Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
IT is rare to hear people talking of a father’s love!
Fathers are often the quiet, efficient and essential engines in the background that keep families intact and ticking. Their input is rarely acknowledged or truly felt as most spend their time at work, unseen by their kids, as they toil to afford their families a life better than theirs.
Finally, there is a beautiful story about how the love of a father dragged a child from the depths of despair that includes alcoholism for 22 years, imprisonment and severe depression, to being a model citizen.
This is the inspirational story of Zwelani Ndebele.
“At one point I thought my life was finished,” says Zwelani Ndebele (38). “However, my father Msolinah (70) never stopped believing in me,” he begins tentatively.
Raised in Nketa 7, Bulawayo, Zwelani was a bright pupil at Manondwane Primary, Gifford High, and Maranatha Adventist Secondary. However, the tragic death of his infant sister in 2002 shattered his world. Aged 14, he was left managing a child-headed household while his father, Msolinah, returned to military duty and his mother moved to rural Figtree. Lonely and traumatised, Zwelani turned to alcohol, sparking a 22-year addiction.
Yet, his creative gift refused to die. He poured his pain into the arts, co-founding Ghetto Rhythm Dance Group, which evolved into Bayathe Performing Arts and Skyz Arts.
His rock bottom came on 16 December 2024. During an alcohol-fuelled family conflict, Zwelani injured his father with a kitchen knife. Instead of abandoning him, Msolinah pleaded for mercy in court.
Zwelani was sentenced to 16 months at Plumtree Prison, which became his turning point. Confronting his demons, he began writing The Manifesto of a Dreamer in Chains and learned agricultural skills working on the prison garden staff.
Released on 15 May 2025, Zwelani relapsed the very next day. “The same man I nearly killed picked me up and took me home,” he recalls. That unconditional love saved him; he has been sober since 16 May 2025.
Together, father and son drilled a borehole to start community farming projects. Msolinah also bought Zwelani a smartphone, connecting him to global literary platforms.
Through his prison writings, Zwelani joined the United World of Literature, an international community of over 600 writers. He was nominated for Writer of the Month in October 2025 (finishing as 2nd Runner-Up) and later received two consecutive international literary nominations.
He also earned a Professional Identity Certificate in Public Speaking and a Certificate in Creative Writing, Editing and Publishing from the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU).
Today, he visits schools, churches, and communities, sharing his powerful testimony of addiction, rehabilitation, and hope.
“My father taught me that forgiveness can rebuild a human being,” Zwelani says. “His love dragged me from hell.”
