National

The San: Zimbabwe’s forgotten tribe living on the margins

Published

4 years ago

August 9, 2021

VicFallsLive

BY JEFFREY MOYO

Nyaliwe Mendisi has never known the door of a classroom.

None of her 12 children went to school, and now the 81-year-old’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren have had no basic education either.

Mendisi belongs to the San community, together with her unschooled grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Now stung with poverty, the only jobs her children and grandchildren have known are domestic employment in the villages of Tsholotsho, in Matabeleland North Province.

Most of her grandsons and granddaughters are employed as cattle herders or tend other villagers’ fields.

“My whole generation in my family has never been to school. We have nothing of value that we own to enable children to attend school. We have no goats nor cattle that we can sell to raise school fees,” Mendisi told Anadolu Agency.

Also known as the Bushmen or Basarwa, the San, which is Mendisi’s tribe, were the first Bantu people to dwell in present-day Zimbabwe.

Mired in poverty, many San people like Mendisi and her descendants, populate remote areas of this southern African nation, with others facing similar situations in other countries like Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia.

In Zimbabwe, some of the apparently forgotten tribe lives in Plumtree in Matabeleland South Province.

Now, as the World commemorates International Day of the World’s Indigenous People annually on Aug. 9 by the UN, Zimbabwe’s Khoisans, like Mendisi, have nothing to celebrate amid mounting penury.

“Food is even hard to get because this region always gets very low rainfall. We have no cattle nor donkeys that we can use for our farming,” she said.

But what worries many like Mendisi and her family is the lack of national identity cards, which means together with her descendants, they have contended with statelessness.

“Having no IDs or birth certificates has meant none of us gets the opportunity to go to school or even dream of having a bank account,” Mlungisi Mendisi (23), a grandson on the matriarch, told Anadolu Agency.

Even decent shelter for the San tribe is something that they can only fathom in their imaginations, according to the younger Mendisi, who also said he has never had a bus ride or boarded a car.

With incessant droughts pounding Zimbabweans more often, the San have not been spared but getting food donations from the government has remained a mountain task for many like Mlungisi without identity documents.

“No ID no food from the government and some of us just have to starve. It has never been easy for many of us to get identity documents like birth certificates and national identity cards,” he said.

Davy Ndlovu, programmes manager for Tsoro-O-Tso San, a development trust that fosters the rights of the San tribe, said the minority tribe has for centuries faced broad injustices, leading to poverty situations for generations.

“Since the San’s removal from their ancestral land to pave way for the establishment of the Hwange National Park in 1928, their lives as hunter-gatherers were disrupted.

“Today, they live lives of poverty in the outer edges of society and are struggling to adapt to a sedentary lifestyle,” Ndlovu told Anadolu Agency.

To Ndlovu, like many minority groups in Zimbabwe, the Khoisan people are not strangers to segregation.

“Many minorities in Zimbabwe suffer discrimination and the situation is even worse for the San,” he said.

According to Tsoro-O-Tso San, there are approximately 2,500 San people living in Zimbabwe.

Even as Ndlovu and his organization have tried to help many Khoisan to enroll in school, families like Mendisi’s have had no chance.

But organizations like Tsoro-O-Tso San headed by Ndlovu, have tried to extricate many of Khoisan descendants from poverty.

“When we started our project in 2010, few of the San children finished primary education. After numerous awareness campaigns on the importance of education, quite a number has gone up to form four, with others even finishing form six of their secondary education,” said Ndlovu.

To Ndlovu, even as the Khoisan tribe remains downtrodden and apparently forgotten by authorities, there is something to smile about.

“For the first time ever, we have three Khoisan descendants attending university.

There is however little support from the government and this has left many San children uneducated,” said Ndlovu.

Health-wise, Ndlovu said the Khoisan are faced with trouble as health facilities are still few and people are forced to travel long distances to seek medical attention.

Ndlovu said with many San people still stateless here, several, like Christopher Dube of Garia village in Tsholotsho, have recently battled to bury an undocumented relative who died in neighbouring South Africa, also without personal documents.

According to Ndlovu, the deceased is still unburied in South Africa due to a lack of proper documentation. – Anadolu Agency.

National

Malaria cases surge in Zimbabwe

Published

23 minutes ago

July 31, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Zimbabwe is experiencing a dramatic surge in malaria cases, with 111 998 cases and 310 deaths reported as of epidemiological week 23 in 2025.

This is a significant increase from the same period in 2024, which saw 29 031 cases and 49 deaths.

According to Dr Memory Mapfumo, an epidemiologist at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), “This surge is no coincidence. Prolonged rains have fueled mosquito breeding, while activities like gold panning, fishing, and artisanal mining are exposing more individuals to risk, especially during peak mosquito activity hours.”

The situation is worsened by the low use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), leaving communities exposed and placing further strain on already stretched health systems. Across Zimbabwe, 115 out of 1 705 health facilities have been affected, highlighting the widespread impact of the disease on healthcare infrastructure.

Mashonaland Central Province has accounted for 32% of all malaria cases, while Manicaland reported 25% of the malaria-related deaths. The interconnectedness of the countries in the region has also contributed to the spread of the disease.

Zimbabwe’s malaria outbreak is part of a broader regional trend. Other countries in southern Africa, including Botswana, eSwatini, and Namibia, are also experiencing significant increases in malaria cases.

In Botswana, 2 223 cases and 11 deaths have been reported, with Okavango being the hardest hit. eSwatini has recorded 187 cases, with children under 15 and farmers being particularly affected. Namibia has seen over 89 959 cases and 146 deaths, with the majority of cases being local transmissions.

The Africa CDC emphasizes the need for continued vigilance and investment in malaria control. Governments must enhance their efforts to improve the use of ITNs, strengthen community engagement, and address environmental and social factors driving the outbreaks.

Dr Merawi Aragaw, head of Africa CDC’s Surveillance and Disease Intelligence, notes that “as climate change accelerates, we are witnessing shifts in temperature and rainfall that are expanding the range of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, introducing vectors into previously unaffected regions.”

According to Dr Aragaw, “sustained vector control measures – including environmental management, strengthening surveillance, drug and diagnostic resistance monitoring, and fostering cross-border collaboration – will be critical in mitigating the growing threat of vector-borne diseases, especially malaria.”

The regional surge underscores a broader global trend, with malaria cases worldwide climbing to 263 million in 2023, up from 252 million the previous year, and Africa accounting for 95% of all malaria-related deaths.

Despite these alarming figures, there have been significant successes: Cabo Verde was certified malaria-free in 2023, and Egypt is poised to achieve the same in 2024. Yet for many countries in southern Africa, the road to elimination remains steep, with outbreaks threatening to reverse years of progress.

National

Government unveils plan to curb road accidents

Published

1 day ago

July 30, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, has outlined a series of measures to combat the rising tide of road traffic accidents in the country.

Zimbabwe has been witnessing a worrying surge in road traffic accidents, with the latest incident claiming 17 lives last week, along Seke road.

Yesterday, Muswere addressed the cabinet, outlining measures to curb road traffic accidents. Below is his statement, word for word:

“So capacitation of the vehicle inspection is ongoing and the sourcing of the vehicle inspection department. Compliance to legislation is also one of the parameters that we are utilising.Standardisation in terms of driving schools, the training of drivers, speed limits as a governance to traffic monitoring, the utilisation of traffic management, the utilisation of cameras for number plate recognition and facial recognition in order to curb over speeding and traffic offences. The capacitation of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in order to apprehend and also deal with traffic offences. Legislation amendments that are taking place in order to ensure that our roads are safe. As the minister (Felix Mhona) has also highlighted that the Civil Protection Unit is being capacitated in order to deal with the challenges that we might not have been able to deal with as part of an architecture under the hall of government approach.”

Background statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police reveal a concerning trend. During the first six months of 2025, the country recorded 28 159 road traffic accidents, up from 25 968 in the same period last year. Fatal crashes also increased by 11% from 784 to 870, while road deaths rose by 4.9% from 1 037 to 1 088. The majority of accidents occur in known danger zones, often due to commuter congestion and erratic driving by public transport operators.

National

Chidzivo, Waison take top honors at Vic Falls Marathon

Published

3 weeks ago

July 7, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Blessing Waison and Fortunate Chidzivo took top honors at the 2025 Econet Victoria Falls Marathon yesterday, as Zimbabwean long-distance runners excelled at Africa’s most prestigious road race.

Econet General Manager – Marketing, Mrs Tariro Muchena (left), and Finance Director, Mr Chengeto Moyo, present the winner’s prize to men’s marathon champion, Blessing Waison, at the 2025 Econet Victoria Falls Marathon, while Victoria Falls Mayor, Mr Prince Moyo, looks on

The event, which featured athletes from over 40 countries, saw Waison storm to victory in the men’s full marathon, clocking 2 hours, 13 minutes, and 16 seconds. He narrowly beat decorated Olympian Isaac Mpofu in a thrilling duel that brought thousands of spectators to their feet.

Godwin Katakura followed closely in third, completing an all-Zimbabwean podium sweep in the 42.2km race. The trio’s success came with bigger rewards this year, after Econet Wireless doubled the total prize purse to $50,000.

Waison walked away with $3,000, while Mpofu and Katakura earned $2,000 and $1,500, respectively.

In the women’s marathon, Chidzivo delivered a commanding performance, clocking 2 hours and 42 minutes to claim another major title in her illustrious career. Ethel Pangiso and Phillipa Dube completed the women’s podium in second and third place, respectively.

Rising star Wayne Kabondo turned heads in the men’s 21km half marathon, overcoming a formidable field to finish in 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds. Kabondo pocketed $1,500 for his efforts.

In the women’s 21km race, Caroline Mhandu crossed the line in 1 hour, 17 minutes, and 50 seconds, ahead of Miriam Sibanda and Melody Kaseke.

The marathon’s inclusive spirit was evident in the 18km Specially Abled Races, which saw uplifting performances across different categories. Godknows Hamadziripi claimed the men’s tricycle title, while Samson Muroyiwa won the handcycle event.

Among the women, Stella Jongwe triumphed in the handcycle race, and Ratidzo Tomu took first position in the tricycle category.

Organized by Econet Wireless in partnership with Wild Horizons, the 2025 edition drew over 5,000 participants and spectators from more than 40 countries. The marathon route, widely regarded as Africa’s most scenic, winds through game reserves and offers spectacular views of the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls.

https://x.com/vic_falls_live/status/1941861569450725776?s=46

Beyond the races, this year’s event featured live music, traditional dance, health expos, and community wellness activities.