News / National
Robert Mugabe family secrets
09 Mar 2014 at 06:56hrs | Views
The late Ambuya Bona Mugabe did not call her son Robert or Gabriel, she called him Bellamino. Robert Mugabe junior was heartbroken when Bona ended their ritual of bathing together. The First Lady misled the President by telling him that Mr Simba Chikore had been recommended for Bona by elders of the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (Zaoga) Forward in Faith church.
And . . .
Well, these are just a few of the several family secrets that the First Family let the world in on as they opened their doors to thousands of guests and millions of television viewers for last weekend's wedding of Bona and Simba.
Hours after the live transmission of the wedding ceremony had come to an end, the President, the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe and their two sons - Robert Jnr and Chatunga - painted a picture of a normal family as they gave speeches to congratulate the newly-weds.
The President spoke last and it was his address that was more revealing.
"Ouma (Bona's other name) aberekwa ndakava neshungu yekuti akurumidze kukura, akurumidze kukura nekuti ndaisaziva kuti hupenyu hwangu huchareba zvakadii," he said.
"Zvino ndaida kuti gore rimhanyise zvikuru kuru, akurumidze kuenda kuchikoro. Each time I visited Britain, I went to Marks & Spencer for Ouma. It was not any other dress I bought, even though she was three years old, it was a school uniform.
"I wanted to get there and I took time with her, a lot of time. Each time I went home at the weekend I went with her, each time we travelled together I wanted her to master the English language, she was only four years old, and I would say 'this is a river', tasvika pabridge ndoti 'this is a bridge'."
President Mugabe revealed that he stopped the drill of teaching the toddler after realising that Ouma had difficulties in pronouncing the word "railway".
"She would say 'laiway' . . . I would say 'ita railway' and she would say 'laiway'.
"It was then I realised I had to give her time," said Cde Mugabe to chuckles.
He highlighted that the First Family's decision to send Bona to a foreign university was not a sign of lack of confidence in local institutions.
"We knew that, locally, there could be harassment . . . the boys. Some of the boys, it's not the question of making love to her that we feared.
"We know the attitude of some of our people. Children of ministers and others sometimes are tormented at the beginning of their educational courses and we didn't want her to go through that," he explained.
Bona, revealed the President, always had her room well made up and took issue with anyone entering it without knocking or in her absence.
That stance did not go down well with Robert Jnr who responded by sticking a nasty-reading warning on his own bedroom door.
"Ivo vakomana vamanga muchinzwa vachitaura (Robert and Chatunga) know how strict she is. Uyo haana kutaura Tino (Robert), in reciprocating to her toughness to her room, he put on his door, I don't know where he got it, a notice which says 'Trespassers will be eaten'.
"Ndozvavanoitiranaka vana ava. Those are some of the nice things that, you know, you get between the kids as they grow up. But no, they love each other, they have that oneness," he said.
During her address, Amai Mugabe disclosed that she asked Mr Chikore to show his love for Bona by being patient and waiting for her until she finished her Master's degree programme.
Having initially told her "husband and best friend" that Mr Chikore had been "recommended" by elders of Zaoga church, the First Lady let the cat out of the bag, much to the surprise of President Mugabe.
"What happened is the President was going to Malawi on a State visit, but I was busy here and Simba happened to be one of the co-pilots taking the President or flying the President, so I asked Bona to stand in for me.
"Then the second time he saw Bona was the time we had gone to Dubai on a holiday. And so I saw this tall boy staring at my daughter, but I didn't ask any question, then Bona had not started university.
"Simba, you are such a wonderful person, I respect your patience. I am telling you this man is very patient," she said.
The First Lady then offered to sing some of the President's favourite songs as a sign of showing her happiness.
"Munogona kuimba here, Gushungo? Kana kuti munoda 'Kure kure kwatinobva'? Kana kuti, ok, ndachinja song, kana kuti 'Kumakwiro'?
"Vati idzodzo hadziite," said Amai Mugabe, drawing a huge smile on the President's face and going on to sing a religious melody.
Revelations about how Simba first met Bona made the President feel somewhat shortchanged.
"Ini ndakaudzwa kuti hameno kune mukomana arikuitwaw0 recommend. Zvakanzi ari kuitwa recommend here, hameno kana vari ana mbuya vekuZaoga?
"Izvi zvekuti vakambowonana mundege vakadzvokorana naSimba handina kuudzwa. Ndiri kutozviziva ipo pano.
"Simba aidzvokora mwana wangu, ari musevenzi wangu? Imhosva iyoyo. Dai makatiudza rusambo rwusati rwauya tainge takadhabhura. Zvino zvavachata kare, yafa kwedu," he said.
The President hailed Amai Mugabe for being a hard-working and focused woman who always has time for her children.
In their joint address, Robert Jnr and Chatunga conceded to being critical of Simba at first.
"At first I was like, 'Who is this guy who wants to take my sister?' Then the other time he came kumusha for Christmas and I began to realise that he is a cool guy," said Chatunga.
However, Robert disagreed with that chronology.
"Yeah, I know why you began to like him . . . he started giving you some money," he told his young brother.
"No, I just realised he was a cool guy. My sister could not have chosen better . . . I wish them a lot of Bonas and Simbas," replied Chatunga.
Robert Jnr went on to speak of the day that Bona broke his heart.
"When we were young we used to bathe together, but one day she brought that to an end. I said 'no come on, this is our thing'. But she said no. I was hurt.
