malvernmugadzikwa
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
AN elderly Harare couple is going through a bittersweet moment of celebrating the rare milestone of a decades-long union while mourning an iconic clergyman who blessed their marriage.
On June 1, 1953, Agushito Sanyarika (105) and Mazhaina Kuyeri (96) tied the knot before the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa Forward in Faith (ZAOGA FIF) founder, Archbishop Ezekiel Guti, in Rugare, Harare (then Salisbury). Archbishop Guti died on July 5 2023, at the age of 100.
When Sekuru Sanyarika and Gogo Kuyeri exchanged their wedding vows, they could never have imagined they would still be together 70 years later.
But they are still going strong, and their love remains as strong as ever.
Through the years, their union was blessed with 13 children, 33 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
In their seven decades together, the two have laughed, cried and, most importantly, grown old together.
Through it all, their love has endured.
They are still best friends, confidantes and soulmates. Above all, the couple is proof that true love can, indeed, last a lifetime.
The couple apparently decided to have a white wedding after genial cajoling from Archbishop Guti, who was in the process of founding his ministry at the time.
Baba Guti, a carpenter, was working for a railway company in Rugare then.
“We met Baba Guti when we were new converts in the AFM Church, where he was ministering,” Sekuru Sanyarika told The Sunday Mail.
“I had just come from Mozambique to look for a job in Rhodesia. That was when I met my wife, who had also left her home in Pfingwe, close to the Zambian border.”
Baba Guti was then a popular preacher, renowned for powerful sermons and spiritual healing.
That was also around the time he ran into trouble with the AFM Church authorities, after going on an unauthorised trip to minister to and heal the spiritually afflicted in Mozambique.
Baba Guti travelled to Mozambique at the behest of a believer who told him that God wanted him to travel to the east to preach to His people.
“When he returned from Mozambique, he submitted gifts he had received on that mission to a missionary in the church, who went by the name of Wilson,” added Gogo Kuyeri.
“Unfortunately, the missionary suspected Baba Guti had kept some of the gifts to himself.”
Baba Guti was subsequently suspended from preaching for five years.
“That evening, he came to us with the sad news,” she continued.
“We assured him of our support and urged him to continue preaching God’s Word, even if that meant he would be kicked out of the church. He continued preaching and they kicked him out of the church.
“We then offered him a room to live at our house in Rugare free of charge,” Sekuru Sanyarika added.
Baba Guti was soon back on his feet and he began working on founding his ministry, which is now home to thousands of Christian believers globally.
The ministry soon expanded into other cities and towns countrywide. Sekuru Sanyarika, who was a budding preacher, developed a keen interest in the ministry’s work.
However, without a registered marriage certificate, he was not allowed to carry out official ministry duties. Through Baba Guti’s encouragement, Sekuru Sanyarika and Gogo Kuyeri decided to wed. They set June 1 as their wedding date. The day’s events, including the sermon delivered by the late cleric, remain etched in Gogo Kuyeri’s mind up to this day.
She described the events with clarity that betrayed her advanced age.
As they exchanged their vows, she said, Baba Guti asked Sekuru Sanyarika if he would take care of his wife until they were separated by death.
“My husband said, ‘Yes’.
“Then he turned to me and asked the same question and I also replied, ‘Yes’.
“We have kept that commitment till today through God’s grace.”
The couple was now free to serve in the fledgling ministry.
They witnessed first-hand Baba Guti’s rise to national prominence through delivering powerful sermons.
The couple soon became integral in ZAOGA’s formation, traversing the country with the revered minister.
It was during that time, Gogo Sanyarika said, when she had a dream about “working talents”, which was to become a central element in the ZAOGA church philosophy.
It teaches believers to take up entrepreneurship and to work hard to sustain themselves.
Sadly, as years passed, the couple’s relationship with Baba Guti was strained.
Sekuru Sanyarika felt he was being sidelined from preaching at big conferences.
He felt, as a key member of the ministry, one responsible for “planting” churches in several communities, he deserved more recognition.
He subsequently left the church.
The couple, however, still have fond memories of the good times.
“He was a true man of God,” said Gogo Kuyeri.
“We stayed together for about five years while ministering in many places across the country.
“These goblins we see people using to make money today, back then, we would burn them using the power of God when Archbishop Guti was ministering.
“Our departure from the church was a typical example of some people influencing men of God.
“We then started our own ministry.
“On several occasions, Baba Guti sent emissaries to try and convince my husband to return and lead an assembly but it was all in vain.”
The couple, she said, later tried to re-establish direct contact with Archbishop Guti but their efforts were frustrated by those close to him.
“We preached for a long time with Archbishop Guti. We know that he was looking for us, but some of these young people who took official positions in the church prevented us from meeting him.”
Gogo Kuyeri said her family has been in mourning since they received a call announcing Baba Guti’s death.
Death had decreed finality to their quest to reunite with an old friend.
She said their long union was their most treasured gift from the revered man of the cloth.
The couple believes the teachings they got from Baba Guti kept them grounded throughout their married life.
For the 70 years the couple have been married, Gogo Kuyeri believes humility, obedience and prayer were the glue that kept them together.
* Twitter: @BullaFatima
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter