Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief

Ngununu Village in Chief Mapanzure’s area in Zvishavane is not an ordinary village.

This is the place where President Mugabe lived when he taught at a school in the area in 1944 and 1945.

More than 70 years later, the village is slowly developing as seen by villagers electrifying their schools, clinics and homesteads.

In this village, there is a primary school called Mapanzule previously known as Ruvanda.

President Mugabe taught at the school in 1944 when it was still known as Ruvanda.

The name Ruvanda, villagers say, was derived from the caves in mountains that surround Ngununu Village.

Years after the President taught there, the caves served as escape routes or hiding places for the country’s liberation war fighters who operated or passed through the area.

The fact that President Mugabe who turned 93 on Tuesday stayed and taught in this area holds so much significance in the lives and minds of villagers in the area. President Mugabe taught Sub A, B and Standard 1 at Mapanzule Primary School.

Cde Etius Ngununu Mufiri, the headman of that area and Cde Philip Makuseni Machokoto who are now grey-haired and are both 82 years old, are some of the pupils who were taught by President Mugabe at the school.

Describing President Mugabe as a God-given leader, Cde Mufiri and Cde Machokoto said they all later became teachers — taking after the President who is deeply committed to the pursuit of knowledge.

Cde Machokoto said young Robert Mugabe came to the village aged 20 and settled at a homestead now owned by Cde Lovemore Mugabe Mpofu.

When The Chronicle news crew visited, the hut in which the President Mugabe used to live in was no longer there, but the homestead has three houses.

It is from this homestead, a quiet and dedicated President Mugabe would walk to and from school which is about a kilometre away with his pupils.

“We woke up one morning to the announcement of a new teacher. That was in 1944 and we were young but this new teacher was not that old. He was in fact one of the young teachers at the school. We were later told that he would be teaching us Sub A,” said Cde Machokoto.

Cde Machokoto who was later to be arrested for destroying a dip tank in his village in protest against the unfair treatment of locals by the colonisers said he was taught Sub B and Standard 1 by President Mugabe.

He said since they were staying in the same area with President Mugabe, they would walk together to and from school.

“He was a dedicated teacher, one who was passionate about his work and made it his business to know us. After he left around 1946, he had imparted a reading culture in the pupils as well as their parents who then realised value in education,” said Cde Machokoto.

He said with the education he acquired, he was to become a teacher before venturing into politics, leading to his arrest.

“To tell you the truth, President Mugabe the teacher was sent from God. The manner he handled himself back then when we were his pupils and now when he is the President of the country, it’s a clear indication of God at work through him. His anti-gay stance and all that. He is from God and I am glad that I passed through his hands. I also realised the value of education and my children and grandchildren have done well in their lives because of education,” he said.

Cde Mufiri was Cde Machokoto’s classmate.

He said when President Mugabe arrived at the school; it only had a few classrooms but is has now expanded.

Cde Mufiri said he remembers the President being a firm teacher who meant business.

The headman said they were taught the basics of life and he was now a successful farmer in his area.

“My early life was moulded by this energetic teacher we got in 1944. Little did we know that our primary school teacher would be the President of the country and a world renowned President. He, however, had the traits of a leader. I’m a happy person that God has seen him through to 93 years old. Look at me at 82 and now struggling to walk and look at him, at 93 and he still walks without a walking stick. It just shows that God put him there for a purpose,” he said.

Cde Mufiri said he was reunited with President Mugabe some years back during a Zanu-PF rally.

“We could not hide the joy of meeting our former teacher, who is now Zimbabwe’s number one citizen. I remember seeing him and we were all walking with difficulty, a stark contrast to him who walked with swift gait,” he said.

In his class, Cde Mufiri said were the likes of Selina Chidhoba, Jeremiah Sam, Willis Goboza and Never Maphosa, who are still all alive.

The Chronicle news crew could not reach villages where the President’s other pupils live as roads were impassable due to heavy rains.

Cde Mufiri said all the buildings at the school were now new and enrolment was now over 300 pupils from Grade One to Seven. Back then the school had less than 100 pupils.

He said the school had been electrified and also received 41 mini-laptops and a solar panel from President Mugabe. They were now appealing to President Mugabe to assist the school with furniture and other necessities that will help improve the learning environment for their children.

Pupils faced a serious shortage of chairs and desks with most of them being forced to sit on the floor during lessons.

“President Mugabe once donated computers to us and we are calling on him again to consider our plight. The little that he can do will be greatly appreciated,” he said.

Chief Mapanzure said it was an honour for a village in his area to have hosted President Mugabe.

“As we celebrate his birthday, we pray that God grant him many more fruitful years,” he said.

@pchitumba1