The Sunday Mail
Roselyne Sachiti
Assistant Editor
ON Wednesday last week, Zimbabwe lost one of its most prolific yesteryear businessmen Martin Beno Nhau Mucheche (96), popularly known as Ben Mucheche.
Mucheche, a high-energy transport operator and farmer, loved his trade and was passionate about delivering the best experience as his buses ferried Zimbabweans to various destinations.
He inspired many — and those like CAG Travellers Coaches director Golden Nhanhanga (73), who were lucky enough to work closely with him — tapped into his ideas and started and grew their transport business empires.
A few days ago, he spoke passionately about how Mucheche shaped him and inspired him to be who he is today.
For 17 years, Mr Nhanhanga worked for Mucheche as a head mechanic.
“I started working with him in 1977 as a mechanic, later becoming the head of the department responsible for engines. I worked well with him, never had problems up to the day I left the company in 1995,” said Mr Nhanhanga.
While working under Mucheche, Mr Nhanhanga acquired a lot of skills and business acumen, and developed his passion for the transport industry.
“I learnt how to run buses as I was on the ground.
“I thank him for the work we did together. He was a perfectionist. He did not permit dirty buses to leave the garage. When we serviced buses, he was very particular about the state of engines we put. The engines had to be very clean,” he said.
The job was not just limited to the workshop, but Mr Nhanhanga occasionally made visits to Mucheche’s farm in Beatrice, where they would fix broken-down tractors.
Back then, Mucheche’s buses plied the Harare to Kariba, Murehwa, Bindura, Shamva, and Marondera, as well as the Kariba-Bulawayo routes, among others.
“Our buses back then were much better, we used the A25/AVM engines, which were good. An engine would last up to three or four years.
“That time, we were getting good spares unlike now, where we even get substandard engines.
“These days, you even get pirate engines. You do not know if it is genuine,” Mr Nhanhanga revealed.
For the enterprising Mr Nhanhanga, starting his own business was no easy task. He had no capital to buy a bus. One day, as he pondered over his next move, a great idea of restoring a broken-down lorry he had bought using savings from his salary proved a masterstroke.
“In 1995, while still employed by Mucheche, I restored the lorry.
“On 17 June each year, GMB Karoi would open its doors for grain deliveries. I had workers who would drive the lorry to ferry grain for farmers.
“I figured out the business was viable but the workers were not bringing enough money. I started driving it myself and bought my second lorry,” he said.
The move to buy an additional lorry was a well-calculated investment that resulted in a sacrifice that has paid off today.
“I was mischievous,” he chuckles.
“I asked my son Sam, who was 16 years old, to drop out of school and obtain a driver’s licence so he could drive the second lorry. He drove the new lorry while I was behind the wheel of the other and this paid off,” he said.
His first bus — a broken-down DAF model — was bought from a Mr Matanda in Chitungwiza. Restoring it was no child’s play; it required a lot of work.
Mr Nhanhanga was patient as the restoration, in which he participated, took almost two years to complete.
“We removed the old exterior and also sought coachwork from others. The bus was painted and it’s first route was Mbare-Kuwadzana,” further explained Mr Nhanhanga.
While the bus was retired and broken down for spare parts, Mr Nhanhanga still values its contribution to his growth and that of his children.
In the years that followed, Mr Nhanhanga bought his second, third and fourth buses from his former employer, Mucheche, who supported him immensely.
Today, Mr Nhanhanga and his children Sam and Afra have a cumulative 218 buses plying various routes in Zimbabwe and across the borders.
“He told me to work very hard. Around 2003-2005, he even gave us his route permit to use as we had not received ours. Those days, only certain buses would ply particular routes,” he revealed.
He said during Mucheche’s time, there was monopoly in the transport industry.
“Even bus operators like Chawasarira knew that if a certain bus company had a route permit, no one would go there. If Matambanadzo or Kurimwa’s bus wanted to ply the same route, they would be given a timetable, which was strictly followed. We did not see racing buses like what is happening today.”
