The Sunday Mail
Stranger than Fiction
Tendai Chara
SOMETHING is definitely wrong in some sections of our society.
When a disreputable tout, drug and alcohol addict known as Stano collapsed and died in Harare’s high-density suburb of Kuwadzana Extension two weeks ago, the community’s streets were turned into an outdoor theatre.
Amid pomp and fanfare, the coffin carrying Stano’s body was hoisted high in the air as it was being paraded around the locality.
Business came to a standstill as the late addict was being treated like a hero.
The animated crowd “celebrated” Stano’s drug-filled life.
cheap whisky was sprinkled all over the coffin.
Drugs, chiefly among them marijuana, were displayed and hung precariously on top of the cheap coffin.
As the body was being paraded around the suburb, residents, in typical paparazzi style, jostled and sometimes fell on each other as they took pictures and videos of this highly unusual funeral procession.
In the end, multitudes of people, who were singing and dancing, accompanied the known drug addict to his final resting place.
In recent years, there has been a growing trend in which the lives of dead people who were known for bad deeds are openly “celebrated”.
It appears the definition of a hero is changing, with often loud-mouthed and violent touts, armed robbers and sex workers’ lives being revered after their demise.
The list of infamous people whose lives were celebrated after their death is indeed long.
Among the known cases involving infamous “community heroes” is the late suspected armed robber, Boris Mushonga. Infamously known as “Boss Kedha”, Mushonga lived his life in the fast lane and was known for speeding and skidding his car in the pot-holed and often overcrowded streets of Mbare.
Some Mbare residents considered him a “genius”, who masterminded many successful robberies. A modern-day Robin Hood, Mushonga was known as a philanthropist, who stole from the rich and shared the spoils with his neighbours.
Boss Kedha’s life in the fast lane came down crashing in 2013 when a suspected getaway car that he was driving collided head-on with a bus as he was fleeing from the police.
What followed was a drama-filled funeral procession in which Boris’s body was paraded on Harare’s streets by his colleagues.
After forcibly taking Boris’ body from a hearse, his colleagues placed the coffin on top of their vehicle and sped off.
The shocked crowd that had gathered to witness the free drama watched in horror as the coffin fell off the moving vehicle, throwing the body of the infamous robber onto the tarmac.
Basing on the bizarre funeral rituals, Boss Kedha, was a “celebrity” of sorts and his colleagues found it fit to “celebrate his life in style”.
Apart from criminals, the not-so-decent lives of some commercial sex workers have also been celebrated after their death.
Drama often punctuates their funerals, with lewd dancing, singing and shouting of obscenities often taking centre stage.
In one of the most bizarre funeral rites, a coffin carrying the body of a sex worker was draped in colourful flavoured condoms.
In another strange case, the funeral of a Chitungwiza sex worker who was viewed as a “heroine” in her community brought the satellite town to a standstill.
The sex worker’s funeral wake was held in the most unusual of places — a beerhall.
While it is common for dead commercial sex workers to be given “heroines send-offs” as their bodies are paraded around their favourite “hunting grounds”, having the actual funeral wake in a beerhall was something out of the ordinary.
Joining the list of these unlikely “heroes” are touts, car park marshals, con-artists and even rowdy bouncers.
But what can this new form of depraved heroism be attributed to?
Dr Rebecca Chisamba, a talk show host and social commentator, attributed this strange trend to “societal madness”.
“There is nothing to celebrate about one being a prostitute or thief. This is not in line with our culture. Such practices are disgusting and disgraceful. Those that celebrate infamy have clearly crossed the line,” Dr Chisamba said.
Whether those celebrating such unsavoury deeds are “mad” or are “moving with the times” is subject to debate.
