Harare Review of Books

192 pages.

First published in 2006.

Finished reading on 8 Aug. 2021.

Genre: Non-fiction.

This is a memoir (or perhaps the autobiography) of Vesta Sithole, who was the wife of the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, one of the founders of Zanu.

From AuthorHouse (in lieu of a publisher’s blurb from the usual places):

About the Author
The author was born Vesta Zvemwaida Saungweme in 1942, in the Eastern Highlands area of Melseter (Chimanimani), in then Southern Rhodesia. At the young age of 19, the author left her beloved home for Tanganyika, ending her nursing career midway to contribute to the liberation struggle. She crossed the Zambezi River with the political party ZAPU, which planned to form a government in exile. The author witnessed first hand the breakup of ZAPU, the formation of ZANU which she joined, and other subsequent parties. The author participated in Zimbabwe’s journey to freedom by helping to recruit people for military training; sheltering some of the freedom fighters and fundraising for the party. She also helped by working in the ZANU office. As a result of her active participation in Zimbabwe’s road to freedom, the author was harassed, jailed and subjected to mistreatment by both the Rhodesian forces and her fellow citizens. In 1967, the author married Tanzanian banker and economist Jackson Mwakalyelye, with whom she has four children. She was widowed in 1972. In 1980 the author married the liberation fighter and founder of ZANU, the late Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole. To this day, the author is committed to speaking out against the injustices of her fellow citizens by the government of Robert Mugabe. Having sacrificed her life for the struggle to free Zimbabwe, the author strongly believes Zimbabweans deserve the freedom they fought for.

By writing this book, the author hopes to present a first-hand account of events that led to Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence. It is the author’s intentions to simply clarify some misrepresentation of events as they have been described. The author also seeks to inform people about the thousands of people who participated in the country’s journey to independence, but never received any recognition from those in power. Most importantly, the author wants to show the foresighted thinking of Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole.

This is an engaging but not very well-written memoir, interesting nevertheless for what it is. Enjoyed very much the snippets (screenshots) that are now part of political history (even if one may argue that that’s what this whole book is 🙃), some of which I’ve added below.

First, something about Zimbabwe’s current and third president, Emmerson Mnangagwa:

Something about Zimbabwe’s former and second president, Robert Mugabe, and his wife, Sally:

The perils of being a woman in exile: at some point, Ms Saungweme/Mrs Sithole was homeless (because of the split in ZAPU that led to ZANU, and that created acrimony between the “comrades”):

Can’t help thinking things about that part of the story 😦

The formation of ZANU:

This was Reverend Sithole’s Clarion Call 1964, to all “Africans” to be prepared to take up arms should UDI be declared (which it was):

The part of the story where I threw away all of my sympathy 🤣 (also known as the honeypot 😭):

I confess to laughing long and hard. She sounds completely unapologetic.

The part about Jonathan Moyo, which proves that people don’t really change much:

Reminding us of how vindictive Robert Mugabe was:

“Churu Farm” became a byword for crowded, unsanitary living conditions, and entered popular parlance.

And here, wherein we meet the future Legend and Hero, Tendai Biti:

A section that had me thinking about the psychic wounds of liberation fighters — including the ones they inflicted on each other:

So, an interesting read. Thankful to Mrs Sithole for telling her story (and to her daughter, Ndimyake, who encouraged her); too many of our heroes have left us nothing. RIP.

Rated: 6/10 for the fun details.

The book is available on Amazon.