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Gilbert Munetsi
Although some documented claims are to the effect that the world’s oldest person is Mr Misao Okawo of Japan born on March 3 1898, recent proof at hand indicates that the record for longevity may, after all, be held by a Zimbabwean.
The fact that he was born in the apartheid era when blacks did not enjoy issuance of birth certificates or other forms of identity cannot be used as an excuse to ‘‘rob’’ Oscar Munyoro Katsukunya of his genuine claim to a deserved slot in the Guinness Book of Records. One does not need the skills of a certified mathematician to calculate and conclude that the retired teacher is now 119 years of age, give or take a year. That actually relegates Japan’s Mr Okawo to the junior ranks.
The fact that old Katsukunya may have outlived the entire human race on earth is a wonder. Add to that the accompanying fact that he saw Zimbabwe’s President through his schooling days at Kutama, and you have tastier icing on the cake.
In 1927, word got to Katsukunya, who had just completed his seconday school studies at St Benedict’s School in Mashonaland East, that a new teacher training school had been opened at Kutama.
He enrolled and spent the following year doing teaching practice in schools around Mashonaland West before graduating as a qualified teacher in 1930. President Mugabe and the late veteran politician, Chikerema, were in his class from 1931.
“I am the President’s former teacher,” he proudly bragged in a recent interview, beating his chest.
“I taught him at Kutama together with James Chikerema and this was at a time when we did not have a syllabus with specific subjects. Education was simply education with no categories.
“He (President Mugabe) had a sharp mind,” he recalled.
When President Mugabe enrolled for a place in Sub “A” at the Roman Catholic institution situated a few kilometres west of Harare, old Katsukunya had just completed his teacher’s training course (1931).
He retired in 1967 after 36 years of loyal service and since then, every month he has been making the trip to the bank to collect his pension.
“The other time, some Ministry of Education officials suspected that I may have been a ghost retiree, and they demanded that I personally come up the stairs so they would prove I was a genuine claimant.
“But because I cannot walk due to problems with my feet, they eventually agreed to come down to the car. They satisfied their curiosity and from then on, there has not been a problem with accessing my pension. To the present day, I continue to enjoy the fruits of my sweat.”
The Sunday Mail Extra caught up with old Katsukunya at Guzha Business Centre in Chitungwiza where he was in the company of his two sons, Everisto and Emmanuel, both retirees also.
Seated in the back of a vehicle and having had just one pint of beer (he does not exceed the limit!) Katsukunya Snr exuded vitality, spicing the discussion with jokes and emphasizing some points with occasional facial and hand gestures.
Asked about his secret to the long life, he emotionally responded, close to tears:
“Chandipa kurarama? Nhaiwe shamwari, munhu kana wakachengetwa, chimwe chaunoda chii? Inguva inondinetsa chaizvo iyoyo uye ndikazvirangarira, handiwani hope. Kuti vana vangu vatambura nekundichengeta. Handizivi kuti chandakamirirawo kurega kufa chii. Zvinondinetsa, asi ndiMwari ari kuzvida.” (I get really concerned when I ponder the reason. I just don’t know why God has decided to still have me around, but then that is the way of the heavens. Credit goes to my sons and daughters here who continue to look after me well.)
Born in 1942, Everisto is the seventh in a family of 12 from a monogamous marriage. Their mother passed on in 2005 and so did one brother and one sister, leaving the number of surviving siblings at 10.
Two of them are nuns owing to their Roman Catholic background and Katsukunya Snr can be forgiven for not remembering, by face or by name, his long chain of grand children, great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren. But in typical Mother Hen fashion, old Katsukunya said he spiritually broods over his vast clan of five generations!
“Nguva iyoyo kwanga kusina anotinyorera makore ekuzvarwa, asi tongoverenga kugara kwatakaita kuchikoro kuti tizive kuti takura zvakadii.” (There was no one to document our years of birth back then, so we can calculate using our years in school.)
Has he had the chance to meet with his former pupil, the President, since the days at Kutama?
“Pakavhurwa chipatara paAll Souls Mission VaMugabe vakatuma mwana kuti enda unotora ticha wangu tionane. Iko zvino tinotaura asi tisingaonane.” (He sent for me when he came to officially open the hospital at All Souls Mission. Now we speak, but without physically seeing each other.)
There has been a lot of change around our way of life and education compared to the early days, said Katsukunya.
“Takakura tichiziva kuti shava ishava, soko isoko, asi ndizvo zvichiriko here mukore uno? Taizivazve kuti kuMakorekore kune rukawo, kuManyika kune mheni, kuMandevere vane nhowa, isu kuno kuMazezuru tine mahumba. Saka chinditaurira kuti nhasi uno ndiyani acharwara nemota kana nemhezi? (Long ago we valued our totems, and tribes were known for certain common norms. There were even diseases people fell prey to which are no longer heard of.)
Son Emmanuel knows his father better.
“He is a simple man who prefers a life without complications. As family, we know he does not tolerate arguments and conflict, as we know they stress him.
“Even as a young schoolboy in Sub “B” at Monte Casino, they had to change classes for me because he would beat me black and blue in the first class that I first enrolled in. He has always wanted the best in all of us and it is the same culture we inculcate to our children and their children too. They know this brand called Katsukunya is not to be messed with.”
The last time the family attempted an audit, the clan was in excess of 130.
“We have since lost count of our exact numbers.
“When we have family functions, not everyone can be present as we are scattered all over.
“Of late, we have been contemplating setting aside a day, annually, that we celebrate the birth of our father even though we do not know his exact birthday,” weighed in Everisto.
Centenarian Katsukunya has no special diet. He loves his sadza, beef and vegetables.
“Apart from his legs which are troubling him of late, all his other senses are still intact though you have to speak up for him to hear you out.
“Today we have taken him out (like we always do) to socialise and we’re organising a braai, especially for Baba,” chipped in Emmanuel.
Between mouthfuls of barbecue, old Oscar Munyoro Katsukunya took a little time to glance back at the abysmal passages of time before offering some parting words:
“You can see that I have weathered many storms, while the sands and other rubble have been washed by the raging waters to the sea.
“God has seen the reason for me to stand like a rock to bear testimony to the times gone by, both sweet and trying.
“There have been wars where I came from, there has been famine and disease. But I have always looked up to the Creator and declared: “Thy will be done,” philosophised the centenarian.
Online Reporter