so that they can choose their leaders.
“The reason why I forced my nephew to come with me was because I wanted him to know how it feels to exercise your right as a voter.”
Alfisha said he was happy he had to vote together with his grandmother.
“She is the one who encouraged me to register to vote and that is why you see us here,” he said.
“We have just casted our votes and now we wait for the results.”
Gogo Chuma lives with her nephew, who has been taking care of her for some time now.
They survive on hand-outs and from the proceeds they get from selling firewood at their small makeshift stall.