Mr Nhanhanga only returned Mucheche’s permit after successfully applying for his. To Mr Nhanhanga, this summed up Mucheche’s character and passion for helping others succeed.
If anything, Mucheche was more than a former employer — he became a father figure, his mentor and adviser — not to him only but his children, too.
He was one person Mr Nhanhanga would run to whenever he faced any challenge.
“At one point, while still working for Mucheche, I faced serious challenges securing proper accommodation. I stayed in Zengeza back then.
“Mucheche, who owned several houses in the high-density suburb of Highfield, asked me to use one of his unoccupied properties. My family moved there and the rent was quite affordable,” he pointed out.
Mucheche, whom he described as a strict businessman, did not allow employees’ kids to loiter at the garage but behind the strictness was a layer of kindness, a soft heart and fatherly love. Upon request, Mucheche allowed Mr Nhanhanga to bring Sam to work whenever the need arose.
“I asked him if Sam, who was in Grade 4, could accompany me and watch me work. He agreed. Sometimes, Sam’s siblings also accompanied me to work when my wife travelled,” added Mr Nhanhanga. He also worked with some of Mucheche’s sons and relatives.
“One of his sons had a good work ethic. However, he left as there was tension in Mucheche’s family. His cousins complained a lot. They said he was spending extra money on us. As workers, he was our keeper at work and a good manager. When he told us he did not want a breakdown, there would not be one as he inspired people to work hard,” said Mr Nhanhanga.
Had he stayed, he added, Mucheche would not have left the transport industry.
He said Mucheche’s death opened old memories.
“I am hurt. It’s just that I can’t go around telling people how hurt I am,” he said.
Mucheche did not only inspire Mr Nhanhanga but also impacted greatly on Sam, who has become one of the biggest players in Zimbabwe’s transport sector.
“When I was just four years old, I knew Mucheche as my dad’s boss. I was allowed to visit the garage, would spend my school holidays watching my father fix engines,” Sam reminisced.
The visits sparked a strong relationship and bond between Sam and Mucheche.
“Mucheche became a second father figure. He mentored me. At times my father would be really worried as I told Mucheche some of my utmost personal challenges. He eventually got used to it,” said Sam.
Watching his father and Mucheche work, Sam became more determined to succeed in life; taking up lessons and also embarking on his own journey.
“Mucheche was a black empowerment leader, teacher, businessman and our hero. I emulate him as he contributed to my personal growth,” said Sam, who is also a director at CAG Travellers Coaches. He also said during Mucheche’s time, the transport industry was more organised.
“Speeding, which today leads to most road traffic accidents, was never a challenge. If a bus was involved in an accident, it could have been because of a burst tyre,” Sam said.
The grooming he got from Mucheche, he says, has moulded him into the person he is today. Their journey together did not end when Sam and his father started their own business. It was to grow as they continued to work together, with Mucheche being president of the Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation (ZPTO) while Sam served as the deputy chairperson. Indeed, Mucheche was a brilliant mentor as his student Sam is the current ZPTO chairperson.
Sadly, Mucheche’s bus empire collapsed. An obituary shared by Mucheche’s family attributed this fall to the liberalisation of the transport sector, which came up with amendments to the transport industry laws.
Timetables and service permits were removed, allowing public service vehicle owners to operate anywhere without route specifications or timetables allocated.
This also birthed commuter omnibuses.
Mucheche was a towering figure in the business community.
In 1977, he was the first president of the Rhodesian African Chamber of Commerce. He was also the president of the Zimbabwe Rural Transport Organisation, which represented the interests of African bus companies in Zimbabwe between 1975 and 2002.
Mucheche was also the first African businessman appointed as director of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Board from 1975 to 1988.
In 1956, he became the first black Zimbabwean to own a fleet of taxis, Easy Way Taxis, and opened the Machipisa taxi rank.
He operated buses under Mucheche Investments Private Limited and also under M.B. Luxury Coaches.
These are just a few of his accomplishments; there are many more.
Mucheche had six wives and 28 children.
As one of the country’s pioneers of black empowerment rests, those whose lives he impacted will forever remember his contribution.
Twitter: @RoselyneSachiti