"However, as I grew up I later understood why it had to end," he said.Bona, revealed the President, always had her room well made up and took issue with anyone entering it without knocking or in her absence.
That stance did not go down well with Robert Jnr who responded by sticking a nasty-reading warning on his own bedroom door.
And . . .
Well, these are just a few of the several family secrets that the First Family let the world in on as they opened their doors to thousands of guests and millions of television viewers for last weekend's wedding of Bona and Simba.
Hours after the live transmission of the wedding ceremony had come to an end, the President, the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe and their two sons - Robert Jnr and Chatunga - painted a picture of a normal family as they gave speeches to congratulate the newly-weds.
The President spoke last and it was his address that was more revealing.
"Ouma (Bona's other name) aberekwa ndakava neshungu yekuti akurumidze kukura, akurumidze kukura nekuti ndaisaziva kuti hupenyu hwangu huchareba zvakadii," he said.
"Zvino ndaida kuti gore rimhanyise zvikuru kuru, akurumidze kuenda kuchikoro. Each time I visited Britain, I went to Marks & Spencer for Ouma. It was not any other dress I bought, even though she was three years old, it was a school uniform.
"I wanted to get there and I took time with her, a lot of time. Each time I went home at the weekend I went with her, each time we travelled together I wanted her to master the English language, she was only four years old, and I would say 'this is a river', tasvika pabridge ndoti 'this is a bridge'."
President Mugabe revealed that he stopped the drill of teaching the toddler after realising that Ouma had difficulties in pronouncing the word "railway".
"She would say 'laiway' . . . I would say 'ita railway' and she would say 'laiway'.
"It was then I realised I had to give her time," said Cde Mugabe to chuckles.
He highlighted that the First Family's decision to send Bona to a foreign university was not a sign of lack of confidence in local institutions.
"We knew that, locally, there could be harassment . . . the boys. Some of the boys, it's not the question of making love to her that we feared.
"We know the attitude of some of our people. Children of ministers and others sometimes are tormented at the beginning of their educational courses and we didn't want her to go through that," he explained.
Bona, revealed the President, always had her room well made up and took issue with anyone entering it without knocking or in her absence.
That stance did not go down well with Robert Jnr who responded by sticking a nasty-reading warning on his own bedroom door.
"Ivo vakomana vamanga muchinzwa vachitaura (Robert and Chatunga) know how strict she is. Uyo haana kutaura Tino (Robert), in reciprocating to her toughness to her room, he put on his door, I don't know where he got it, a notice which says 'Trespassers will be eaten'.
"Ndozvavanoitiranaka vana ava. Those are some of the nice things that, you know, you get between the kids as they grow up. But no, they love each other, they have that oneness," he said.
During her address, Amai Mugabe disclosed that she asked Mr Chikore to show his love for Bona by being patient and waiting for her until she finished her Master's degree programme.
Having initially told her "husband and best friend" that Mr Chikore had been "recommended" by elders of Zaoga church, the First Lady let the cat out of the bag, much to the surprise of President Mugabe.
"Then the second time he saw Bona was the time we had gone to Dubai on a holiday. And so I saw this tall boy staring at my daughter, but I didn't ask any question, then Bona had not started university.
"Simba, you are such a wonderful person, I respect your patience. I am telling you this man is very patient," she said.
The First Lady then offered to sing some of the President's favourite songs as a sign of showing her happiness.
"Munogona kuimba here, Gushungo? Kana kuti munoda 'Kure kure kwatinobva'? Kana kuti, ok, ndachinja song, kana kuti 'Kumakwiro'?
"Vati idzodzo hadziite," said Amai Mugabe, drawing a huge smile on the President's face and going on to sing a religious melody.
Revelations about how Simba first met Bona made the President feel somewhat shortchanged.
"Ini ndakaudzwa kuti hameno kune mukomana arikuitwaw0 recommend. Zvakanzi ari kuitwa recommend here, hameno kana vari ana mbuya vekuZaoga?
"Izvi zvekuti vakambowonana mundege vakadzvokorana naSimba handina kuudzwa. Ndiri kutozviziva ipo pano.
"Simba aidzvokora mwana wangu, ari musevenzi wangu? Imhosva iyoyo. Dai makatiudza rusambo rwusati rwauya tainge takadhabhura. Zvino zvavachata kare, yafa kwedu," he said.
The President hailed Amai Mugabe for being a hard-working and focused woman who always has time for her children.
In their joint address, Robert Jnr and Chatunga conceded to being critical of Simba at first.
"At first I was like, 'Who is this guy who wants to take my sister?' Then the other time he came kumusha for Christmas and I began to realise that he is a cool guy," said Chatunga.
However, Robert disagreed with that chronology.
"Yeah, I know why you began to like him . . . he started giving you some money," he told his young brother.
"No, I just realised he was a cool guy. My sister could not have chosen better . . . I wish them a lot of Bonas and Simbas," replied Chatunga.
Robert Jnr went on to speak of the day that Bona broke his heart.
"When we were young we used to bathe together, but one day she brought that to an end. I said 'no come on, this is our thing'. But she said no. I was hurt.
"However, as I grew up I later understood why it had to end," he said.Bona, revealed the President, always had her room well made up and took issue with anyone entering it without knocking or in her absence.
That stance did not go down well with Robert Jnr who responded by sticking a nasty-reading warning on his own bedroom door.
Source - Sunday Mail
