Hwange’s famous sons and daughters

HWANGE is famously known for its massive coal deposits, the largest in the country with proven reserves that are estimated to last over 1 000 years, at present production levels.

The coalfield, which remains one of the largest in the world, was discovered in 1895 by an American Scout Frederick Russell Burnham.

The town is also known for having the only Premier Soccer League team in Matabeleland North province — Hwange Football Club.

It has a number of schools, mostly run by the Hwange Colliery Company Limited, as part of its corporate social responsibility and has one of the best hospitals in the province (at one time in the country).

The indigenous languages in Hwange are Nyanja, Nambya and Dombe although IsiNdebele and Shona are spoken too. Until recently, only IsiNdebele was taught at primary schools but now Nambya is also taught following a bold move by the Second Republic that a teacher graduating from college must know at least four of the 16 languages enshrined in the Constitution.

As alluded to last week, the darkest hour for the town was on June 6, 1972 when 427 miners perished underground following a methane gas explosion at the Kamandama Mine.

The catastrophe remains the worst mine disaster in the country and calls continue being made that the day be declared a national holiday in honour of the perished miners.

Another iconic issue about this place is that of the mysteriously burning mountains at night that, however, leave no trace of ash during daylight. Community elders’ explanation is that the phenomenon was a defence mechanism by the Tonga people to make their attackers, said to have been King Mzilikazi’s army, believe that they would have fled and burnt down their homesteads.

Besides the natural occurrences, Hwange town has individuals that have captured the attention of not only the whole town or region, but even those outside the country.

The first name that pops out of Hwange is that of Charles Nyoni, popularly known as Big Charlie. He is your present-day Biblical Goliath equivalent, weighing a massive 300kgs with a height of 2,10 metres, just 41cm shorter than the world’s tallest man, Turkey’s Sultan Kosen.

Hwange’s Big Charlie was born Charles Nyoni in 1966, and can rightfully be referred to as a man mountain. His story has been told numerous times, from his size 22 shoe to his huge meals that sees him eat at least half-a-dozen eggs, a pint of milk, a loaf of bread and a big teapot of tea for breakfast while for lunch or dinner, he requires a meal that is normally eaten by three men.

He can devour a full chicken in one meal while the insides of a goat are taken care of in a single day with the rest of the meat done and dusted within three days. For many years, many residents in Hwange thought his surname was Gumbo because everyone called him Charles “Gumbo” in reference to his big feet.

That name quickly died when news spread around town that someone had been unfortunate to learn the hard way that Big Charlie was Charles Nyoni, not Charles “‘Gumbo”.

Legend has it that during his time at the Hwange Colliery, while his workmates would carry a 50kg bag of cement in pairs, Big Charlie would easily carry four 50kg bags at one go.

Big Charlie’s condition is known as acromegaly, a rare condition where the body produces too much growth hormone, causing body tissues and bones to grow more quickly. Over time, this leads to abnormally large hands and feet and a wide range of other symptoms. Acromegaly is usually diagnosed in adults aged 30 to 50, but it can affect people of any age. People with this condition usually have a short lifespan owing to their susceptibility to infection and metabolic disorders.

Big Charlie lives in Lwendulu Village and just next to his house used to live former Hippo Valley and Hwange goalkeeper, who later became the Coalminers’ head coach, Weekly Mwale, one of the many popular and highly respected sports figures from Hwange.

Sports icons from this town are far too many to individually mention, but the likes of Zephania Ncube in athletics, the great goalkeeper Posani Sibanda, former Rhodesia Soccer Star of the Year finalist, Amos Rendo, as well as the first black rugby player to feature for the Zimbabwe national team, the late Milton Nyala, not forgetting legendary netballer, Scholastica Phiri, who was part of the 1995 All Africa Games squad.

Phiri has been bedridden for more than two years now following a stroke.

Veteran politician, businessman and philanthropist, Reeds Dube of the ruling Zanu-PF party is also well-known figure in town.