adminLiberty Dube Weekender Correspondent
BUSINESS was on Sunday brought to a standstill in Mutare’s Central Business District following the death of popular dealer and polygamist, Josiah Mutopora as two rival families jostled to dominate burial proceedings. Simply known as Jarzin, Mutopora plied his trade at Forbes Border Post and was legally married to two wives with the elder one staying in the sprawling suburb of Chikanga while his younger wife resides in Morningside.
By the time of his death, Jarzin, who breathed his last at Murambi Clinic on Thursday, had moved out of the Chikanga house and was residing at his younger wife, Jane’s residence.
A fair share of drama erupted on the day he was bound to be buried at Yeovil Cemetery as two factions reportedly belonging to the two families fought for Jarzin’s corpse.
A fleet of luxury cars and SUVs belonging to mourners were among a convoy that spent more than an hour to reach the cemetery after one party that comprised hooligans, taxi drivers, socialites and workmates from Forbes Border Post, among others, demanded that Jarzin’s casket be taken to Mozambique border commuter rank. A section of mourners called for the hearse to “pass through” the first wife’s residence in Chikanga, a development that did not go down well with another party that called for normal proceedings, that is, from the funeral palour straight to Yeovil Cemetery.
It was work over time for Nyaradzo Assurance Funeral Company staff members who could not know which way to go as two parties outshone each other for preeminence.
Songs and dances were the order of the day as it suddenly turned into a funeral party. The hearse, however, later went to Jarzin’s house in Chikanga before his body was finally laid to rest later in the afternoon.
Jarzin’s second wife, Jane, whom many misconstrued as the late Jarzin’s girlfriend was subjected to ridicule on the day. Jane, however, revealed that she was legally married to Jarzin under the African Marriage Act and tied the knot in May 2007.
She said she has three children with Jarzin, aged 14, 5 and 3. She showed The Weekender their marriage certificate as well as wedding pictures. “I have three children with Jarzin. I am also the one who first wed before maiguru of Chikanga (Jarzin’s second wife) did. I know she might know this because we never had time to talk about it but it’s true,” she said before showing The Weekender hoards of wedding pictures and the marriage certificate.
“I have no bad blood with maiguru but Jarzin moved to my house after he told me that his marriage with her had irretrievably broken down. That is something I could not control. He revealed that he could not leave his special belongings in Chikanga because their love for each other was dead,” she said.
Jarzin before his untimely death took away cars, among them a Mercedes Benz and Nissan Elgrand to Jane’s residence. He also bought her a residential stand in Morningside.
“Jarzin was a responsible man. He used to take care of both families. All was well. We never had problems. His health detieriorated early last year. He started complaining of stomach aches. He was a responsible breadwinner and could sometimes work while he was unfit. I was with him throughout his illness. He was diagnosed of cancer and doctors revealed that he had developed a tumor in the stomach. We sold several properties such as a car for medical expenses. Unfortunately, he breathed his last last Thursday,” she added.
An elderly woman who identified herself as Jarzin’s sister from Mozambique, who was also present during the interview, said before his death, he had expressed his reluctance to be taken to Mozambique or Chikanga in case of his death.
“I can testify that Jane took care of her husband till he died. He even confessed during his last days that musandiendese kuChikanga kana kuMozambique kana ndafa,” she said.
About Sunday’s incident, Jane said she thought they could work together with Jarzin’s elder wife and her relatives.
“This was our husband’s death. I don’t know why people tried to cause confusion. I personally tried to make Jarzin’s burial a peaceful and special one because he was a loving husband. Like I said, I was not Jarzin’s girlfriend, I was his legitimate wife,” she added.
In a separate interview, Jarzin’s other wife in Chikanga revealed that she wed Jarzin on October 27 in 2007 under the Marriage Act (Chapter 5:11). She also showed The Weekender their wedding pictures saying they were living happily before Jane came into Jarzin’s life.
The couple had three children together.
She spoke through her brother-in-law who requested anonymity.
“Jarzin left our matrimonial house in October last year to reside with Jane. He never explained his reasons. He later came on Christmas Day complaining that he was not feeling fine. Precisely, he said ndakabva pamba ndisingarwari ndikatangira kurwara ndirikwa Jane so ndichadzokera ikoko and I will be back here when I am fully fit. Jane and her cabal took over the funeral proceedings and wanted to do everything alone.
“They never considered that Jarzin was legally married here in Chikanga. Traditionally, we actually thought the body would spend the last night here. There were hired hooligans at the funeral and church elders had to scurry for safety after the menacing hwindis tried to control the proceedings. We are a prayerful family, so we decided to backtrack and watch from a distance. We waited till the chaos ended. We never saw it fit to attend the funeral proceedings till a church service that was held by the Anglican church.
“Jane and her team were wearing expensive outfits and the funeral was classy. It was not an ordinary one, from décor to catering, something that makes us wonder where Jane got all the money from,” he said.
The Weekender mole, a rank marshal, who was one of the mourners said: “Jarzin was a popular man. He was a hard worker and had a lot of properties. His death was a sad loss but what happened at the funeral was unfortunate.
His wives’ two families were supposed to unite and bury him well. They were both legally married to him and we all knew that, though some people thought Jane wasn’t.”
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Online Reporter