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Phyllis Kachere
The name Constance Mutonda is hardly a household name, might not be known by many across the length and breadth of the country, yet she is one of the country’s many unsung heroines, living or dead.
And it’s quite sad and tragic that the life we live today, we get to notice, to celebrate and to recognise, most of our heroes and heroines – the unsung heroes and heroines – when they are no longer part of us. We are just too busy, too personal, too selfish to notice some of the good things that happen around us.
The world was too busy to notice and recognise Constance Mutonda during the days and times when she was with us. Now that she has gone, the accolades have been pouring in, her achievements and accomplishments coming to the fore.
Constance Mutonda was probably a very simple woman, very slow in her speaking, very calculative in her reasoning, very slow and calculative in her actions. Those in the women rights’ movement will readily testify of an easy-going Constance, Connie as they called her, who would articulate issues around women’s rights as would a reverend to his congregation.
Born in 1959 to Absalom and Veronica Masoja, Constance attained modest education. She had a modest background – but it was the manner with which she articulated herself as field officer for the Women Action Group (WAG), in issues to do with gender parity, that left those listening to her captivated.
Hers was an inborn talent of wisdom and composure. At her burial last week in Silobela, Midlands, speaker after speaker spoke of a woman who was endowed with wisdom and experience, attributes that she was never ashamed to share with all and sundry.
My meeting with Mai Mutonda was fortuitous. Going to Guruve to cover some story, I was referred to her for further angles and advice. What began as an advice-seeking visit turned out to be an overnight stay.
And that overnight stay turned out to be a night full of learning and discovery, she seemed not to run out of words of inspiration and advice.
That first meeting was in 2002 and the story was on how communities in Guruve were adapting to the ravages of climate change. Then, there was almost no official conversations on climate change and its effects on smallholder farmers.
It turned out later that Mai Mutonda had joined the women’s movement in the 80s, when gender issues were a rare discussion in our society, and those years of experience were evident. Whether conducting an outreach programme in the villages or interacting with her peers in workshops in and around the country, Mai Mutonda always knew what to say and when to say it.
Mai Mutonda knew and had ideas about how these farmers, mostly dominated by women, could adapt to the changes that were manifesting. The delay in the onset of the first rains and the slow start to the summer cropping season became subjects she would include in her discussions as she traversed the length and breadth of Guruve. She would link me up with traditional conservationists in the area for interviews. She became my regular source of news and would tip me of story ideas to follow up in her area. It was Mai Mutonda who later tipped me about the predicament of school-going children who had been forced by their parents to drop out of school in order for them to go and serve at Girl Jesus’ shrine in Guruve.
Remember the Guruve girl Tepsy Nyanhete of the Mudzimuunoera Church who claimed to be the incarnation of Jesus, Maria and Joseph’s son also known as Jesus, Son of God?
To crown it all, Mai Mutonda was gifted with a high sense of generosity. Since my first encounter with her, and until last season, my family and I have received a parcel of sweet potatoes every subsequent cropping season. I will surely miss the sweet potatoes and, above all, her humility.
Mai Munyaradzi, speaking on behalf of WAG at Mai Mutonda’s burial, could not have summed it any better:
“Constance never trained as a lawyer, never acquired that doctorate in counselling, but just her experience was awesome. She was our contact person in Guruve and she knew her area like the back of her hand, just like she knew issues to do with gender rights. As WAG, we don’t even know how we can replace her, for she is irreplaceable. Her wealth of experience and intimate relationship with the people around her made her an invaluable asset to the women rights’ movement.”
Online Reporter