Dancing through the storm with one leg

Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
THEY say when life knocks you down, you can choose to stay on the ground or get back up stronger.
For Mr Cliff Matyenyika (28) of Matongo Village in Odzi, that choice was not easy.
Life stripped him of a leg, his marriage, and his peace of mind, but against all odds, he found his strength again on the dance floor.
Last Saturday, during the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Kumbanayi World Tourism Expo carnival party in Mutare, Mr Matyenyika stunned hundreds of attendees when he took to the stage, and danced to amapiano beats with breathtaking agility.
Balancing on his single right leg without the aid of crutches, he swayed, hopped, and spun to the rhythm with energy that electrified the crowd.
Within moments, the audience was on its feet, cheering him on, with Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Honourable Barbra Rwodzi joining in cheering him on.
The applause was, not just for the performance, it was for the story etched in every movement of his body.
“I did not know people would appreciate my dance moves like that. I was just doing what makes me happy. Dancing is what healed me when I thought my life was doomed,” Mr Matyenyika admitted later in an interview, his face breaking into a wide smile.
But his journey to that moment was far from easy.
In 2020, when he was 23, he was involved in a horrific accident while illegally gold panning.
His left leg was crushed above the knee, leaving doctors with no choice, but to amputate it. His left arm and mouth were also injured, but it was the leg that changed everything.
“At first, I thought I could never stand again, let alone dance. I was a dancer of repute before the accident, but after the amputation, I could not see myself leading a normal life. For two years, I was drowning in depression,” he recalled.
His struggle was compounded by heartbreak. Six months after the amputation, his wife deserted him.
“She told me straight in my face that she could not stay with a man with one leg. That crushed me even more. I had lost my leg, my confidence, and now my marriage,” Mr Matyenyika said, his tone calm, but heavy.
For a long time, he isolated himself from friends and community life.
He described those years as the lowest point of his life, a time when he even questioned why he had survived the accident at all. But a few close friends refused to give up on him.
“My friends told me to pick myself up, and do something with my life. They encouraged me to go to school and acquire new skills so that I could take care of myself again. That is how I ended up at Danhiko
Industrial Training College in Harare,” he said.
The college turned out to be a turning point. There, the once hopeless man discovered talents he never knew he had, including a knack for Paralympic soccer.
But it was also there where he rekindled his old love for dancing.
“I realised that God blessed me with this one leg that is very strong. I can stand on it for hours without my crutches. Once I accepted that, I started dancing again,” he said.
From amapiano to sungura, the now hopeful man dances wherever and whenever the music plays.
His one-legged routines have become a symbol of flexibility, inspiring those who watch him.
At the carnival, he proved to everyone, including himself that disability is not inability.
Mr Matyenyika sees his story as bigger than just dancing. He hopes it can inspire other people with disabilities to embrace life fully.
“To anyone living with a disability, my advice is simple: do not let what you lost stop you from chasing what you love. I lost my leg, yes, but I did not lose my passion, I did not lose my dreams. You must accept yourself first, then everything else becomes possible,” he said.
Beyond dancing, Mr Matyenyika works in his community, doing odd jobs on people’s farms to earn a living.
He says it is tough, but he refuses to be defined by limitations.
“Without dance, I would be just another man struggling with pain and depression. But dance makes me whole again. It gives me joy and strength to face tomorrow,” he said.
He, however, appeals for assistance of an artificial leg, which he believes will open more opportunities for him.
“If I can get an artificial leg, I know I can do even more, not just in dancing, but in sports and in life. I want to show people that we can rise again after losing something so big,” he said.
His story moved many at the carnival, where his performance was shared across social media platforms, with many users describing him as the man who danced through the storm.
For him, the cheers of the crowd were more than just applauses, they were a confirmation that he had reclaimed his place in the world.
“When I am on that stage, I do not feel being disabled. I just feel alive. And if my dance can make one person believe in themselves again, then I know I am doing something right,” he said.
In a world where people with disabilities often face rejection, stigma, and limited opportunities, his story is a reminder that hope can rise from even the darkest places, according to his friend, Mr Trust Marange.
“When he started dancing again, we saw the old him coming back. For two years, he was just a shadow of himself. But now, when he dances, it is like he is alive again, and it gives us hope too,” he said.
Another friend, Mr Tatenda Chidemo, added: “People see him on one leg, and think he cannot do much, but when he dances, they realise that he can do more than many of us with two legs. He teaches us not to give excuses.”