Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
IN a recent visit to the Gwanda Registry Department offices, I came across a rather intriguing scenario of a boy, fit to be six years old having his fingerprints taken by an officer, just like they would do a person who is applying for a National Identity Document.
While I proceeded on my way and decided to mind my own business a question kept ringing in my mind like the sound of a loud gong; “why would a six-year-old have his fingerprints taken, surely it can’t be for a birth certificate as it doesn’t require fingerprints.”
Accompanied by the officer the boy left the fingerprints area and proceeded to another office. Moments later the boy emerged with an ID in his hand.
That is how I met 16-year-old Honest Mguni from the Ntalale area in Gwanda. Honest who is a Form Four pupil at Ntalale Secondary School has a height of a metre. While his condition can be described as dwarfism, Honest’s situation is different from those mostly seen in the country.
His physical features from his head to his toes are like that of a six-year-old. He also has a small voice like that of a child. That is why one could quickly categorise Honest Mguni as a child at first glance. He wears children’s size 10 shoes and clothes for tots aged between five and six years old.
Dwarfism is shortness of height that results from a genetic or medical condition. A common cause of dwarfism is a genetic mutation that affects bone growth.
Honest said his height has not stopped him from living a normal life. He said he desires to become an electrician.
“I’m 16 years old and I’m doing my Form Four at Ntalale Secondary School. I’m the firstborn in my family and I have three siblings (who are all bigger in stature than him). I started primary school at the age of five just like any other child and I have continued with my education. Though I might be short, I see myself as being capable, like any other teenager,” he said.
“Once I complete my O-Level, I plan to study as an electrician. I desire to move to the city once I have finished my course because that’s where I can find a big market and employment opportunities.”
He said he performs several chores at home and his grandparents do not treat him any different from his siblings. His parents are both in South Africa. Honest said when he was in primary school, his schoolmates started noticing that he was shorter than others and they would ask him why.
He said when he got to secondary school, his schoolmates were used to his height. Honest said locals knew him and they were now used to his height.
He said people that he meets for the first time always conclude that he is a child because of his physical appearance. Honest said sometimes he has to convince people that he is a teenager. He said it will be much easier now that he has an ID.
“If I produce my birth certificate people don’t believe me and assume that it’s not mine. Now that I have an ID it will be easier for me to convince people about my real age because my face is on it. There are situations where people are rude towards me because of my height and that offends me,” Honest said.
His maternal grandfather, Mr Bupilo Sibanda said Honest is a very healthy teenager who leads a normal life.
He said while his stature was of a boy he behaved and reasoned like a 16-year-old.
Mr Sibanda said since primary school, Honest has always wanted to be an electrician. He said his grandson had already started displaying skills in the field as he was fixing phones and torches.
“Honest is a normal teenager and we treat him like all the other children. He also likes being independent and he likes to work out solutions to problems.
Honest is very responsible and also acts like a big brother to his siblings. His immediate sibling used to disrespect him but we reprimanded him and he now shows respect for his older brother,” he said.
Mr Sibanda added: “Honest talks about being an electrician all the time and I’m sure he can be a good one because of the skills he is already displaying. Honest fixes our phones within the home and he also fixes torches. He has clients that come to him to have their torches fixed,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said Honest started experimenting with electrical gadgets when he was in Grade Seven.
He said they started realising that Honest was not growing normally in height when he was five years old. Mr Sibanda said they consulted various churches and traditional healers to find a solution but without luck. He said they later realised that was Honest’s nature and they learnt to accept and love him the way God created him.
“We were initially troubled and there were even conflicts within the family but we later learnt to embrace Honest as he is and to love him,” said Mr Sibanda. — @DubeMatutu
Online Reporter