Can black arts (Kuromba) be sole source of wealth in Zimbabwe?

According to Colin Powell, the first African-American Secretary of State, diplomat and retired general who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001-2005, a dream does not become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

Indeed, we get what we sweat for, we get what we work for and not what we wish for.

Before going any further, let me extend my heartfelt condolences to the Kadungure family for the tragic loss of Genius ‘Ginimbi' Kadungure. In this vein, my deepest sympathies go to the Boora family for the untimely death of the most bedecked comedian Lazarus ‘Gringo' Boora. We mourn these influential people and draw inspiration from what they did for this great nation.

On November 8 2020, Zimbabweans woke up to sad news of the catastrophic death of business tycoon Genius Kadungure popularly known as Ginimbi. The glum news of his untimely death intrinsically submerged the social media. It became the most buzzworthy news. Ginimbi died on the spot on the way to his Domboshava mansion along Liberation Legacy Way in Harare known as Borrowdale Road. His Rolls Royce collided with a Honda Fit and veered off the road and hit a tree. His car subsequently caught fire and no one escaped. He had one Moana and two foreigners who had come for the Saturday night party.

Ginimbi was a 36-year-old millionaire who owned top of the range cars. His mansion was colossal and beautiful. There were however mixed reactions over his accumulation of wealth considering the obscurity of his businesses or source of wealth.

I argue that it is only in Africa where the wealth of a black person sets tongues wagging. The fact that most of Africans are wallowing in abject poverty has made us to conclude that anyone who is filthy rich might have used juju to accumulate wealth. I think we need not to entertain such inferiority complex and start to believe in ourselves.

I have seen myriad conspiracy theories regarding the late Ginimbi's wealth accumulation. Let it be noted that I am not defending the late mogul because I don't even know how he amassed his affluence. Some were saying the late socialite used black magic to acquire his opulence and others attributed his death to the expiry of occult decretal (ku expire kwemhiko in our more understandable Shona lingo).

I am one of the few who believe in hard work and as someone who was not close to Ginimbi I would want to believe the narrative of his friends and close relatives who said the late millionaire was hardworking. It takes hard work to be successful in life, it doesn't take voodoo for one to be successful. I believe Ginimbi had a dream and religiously worked hard to achieve his dream. In life we need to work hard, have fun and make history and it is my postulation that without labour, nothing prospers.

I am not dispelling the hoodoo theory behind Ginimbi's wealth but I am simply advocating for the transformation of our mindset. I also doubt the purity of his wealth but I have no information regarding his richness. We need to appreciate what our fellow countrymen do especially if they really worked for what they have.

Some were asking me why Ginimbi's companies were not so popular. Like I said, I was not close to him and I needed not to. My simple response is we have various ways of striking deals, some are murky deals involving the government, others are genuine but it needs someone who is a quick thinker to convince people to dole out money or to be awarded tenders. I am not condoning illegal or misty deals involving the government or any entity in any way but I am trying to downplay is the conception that every rich African or Zimbabwean uses mojo. Some take advantage of the laxity of the governments especially in awarding tenders. Remember the Wicknel Chivhayo issue. He ‘legally' robbed the country of millions and now he is a cocky millionaire. Others are undercover drug dealers who take advantage of their proximity to the oligarchy for immunity.

In conclusion, let's work hard as a people and remember we are who we are today because of the choices we made yesterday. Consistent hard work leads to success. Everything that involves juju will not last long and doing the best at this moment will put us in the best place for the next moment. The monumental magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that you can be ‘clean' Ginimbis. Ladies and gentlemen, lets do whatever we think we can do or believe we can do. Action has power in it not juju.

Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo is the Head of Zimbabwe Institute of Strategic Thinking - ZIST, He holds a B.A from Solusi University, MA from University of Lusaka, Zambia, Post qualification in Project Management from University of Zimbabwe, PhD Women's University in Africa, and B Science in Development studies (Cand) and he can be contacted at tinamuzala@gmail.com