Opinion / Columnist
Mqondisi Moyo never ceases to amaze
25 Jul 2018 at 02:36hrs | Views
"Its Long walk to Freedom as Nelson Mandela said"
My name is Mlungisi Ndlovu originally from Ntabazinduna. I am here to say a little few words about this fellow called Mqondisi Moyo. It was in 1991 when I came to know of him and by that time I was doing my Grade 7 at Ross Camp primary school. This is the time when Mqondisi Moyo joined our class of Grade 7C at the opening of the School term in January 1991, fresh from his rural Gwandavale Primary school.
I am not surprised to see him now doing wonders in politics and fighting for the people of Matebeleland and Midlands. I vividly remember one morning when we were about to start our assembly, when three Shona classmates boys approached and informed him that the school head Mr Jeremiah, a heavily built man who was also a senior police officer of Shona origin had instructed that he was to raise the school flag before assembly started. These guys knew very well that Mqondisi Moyo could not so because he had confided to one of the boys that in his former rural school, there was no school flag. They then decided to make a fool out him by exposing his rural background.
When he told these three boys that he could not raise a flag, they rushed to the headmaster Jeremiah and told him that Mqondisi Moyo refused to raise a flag. The headmaster called Mqondisi Moyo in front of everyone at the assembly point and asked him why he had refused to raise the flag. At that moment Mr Jeremiah spoke in Shona and Mqondisi Moyo could not utter a single word in Shona, since he was on his second week at this school, still fresh from emakhaya. Mr Jeremiah raised his big hand and slapped Mqondisi Moyo on his cheek. Those who went to Ross Camp Primary school know how big Jeremiah was and how hard he used to beat up pupils.
Mqondisi Moyo broke into a big cry and he was so embarrassed in front of other kids who laughed at him saying, 'Velakhaya Sinuka Ntuthu' (V.K) in short.
Our class teacher was Zibuya Moyo originally from Kezi and was so upset when he witnessed Mr Jeremiah beating the innocent boy. When we got to class Mr Zibuya Moyo had no kind words to Martin Mandinda, Farai Mupoto and one Ibhashenzi whom I have forgotten his surname. These are the three boys who had betrayed the innocent Mqondisi Moyo to the headmaster. Mr Zibuya shouted at these three boys and said "you boys don't you know that this boy is from the rural areas, and in some of the rural schools there are no school flags?" As Mr Zibuya said those words Mqondisi Moyo cried profusely and that is the day I discovered that the boy was too short tempered. We went out for breaktime of that day, but three boys, namely Mqondisi Moyo, Nhlanhla Moyo and Farai Mupoto never came back from breaktime. We only learnt the following morning that Mqondisi Moyo and Nhlanhla Moyo a close friend of Mqondisi, who stayed at Makokoba flats near EFusini ran after Farai Mupoto from the school up to Centenary Park along Gwanda road. They did that to revenge the embarrassment and the heavy beating that Mqondisi Moyo had gone through.
The relations between Mqondisi Moyo and those three boys became sour for a very long time. One day Mqondisi Moyo after a month or so came in class a happy boy, I recall when he excitedly said " class sengikwazi ukukhuluma isiShona." ( Class I am now able to speak in Shona ).
He then narrated the hard way on how he learnt Shona. He said he would make sure that everyday morning he will wake up and switch on the radio and listen to the 6am news which by design started in Shona and followed by IsiNdebele news reading at 06:10 am. This, he said helped him learn Shona fast as he told us he believed that he got beaten because he could not speak in Shona but some of us could not understand what he meant then because we had thought his beating was necessitated by his failure to raise a flag.
After bumping to one article written by Cornelius Mpofu I felt compelled to write this article because it is only now that I am realising that the Mqondisi Moyo you know today as a politician, some of us knew during his boyhood days and I am convinced that what happened in that month of January 1991 also contributed to him taking up politics.
