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Sydney Kawadza Senior Features Writer
Monday January 21, 2013 begun like any other day in the bustling suburb of Zengeza 2 in Chitungwiza. Residents of Ndororo Street went about their daily chores with no one suspecting that their lives were about to change forever. Traditional healer Speakmore Ma- ndere — also known as Sekuru Shumba — was attending to his “patients” as usual.
And then just after 3pm, disaster struck.
A colossal blast rocked the neighbourhood, razing three houses to the ground and extensively damaging 12 others.
Five people died on the spot while a sixth person, who was reportedly ill, passed away some weeks later.
Among the dead was an infant.
The deadly and mysterious blast gave rise to many theories as to what had happened on that blistering hot day.
The story of the mysterious explosion made international headlines. It was to be told and retold for months and as the story spread, it spawned even more wild claims.
A song about the blast was composed by an urban grooves artiste.
But January 21, 2014, the first anniversary of the deadly blast, passed quietly.
Survivors still have vivid memories of that day.
They remember the terror, the confusion, the screaming, the smoke, the pain.
They recall the well-wishers, the naysayers and the ambivalent.
The families that are now housed in the three incomplete properties built on “ground zero” – houses number 2, 4 and 6 Ndororo Street — are trying to move on.
Clayton Magaya, who survived the blast because he had gone to St Mary’s, said: “I only realised quite late in the day that we suffered that tragedy on January 21 and although we still live in fear of the mystery of that day, we never really thought much of the date. However, it is a day that I will never forget because some of the people who died in that mysterious explosion were close to us,” he said.
The new houses were built through the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society.
Eighty-two-year-old Mbuya Nasideo Zalengela recounts: “I had gone across the road to a neighbour’s house when I heard the explosion and like everyone else rushed outside to check what had happened but I was shocked to realise that one of the houses that had been reduced to rubble was mine.
“My neighbours locked me in their house fearing that the shock would kill me and I fought hard so that I see what had happened but they protected me from the disaster.”
Life has never been the same for Mbuya Zalengela.
“We have received assistance from various organisations but as you can see we are living in abject poverty. I lost everything I had before the blast and because all my sons are dead I have no one to assist me acquire new property.”
Some of the affected families have moved away.
No one seems to know about Sekuru Shumba’s relatives.
“They disappeared, especially those who were related to Sekuru Shumba, the moment police and soldiers started investigating the cause of the blast.
“They were afraid that they might be arrested for being involved in whatever Sekuru Shumba was doing on that day. Even some neighbours are not comfortable talking about that day’s events,” Mbuya Zalengela says.
Her daughter, Shupikai, was just outside their house when the explosion occurred.
“You can imagine the property we lost. I am a vendor and on that day I had used all my savings to buy wares for resale at my stall. I had even bought some fertiliser for my mother for use at her plot.
“I will never forget that day because our lives changed. There are people who are afraid to return to this place up to now.
“I can still visualise the events of that day as if it happened yesterday. Sometimes when there is a sound people will not sleep because of memories of the explosion that rocked the suburb on that fateful day,” she says.
Shupikai speaks of her trauma.
“At first we thought it was an earthquake but now that the police have unravelled the mystery we have an idea of what could have happened. Sekuru Shumba was a man of dubious character.”
She says police told them they deduced that the blast was attributable to a landmine.
Magaya says on that day, Sekuru Shumba had many clients and it was fortunate that most had been assisted and had already left.
“I remember we were joking kuti godobori nhasi vaita mari (the healer has made good money today.”
A neighbour, Mr Phineas Marizeni, says he had just left house number six when the explosion happened.
“I had just turned down an invitation to tea and I was a few metres away from the houses when the blast went off. The scene was scary . . . It was a scene similar to those we had seen in horror movies,” he said.
Residents believe more needs to be done to assist survivors.
Magaya says they still do not have water and electricity. “We are virtually living in the open because the windows and doors are yet to be fixed.”
Red Cross Society spokesperson Mr Takesure Mazuruse said their disaster response action teams had provided temporary relief.
“We also provided other non-food relief items like beds, kitchen sets, soap, water buckets and water purification tablets. The society also mobilised the corporate world and some pastors who assisted with groceries which we handed over on two occasions.
“However, we strongly feel people in such dire circumstances require constant food supply which unfortunately is a challenge given limited resources. We call on Zimbabweans to assist such and any other vulnerable people in Zimbabwe.”
Mr Mazaruse added that they rebuilt and roofed the houses. Construction is ongoing.
Some of the organisations that have assisted include Delta Corporation, CellOne Electronics, Zimcafe Hotel and Conference Centre, Chitungwiza Municipality, the District Administrator’s Office and the Chitungwiza Rotary Club.
People gave scientific and supernatural explanations for the powerful blast.
Top among them was that Sekuru Shumba was assisting clients who were trying to destroy a goblin that had wreaked havoc in their Mahusekwa homestead and it had fought back, causing the explosion.
Ms Clara Banda, a survivor who says she was Sekuru Shumba’s assistant, said the ceremony went haywire after the goblin was beheaded.
She claimed that a businessman (named) surrendered his money-spinning goblin after it started making extreme demands that he could not meet.
She also said the businessman, who died in the explosion, offered US$15 000 for the traditional healer to get rid of the goblin that he had acquired outside Zimbabwe.
Ms Banda said she only survived because she and others were in another room.
Other traditional healers said the explosion was caused by a lightning bolt that had ricocheted from an intended victim who had more powerful magic.
They said Sekuru Shumba was assisting a businessman who wanted to strike his rival with lightning but the bid backfired.
Some claimed the healer and his clients were dealing in landmines.
There is a strong belief that landmines have red mercury which fetches very high prices on the informal market and Sekuru Shumba and his colleagues were trying to “harvest” it.
Mercury is reportedly used by gold dealers and panners but it is also believed to be a “lucky” charm since it is rare and is found in liquid form.
Police, however, concluded that the explosion was consistent with that of an anti-tank landmine.
Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said investigations indicated that the explosion involved tampering with explosives.
Sekuru Shumba and his clients, it seems, went to the grave with their secret.
Online Reporter