The Truth Of An African Man

By Honour Mwabaya

Honour Mwabaya is a Land Surveyor who defies logic. He grew up with a strict father who was an English and History secondary teacher and a humble, talented mother who settled for peasant farming. He spent his childhood in Rimbi, a rural township of Chipinge.

Though challenged by the rural society which disregarded spoken english, he never desisted from embracing the encouragement that came from his father to write good english. Honour is currently working for the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services of Botswana (formerly Ministry of Lands and Housing). He holds a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Surveying and Geomatics accredited to Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. He is an executive Master of Business Administration accredited to Amity University, India.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Honour Mwabaya
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005854492

Honour Mwabaya

A quick witted family man who is unapologetic about living life to the fullest. I dislike spending time with people who are despondent and negative. Life is what you make it. I believe and the sky is the limit. I am very resilient and perseverative thus I hate discouragement around me. Out of experience, I have learnt to make decisions out of my own perceptions.A lover of nature and a passionate farmer. I love taking care of life. I grew up in the Rimbi township of Chipinge district in Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Growing up in a polygamous family taught me so many things from love, trust, economics, politics, faith and above all, contentedness. Every good thing that is earned through hard work brings lasting satisfaction. I uphold my father's legacy which groomed me to equate work, not only with economic rewards, but also to confer status and dignity.

Book preview

The

Truth

Of

An African man

Honour Mwabaya

Copyright © 2020 Honour Mwabaya

Published by Honour Mwabaya Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Honour Mwabaya using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Lorna King for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.org

E-mail: [e-mail]

Honour Mwabaya

[e-mail]

Dedication

For my son Kohath, and others.

At the right age in the future, when you come home to visit me, bring your wife and kids; I do not desire to see you alone.

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to you my dear wife Anne, for the support and encouragement you rendered me throughout the Covid-19 lockdown in which I wrote this story. Karina, thank you for tolerating my apologies at the expense of your desire to play with dad.

Prologue

Life is all about honesty and truth in this thrilling drama in which Diko meets Diko. Diko Mupeta grew up under the custody of a single mother who was never truthful about anything in life. Will he make a good husband and father? This story helps to find advice and counsel in solving various social problems and challenges men face today.

Table of contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

1

"Chakafukidza dzimba matenga," (Families are families by concealing the bad and the ugly), Diko’s uncle muttered grimly. He had finally decided to lift the lid on the matter of his nephew’s identity – something that had been kept confidential for more than two decades. The nurse walked in with a sphygmomanometer in her hands, but Diko kept his eyes fixed on his uncle’s pallid face, waiting to hear more of the interesting topic his sick uncle was airing.

Excuse me, time’s up. The next visit is at 6pm, the nurse declared as she placed her utensil on the bedside cabinet next to Reuben’s bed. Diko’s uncle, Reuben, had been diagnosed with cancer, and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment and a series of check-ups. His face was pale and he had lost not only his appetite, but weight and energy as well. Sadly, tests revealed that the cancer cells had spread throughout his body and the chances of remission were slim.

Diko gazed at his wristwatch which read 4.03pm – already three minutes past the end of visiting hours. With a poker face, Diko sighed and obediently stood up from the steel and synthetic leather visitor’s chair. He grabbed his uncle’s hand, kissed it and whispered a brief prayer before he left. So much ran through his head. Three years earlier he had turned 21 and no one had been there to bless him with the key. His mother had passed on in a road accident in 2004, barely five months before his 21st birthday. After her funeral, Diko had immediately moved out of the two-roomed house they’d rented and gone to stay with his Uncle Reuben.

His uncle had two children, Kabelo and Lizwelethu. Kabelo was 18 years old and Lizwe had recently turned 16. Both Diko’s cousins were excellent learners, and were always first in line to receive awards at school. Their mother had developed a mental illness in November 2002 and had been admitted to the Ingutsheni Hospital for Mental Health. Reuben – in his early 50s – had been relieved of his duties at the shoe manufacturing company in 2006 due to illness. The benefits he was offered were quickly depleted due to medical bills.

Diko had travelled about 70km from Somerset, a farming area where he stayed with his Uncle Reuben during the holidays. He could not afford to come back to the hospital any time soon from their home due to financial constraints. He knew no one in Gweru city who he could sleep over at if he opted to return for the 6pm visit. It had also become very scary and risky travelling after dusk as the Mabhemba killers were rampant, butchering innocent people in cold blood. With these factors facing him, he had no option but to return home while it was still light.

Diko walked to the nearest bus stop, confused and concerned. Immediately he jumped on to the bus and left. But, at the back of his mind a question kept knocking: When will I visit my uncle again? A loquacious drunk guy seated at the back cracked jokes all the way. Passengers laughed and giggled, but Diko sat in his seat quiet as a mouse, staring through the window into the world that was full of unanswered questions.

"Ngatiburukei vabereki, ndirori dhorobha reGweru kune vasingarizive," (Let us get off the bus, we have arrived in the city centre of Gweru, for those who may be new or who may not know) yelled the conductor as he collected fares from the passengers. Diko immediately pulled back his wandering mind, dug into his pocket and handed over a few coins to the conductor as he jumped out of the bus which was already moving into the loading bay. He pushed through the crowd, and as he did so, a certain pickpocketer snatched his Nokia 3310 phone from the pocket