Away from that Mqondisi Moyo was a nice fellow who could interact with everyone very well, and loved playing soccer as he played for two school teams. He was motivated by his friend who was the school prefect and team captain, Innocent Mutandavari who stayed in Mzilikazi and this fellow was a genius in football. The two Mqondisi Moyo and Innocent Mutandavari were always together and would at times go together at Mzilikazi where Mqondisi Moyo would be visiting his sister who worked at a flat near Matshiphisini ( Marondera Poly Clinic. There is flat which is on top of Ngcebetsha shopping centre, this is the flat where his sister worked, though Mqondisi Moyo stayed in Magwegwe west.
70 to 80% of school children at Ross Camp Primary school had parents or relatives in the police force and Mqondisi Moyo had got a place at Ross Camp through his blood brother Dingilizwe Moyo who was a policeman at Bulawayo Central Police Station and Drill Hall Police Station respectively, I also learnt recently that his brother Dingilizwe Moyo got involved in a hit and run accident in Sizinda humps in Bulawayo on 13 November 1992 where him and one Selome who were on board on a motorbike died on the spot. The truck which hit them was a government vehicle, whose driver in the following morning at his workplace, I gather, claimed he had hit Ibhalabhala (kudu) when he was asked why the truck had blood marks on it. It was later discovered that this guy was the one who had hit them, but he was of Shona origin and nothing was ever done to him.
To Dingilizwe Moyo the late brother to Mqondisi Moyo and Selome his workmate, I say may your souls rest in eternal peace. The information in got from Mqondisi Moyo relating to his late brother was that he was due for promotion to a higher post, as he had passed their in house police force upgrading courses.
As I finish my piece I am tempted to highlight that one day Innocent Mutandavari sent one guy, Jackson Mahaso also of Shona origin who was a giant, to beat up Mqondisi Moyo. Innocent Mutandavari alleged that Mqondisi Moyo had fallen in love with his girlfriend Cecilia Zhuwawo. Mahaso beat up Mqondisi Moyo as per the orders of Innocent Mutandavari. This also created bad blood between Mqondisi Moyo and Innocent Mutandavari. NB ( Innocent Mutandavari was the oldest in the class.)
Kude lapho esivela khona.
Go Mqondisi Moyo Go.
Mlungisi Ndlovu -1991 former Grade 7C Pupil at Ross Camp Primary school.
My name is Mlungisi Ndlovu originally from Ntabazinduna. I am here to say a little few words about this fellow called Mqondisi Moyo. It was in 1991 when I came to know of him and by that time I was doing my Grade 7 at Ross Camp primary school. This is the time when Mqondisi Moyo joined our class of Grade 7C at the opening of the School term in January 1991, fresh from his rural Gwandavale Primary school.
I am not surprised to see him now doing wonders in politics and fighting for the people of Matebeleland and Midlands. I vividly remember one morning when we were about to start our assembly, when three Shona classmates boys approached and informed him that the school head Mr Jeremiah, a heavily built man who was also a senior police officer of Shona origin had instructed that he was to raise the school flag before assembly started. These guys knew very well that Mqondisi Moyo could not so because he had confided to one of the boys that in his former rural school, there was no school flag. They then decided to make a fool out him by exposing his rural background.
When he told these three boys that he could not raise a flag, they rushed to the headmaster Jeremiah and told him that Mqondisi Moyo refused to raise a flag. The headmaster called Mqondisi Moyo in front of everyone at the assembly point and asked him why he had refused to raise the flag. At that moment Mr Jeremiah spoke in Shona and Mqondisi Moyo could not utter a single word in Shona, since he was on his second week at this school, still fresh from emakhaya. Mr Jeremiah raised his big hand and slapped Mqondisi Moyo on his cheek. Those who went to Ross Camp Primary school know how big Jeremiah was and how hard he used to beat up pupils.
Mqondisi Moyo broke into a big cry and he was so embarrassed in front of other kids who laughed at him saying, 'Velakhaya Sinuka Ntuthu' (V.K) in short.
