Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Nyuki marathon is coming to Zimbabwe!
The prestigious race is a running event in Arusha, Tanzania, organised by Worker Bees Africa to promote bee conservation and raise awareness for the upcoming Apimondia 2027 international bee-keeping congress in the city.
The event includes various distances, such as 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km, with the goal of “making strides to save the bees”.
And the Sports and Recreation Commission yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Worker Bees Africa as the first step towards bringing the race to Zimbabwe.
The event has been tentatively set for May 17, 2026, just three days before World Bee Day, a date established by the United Nations to commemorate and raise awareness of the crucial role of bees and other pollinators in ecosystems and food production.
It is a day set aside to promote conservation efforts and highlight the threats pollinators face, while encouraging concrete actions to protect them and their habitats.
“I believe this is a very good initiative. If we are to look at it from a wellness perspective, especially from our side,” said SRC’s acting director general Peter Mudzimiri.
“As the Sports and Recreation Commission, what we are looking to do is to increase participation in sport and recreation activities.
“Our partnership with Worker Bees Africa serves two key prongs, the first being that the Nyuki marathon is not only coming in to serve the purpose of raising awareness in terms of bee-keeping, but it is also coming in blended with inclusiveness and also issues to do with recreation.
Secondly, this is a strategic trust the Sports and Recreation Commission is now taking, moving forward, where we will be roping in and working with strategic partners in our bid to uplift the sporting sector in Zimbabwe.
“In this particular instance, we are bringing a marathon with a social message. We will be pushing the pollinators’ message whilst at the same time embracing sport.
“It is a great day for the sporting family in Zimbabwe. We are very excited and happy to be able to bring such a big marathon to Zimbabwe.
“Hopefully, it will also put us on the global landscape,” he said.
According to the MoU signed yesterday, the Sports and Recreation Commission are set to assist in the technical aspects of the event, such as marking and identifying routes and all the issues related to the protocols needed to host a marathon.
David Mukomana — who is the president of Apimondia Africa Regional Commission and one of the signatories of the MoU — was over the moon after helping bring the Nyuki Marathon to Zimbabwe.
“I am representing Apimondia, which is the International Federation of Bee-keepers Associations and is more like what FIFA is to football in our field,” said Mukomana.
“I represent the African continent on the global organisation, and it has always been my dream to bring this event to Zimbabwe as I am a loyal son of the soil first and foremost.
“A huge part of the initiatives the regional commission has looked at as noble is to elevate the campaign or to elevate the message of the importance of bees, especially in the African context.
“If you look at the way we are so blessed with natural forests, we have rivers, mountains and valleys, and some of these places are deemed to be unusable if you look at it from an agricultural point of view.
“However, if we utilise these natural resources that we have with our African bees, we will be able to not only fight poverty, but also create wealth.
“And that is where this marathon comes in.
“We thought that this was a great way to bring people together because we know sports unite.
“So far, we have held two editions of the race in Tanzania and this is the first time it will be held outside,” he said.
According to Mukomana, at least nine countries have already confirmed their participation and these include Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and Malawi.
There has also been interest from runners from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
“We have quite a few other people and nations that have confirmed, as we had this marathon promoted in Copenhagen, during the Afro Congress, last September.
“Zimbabwe is actually blessed to have this marathon happening on our soil, as it will bring not only our stakeholders but even people from within the region and from outside to talk about how we can maximise the natural resource that we have, that is the bee.
“This could help with food production and employment creation and conserve our environment,” he said.
