The Sunday Mail
WHILE taking my car through a thorough cleaning session near a stream in Borrowdale last weekend, I was shocked to see an old lady throwing groceries into the water.
Cartons of expensive rice, cooking oil and sugar were thrown into the flowing stream as the widow made sure everything had been destroyed.
“My son died five years ago and had not heard from his wife since then, only for her to turn up with these groceries last Friday. What evil did I do to deserve this?
“If she sought to finish me, tough luck, but if she was well-meaning, I am sorry,” said the old lady while making her way to a waiting car, which sped off the moment she entered.
Mending family ties and rebuilding the extended family unit, which has collapsed beyond measure in recent years, has become urgent.
While urbanisation and the rising cost of living are largely blamed, one cannot ignore the attendant drama.
Brother is rising against brother and superstition is reigning supreme.
At funerals, people reject food for fear of being poisoned, while close relatives accept clothes with a half-hearted “thank you” before casting them into the nearest river or dumpsite.
Some families are performing lobola ceremonies in the absence of close relatives.
When challenged to explain themselves, they are quick to blame network service providers, among countless excuses.
“I am sorry everything happened so fast and the network was bad. Do you think I have forgotten you imi muri veropa kudai?” you are told in sweet words that give you a sense of belonging even though the words are not well-meant.
It can be worse if you are a person of means because you will be blamed for every misfortune that visits relatives.
“Never invite him and his wife. Zvikwambo zvavo hazvidi chakanaka chemumwe,” people often tell each other behind closed doors.
Most families now even have factions that feel comfortable doing things in the absence of others.
As I commit pen to paper, gentle reader, there are siblings currently at war for various reasons.
It is not unusual to find someone plying strangers with beer and treating them to princely portions of marinated meat while their blood brothers and sisters will be wallowing in poverty and unsure where they would get their next meal.
“The world has gone haywire my friend. This mistake of a gentleman is treating us to heavy booze but his blood brothers and sisters are singing the blues.
“I wish I could persuade him to have a change of heart, but the moment I tell him this he may shut the door on me as well,” I was told by a certain bloke while easing his bladder at a dingy bar in downtown Harare.
Sadly, this has become a widespread problem.
“My brother, people are dabbling in muti these days. I have this deep desire to be close to my siblings but each time we meet there is no peace. They always have huge wish-lists they want me to finance and they are always on my wife’s case.
“What is wrong in buying my wife a car? Each time they see her driving around, they start coming up with all sorts of unfounded allegations against her. For my happiness, I just saw it prudent to keep them at a distance,” another bloke confided in me.
He said he almost lost his job because of a relative who funnelled wrong information into the ears of his workmates during a beer drink.
“I have never seen this rubbish. My brother almost made me lose my job because whenever he meets strangers, he sometimes starts behaving funny. He always volunteers private family issues to outsiders. To keep peace with him, I always ensure he is not always near me,” he said.
Mr Richard Zuze of Epworth has his own reasons for staying clear of his relatives.
“I have no reason to party with my younger brother. One day I arrived home from work to find my beautiful wife gone because he always shouted at her.
“At some point, he told her all the information about my former girlfriends and a love child. Brothers and sisters are not good to stay close by,” he said.
The world is awash with tales of what siblings have done against each other.
However, coming together is always the best option.
A good number of people no longer see eye to eye due to inheritance issues and fear of witchcraft.
Let us stop the drama and let love and unity reign supreme.
Inotambika mughetto.
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