Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe in Triangle
She walks with crutches, but when Ms Nancy Mtombeni begins to speak, her voice carries the weight of more than a century of Zimbabwe’s sugar history.
At the Thomas Murray McDougall Museum in Triangle, Ms Mtombeni has become a walking encyclopedia of the Lowveld sugar industry, painstakingly preserving stories about the pioneer who laid the foundations of one of Zimbabwe’s major agricultural and industrial success stories.
However, with just five years before she retires, Ms Mtombeni fears that the wealth of knowledge she has accumulated over the years could disappear with her.
“My problem is I have about five more years before I retire, and as of now there is no one who is understudying me for continuity purposes,” she said.
It is a troubling reality for a museum whose importance stretches beyond preserving old artefacts.
With no one currently being groomed to take over from her, there are fears that the stories, institutional memory and intricate knowledge of the Lowveld sugar industry could be lost when she eventually retires.
For now, however, Ms Mtombeni remains the voice of the museum — even when the creatures lurking around it can make visitors think twice about venturing inside.
“I have not seen black mambas no less than three metres long here,” she said, pausing to let the words sink in.
The revelation sent shivers down the spines of a group of journalists touring the museum as part of the 19th Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe Tourism Expo.
After the safety warnings, she swiftly turned visitors’ attention from the dangers outside to the rich history preserved within.
“If you don’t get to this museum, you would have missed a lot. Our Lowveld is there because of this museum, the homestead of the founder of Triangle,” she said on Sunday.
Thomas Murray McDougall, a Scottish-born pioneer of the Lowveld sugar industry, arrived in the area in 1906.
He left during the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, but returned to build an industry that would transform the region and shape the economic fortunes of generations.
“He’s the first person to make brown sugar for us, and then now we can refine it to white sugar. Mr McDougall is the big man,” she said with a smile.
“Mr McDougall came all the way from Scotland to this land, and he is the pioneer of the sugar plantations that we are visiting today.”
Through her narration, the museum comes alive, connecting the past to the sprawling sugar plantations that continue to define the Lowveld today.
But Ms Mtombeni’s impending retirement raises a bigger question: Who will tell the story when she is gone?
