By Problem Masau
Celebrated author Charles Mungoshi, who suffered a stroke in 2010, is on the mend. An agile Mungoshi could be seen walking around his yard after attending a service conducted by members of his church — Tabernacle of Grace — at his Chitungwiza home yesterday.
“For the past few months I have been recovering well and I feel better,” he said. His wife, Jesesi, said it was a great improvement to his previous condition after he fell into a coma sometime in 2010.
“My husband is recovering well, as you can see he is healthy and we are just waiting for him to speak fluently and I have faith that he will soon be able to stand in front of the crowd and deliver a speech like what he used to do.
“There was a funeral here last week and mourners were surprised to see him mixing and mingling with them. He would stay with other men outside until late hours,” an elated Jesesi said.
She said her husband has been exercising and reading books during his spare time. “Now he can sit on his desk and read books. He just loves reading and exercising,” she said.
Born in 1947, the award-winning author’s works include short stories and novels in both Shona and English. He also writes poems, but at one time described it as a “mere finger exercise”. He has several publications including anti-colonial writings and children’s books.
The awards he has won include the Noma Award in 1992 and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region) twice in the years 1988 and 1998. Two of his novels, one in Shona and the other in English, both published in 1975, won the International PEN Awards.
He holds an honorary degree from the University of Zimbabwe. Mungoshi took part in some drama series in the late 80s to early 90s, and played a role in a local drama “Ndabvezera,” which was produced by Aaron Chiundura Moyo.
His first Shona novel “Makunun’unu Maodzamoyo,” was followed by the English short collection “Some Kinds of Wounds,” which was banned by the colonial regime. His other Shona novel, “Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura,” won several awards and his play “Ingongova Njakenjake” showed his versatility as a writer.
In 2004, Mungoshi made history by scooping seven awards at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair Africa’s 75 Best Books Awards.
The books are “Ndiko Kupindana KwaMazuva,” “Waiting for The Rain,” “Walking Still,” “Coming of the Dry Season,” “One Day Long Ago,” “Inongova Njake Njake,” and “Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura.”
