dyton mupawaenda
Walter Nyamukondiwa
Mashonaland West Bureau Chief
Abducted from Chinhoyi’s Ruvimbo Township on March 3, 14-year-old Everson Mashavira woke up locked in a car at Joina City in Harare where he managed to unlock the vehicle and escape.
Lonely, confused and afraid, Everson knew that he only had one option, to run.
It is not yet clear where the abductors had gone, leaving him locked up in the car.
Regardless, it was a lucky break for him or perhaps a saving grace.
His plight starts with a visit to his grandfather’s bottle store at Genesis Shopping Centre in Ruvimbo Township, Chinhoyi.
He helped carry some crates and decided to go back home.
On his way home, another teenager who normally frequented the shopping centre ran after him and asked to walk along with him since they were going in the same direction.
As they walked, a black Subaru vehicle pulled up in front of them, and the occupants asked for help pushing their vehicle.
“We pushed the vehicle and one of them lifted me up, praising me for being strong before one of them bundled me into the vehicle. I don’t know what happened but I woke up at Joina City,” he narrated.
He suspects that one of the abductors sprayed him with some unknown substance, which caused him to pass out for the duration of the more than the two-hour journey to Harare.
Dazzled by the bright lights of the city and not knowing anyone in Harare, Everson soon found comfort in the welcoming arms of some street kids who took his plight as theirs and offered him somewhere to sleep for the night.
“I ran behind Joina City where I found some street kids who understood my plight and gave me somewhere to sleep,” said Everson.
“They were welcoming and made me feel comfortable. They took me as their own and led me to where they get food and we ate for the night before retiring to the not-so-comfortable street beds.”
For the first time, he slept in the streets, covered by a cardboard box.
The night turned into two and then third until a fallout with the street urchins left him with no other option than to find his way home.
“Everything was going well and I was well taken care of like I was one of them. We only had challenges when they wanted me to take glue and I refused,” he said.
“The second friction point was when I asked them where I could find a police station so that I could report what had happened and hopefully get assistance reconnecting with my relatives and parents.”
The street kids told him that talking about the police or connecting with them in any way was taboo in the streets.
That was his cue to leave.
When all else fails follow nature, says the adage.
Everson knew that Chinhoyi was found where the sun set and off he went in the general westward direction.
“I saw a railway track which I followed and unfortunately the line led me to Budiriro 2 where I saw a police station and decided to go and present my case so that I could get help,” narrated Everson.
However, for him his direction was north-westward, which was diverting from the Chinhoyi direction.
The police contacted his grandmother who organised for him to be taken back to Chinhoyi.
Meanwhile, the three days were a nightmare for the Mashavira family as they made frantic efforts to locate Everson.
His father Mr Freddy Mashavira received a call from Everson’s grandmother asking if he had visited him.
“I received a call from my in-laws asking if Everson had visited me as I stay at the farm and only see him when he comes to visit or when I visit them in Chinhoyi,” said Mr Mashavira.
“We started making phone calls to other relatives hoping that he may have visited them. It became apparent that he was nowhere to be found and we made a report to the police at Chinhoyi Central Police Station,” he said.
For three days the family was in limbo, hoping that by a stroke of luck, he could have visited a relative and was afraid to come back as he had not asked for permission to leave home.
“Even after making a police report, we kept thinking that he had visited a relative and was now afraid of being beaten for going without permission,” said Mr Mashavira.
For him, Everson’s abduction and eventual escape serve as a warning to parents to be on the lookout for kidnappers on the prowl.
“We don’t know what they wanted to do with my son, but I suspect they wanted to harm him. Otherwise, why would they take him all the way to Harare from Chinhoyi if they meant no harm? At 14 years Everson is still very young,” he said.
“We hope police will carry out a full investigation so that they get to the bottom of this kidnapping case.”
Everson says hewas afrai, but had no option and the street kids helped calm his nerves during the time they stayed together.
“I was well protected when we were together but my only misgiving was when they wanted me to sniff some glue, saying it would help me cope with life in the streets. I refused and that was to be the beginning of their suspicions of me,” said Everson.
“When I brought in the issue of the police, they became a bit aggressive so I had to run away. Walking to Budiriro was painful, but I guess the anticipation of a longer journey to Chinhoyi cushioned me.”
Everson said he was prepared to walk all the way to Chinhoyi following the railway line as he knew no-one else in Harare.
“I had no choice but to walk because the street kids refused to show me where the police station was found. I was happy to see the police station in Budiriro 2 though it reminded me that I was nowhere near Chinhoyi,” he said.
His comfort came from knowing that the police would help him reunite with his family.
Online Reporter