Our class teacher was Zibuya Moyo originally from Kezi and was so upset when he witnessed Mr Jeremiah beating the innocent boy. When we got to class Mr Zibuya Moyo had no kind words to Martin Mandinda, Farai Mupoto and one Ibhashenzi whom I have forgotten his surname. These are the three boys who had betrayed the innocent Mqondisi Moyo to the headmaster. Mr Zibuya shouted at these three boys and said "you boys don't you know that this boy is from the rural areas, and in some of the rural schools there are no school flags?" As Mr Zibuya said those words Mqondisi Moyo cried profusely and that is the day I discovered that the boy was too short tempered. We went out for breaktime of that day, but three boys, namely Mqondisi Moyo, Nhlanhla Moyo and Farai Mupoto never came back from breaktime. We only learnt the following morning that Mqondisi Moyo and Nhlanhla Moyo a close friend of Mqondisi, who stayed at Makokoba flats near EFusini ran after Farai Mupoto from the school up to Centenary Park along Gwanda road. They did that to revenge the embarrassment and the heavy beating that Mqondisi Moyo had gone through.
The relations between Mqondisi Moyo and those three boys became sour for a very long time. One day Mqondisi Moyo after a month or so came in class a happy boy, I recall when he excitedly said " class sengikwazi ukukhuluma isiShona." ( Class I am now able to speak in Shona ).
He then narrated the hard way on how he learnt Shona. He said he would make sure that everyday morning he will wake up and switch on the radio and listen to the 6am news which by design started in Shona and followed by IsiNdebele news reading at 06:10 am. This, he said helped him learn Shona fast as he told us he believed that he got beaten because he could not speak in Shona but some of us could not understand what he meant then because we had thought his beating was necessitated by his failure to raise a flag.
Away from that Mqondisi Moyo was a nice fellow who could interact with everyone very well, and loved playing soccer as he played for two school teams. He was motivated by his friend who was the school prefect and team captain, Innocent Mutandavari who stayed in Mzilikazi and this fellow was a genius in football. The two Mqondisi Moyo and Innocent Mutandavari were always together and would at times go together at Mzilikazi where Mqondisi Moyo would be visiting his sister who worked at a flat near Matshiphisini ( Marondera Poly Clinic. There is flat which is on top of Ngcebetsha shopping centre, this is the flat where his sister worked, though Mqondisi Moyo stayed in Magwegwe west.
70 to 80% of school children at Ross Camp Primary school had parents or relatives in the police force and Mqondisi Moyo had got a place at Ross Camp through his blood brother Dingilizwe Moyo who was a policeman at Bulawayo Central Police Station and Drill Hall Police Station respectively, I also learnt recently that his brother Dingilizwe Moyo got involved in a hit and run accident in Sizinda humps in Bulawayo on 13 November 1992 where him and one Selome who were on board on a motorbike died on the spot. The truck which hit them was a government vehicle, whose driver in the following morning at his workplace, I gather, claimed he had hit Ibhalabhala (kudu) when he was asked why the truck had blood marks on it. It was later discovered that this guy was the one who had hit them, but he was of Shona origin and nothing was ever done to him.
To Dingilizwe Moyo the late brother to Mqondisi Moyo and Selome his workmate, I say may your souls rest in eternal peace. The information in got from Mqondisi Moyo relating to his late brother was that he was due for promotion to a higher post, as he had passed their in house police force upgrading courses.
As I finish my piece I am tempted to highlight that one day Innocent Mutandavari sent one guy, Jackson Mahaso also of Shona origin who was a giant, to beat up Mqondisi Moyo. Innocent Mutandavari alleged that Mqondisi Moyo had fallen in love with his girlfriend Cecilia Zhuwawo. Mahaso beat up Mqondisi Moyo as per the orders of Innocent Mutandavari. This also created bad blood between Mqondisi Moyo and Innocent Mutandavari. NB ( Innocent Mutandavari was the oldest in the class.)
Kude lapho esivela khona.
Go Mqondisi Moyo Go.
Mlungisi Ndlovu -1991 former Grade 7C Pupil at Ross Camp Primary school.
Source - Mlungisi Ndlovu
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