Meet 112-year-old Mbuya Gozho

AT 112 years she is probably the oldest woman in town if not in the country. Having seen all the wars from the First World War between 1914 and 1918, the Second World War of between 1939 and 1945, the Second Chimurenga she has somehow managed to survive to tell her story and is a real oral tradition source whose wit in explaining historical events does not match her age.

For someone of her age, one would expect a memory lapse but she vividly remembers and can articulate most of the events of her time with stunning eloquence.

Born in 1902 in Manyene in the then Fort Charter now Chivhu, Gogo Monica Tundai Gozho, who now lives at Number 1144 Sixth Street in Makokoba is still going strong although she can no longer take care of herself and spends the better part of the day sleeping.

She has now developed a hearing impairment and her sight is poor.

Gogo Gozho is the first born in a family of six but due to old age she has since forgotten some of her siblings some of whom are late. Three are alive.

She has also lost count of the number of grandchildren and great grand children she has.

She now has no teeth and survives on porridge, tea and isitshwala with milk or soup. The loss of her teeth has also affected the way she pronounces words. Her heavily weathered skin is a sign of the journey she has travelled and the turbulent storms she has survived.

She can no longer sit up straight, let alone walk and bath herself. She is lifted whenever she wants to move from one point to another and when she wants to respond to the call of nature.

Sunday Leisure visited Gogo Gozho at her home in Makokoba and managed to extract some information from her on how she has managed to live so long in a country where the life expectancy is below 40.

Although her identity document reads that she was born in 1919 there is insistence that it was inaccurate since her first born son was born in 1930.

Elias Chinowaita who lives with her said the years on her grandmother's ID are not accurate. He said if they were to go mathematical and with the information they get from elders she was born around 1902 or beyond.

"Her first child was born in 1930 and when the elders trace her years, she was born as far back as 1902 or even beyond. The 1919 was just a year that she was given by the colonial government. And if we are to go by that year it will mean she married at the age of 10, which is impossible," he said.

Gogo Gozho told of how she was never involved in a polygamous relationship, which was actually more of a tradition in the olden days where men could marry as a many wives as they wanted.

"My husband was unique, he was the odd one out, he never married many wives, I was his only wife and he used to work at Zoma Mine in Kwasirima where we stayed in a compound. We had 11 children together and only four are surviving," she said.

Gogo Gozho said she lived long back when there was no technology in the country. They used to walk bare footed until the white settlers came with scotchcarts and horses. She interestingly pointed out that bathing was not very important when they were growing up.

She said they grew up eating traditional foods such as isitshwala, indlubu (roundnuts), amazambane (groundnuts), tsenza and magaka, which she attributes to her longevity.

Gogo Gozho said sugar was not known during the olden days and maintained that all the sweet foods which people eat nowadays were contributing to a short lifespan. She urged the young generation to revert to the traditional diet which she said made the body strong and immune to diseases.

"During our time there was nothing like sugar, I was only introduced to it recently when I was already grown up and living in town," she said.

She added that she witnessed and survived several wars where they would seek shelter in caves in the mountains.

"I saw so many brutal wars, we managed to escape these wars as we spent most of the time hiding in caves and we could roast groundnuts and roundnuts and we would spend the night there without anyone noticing us," she said.

Gogo Gozho said she worked at Driefontain Mission, Kwakusunu and Mpilo Central Hospital as a general hand.

Chinowaita who is self employed said he was failing to fully cater for his granny and have received several threats from ZETDC who are threatening to evict them from the house because of the electricity arrears they have.

He appealed to the corporate world to assist him with food and blankets as well as drugs or even financially for the upkeep of his grandmother.