Dr Mutanga, a comrade we will all live to remember

 By Robert Zvidza

The sad news of his death descended on me and rest of The Outpost crew with a piercing pain of an injection needle. I was away in Vhumba, Manicaland Province shooting a crime action movie –Vicious Circle. I recalled vividly his last call on my phone the previous day, which came exactly at 10:09 on 10 April 2021.

“Zvii (that’s how he used to address me)...mazuvano unongonditsvaga kana wakuda article yako chete,” he said bursting into that laughter that made him a larger than life character- always bubbly. In reality, it had been a while since we had last talked over the phone and felt a twinge of guilt. But when I explained to him that I was out of town, he understood it as he always believed in my passion for filming, journalism and television production.

In his phone call, he was asking for directions to Aqua View - a police facility at Lake Chivero – where he intended to spend the day with his wife and kids.

He loved the ZRP having been born and bred within its precincts –Tomlinson Depot - where his father –Ex-Assistant Inspector John Mutanga-used to stay during his service in the police.

I directed him to the facility. He later spent that day with his family and unfortunately met his demise on his way back home.

When I learnt of his unfortunate accident, I felt like I had directed him to his deathbed and that our phone call was like his goodbye message to me.

I was devastated and the Vicious Circle cast and crew shared their sorrow with me as I repeatedly went over our conversation recorded on my cell phone.

That was Dr Andrew Mutanga’s character; he would touch everyone’s life in different ways. To The Outpost crew, he was a fellow writer, to the readers; he gave that comprehensive advice and awareness on livestock which he shared unconditionally to all who would call him. To his family and relatives, he was a loving son, father, uncle, brother and a pillar of strength. And to his friends and fellow patrons at his favourite joints, he was a free-spirited socialite who loved fun and workmates- a hard worker and an ocean of knowledge.

Our friendship had grown over the years ever since Editor; The Outpost approved him as a columnist for the magazine in 2014. We had become more of brothers than friends and would visit each other at our homes. I remember having several barbecue outings at his place and he would also visit my place for musoro wembudzi nemakumbo acho.

On several occasions we would hangout at PPU Officers Mess or The Centurion at Harare Sports Club where we used to watch English Premier League Matches (we were both Manchester United die-hards)

All that is a thing of the past as Dr Mutanga was taken away from us tragically at a tender age of 36, in that unfortunate horror crash at Kuwadzana Extension turn –off.

His vehicle- Mazda Excella was side swiped by another vehicle that was trying to get into the highway from Kuwadzana Extension and he parked safely and disembarked to assess the damage to his car. As he was assessing the damage on his vehicle which was minor though, a UD truck came and crushed into him and his vehicle and was dragged and was thrown into a nearby maize field. In such a painful manner on 11 April 2021 and precisely at 0130hrs at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Dr Mutanga was taken away from us. To make matters worse, his wife and three children were with him and survived the horror crush with minor injuries.

I was part of the people who gathered to pay their last respect to the veterinary doctor at his last resting place in Chinyoka Village, Chief Dotito, Mt Darwin. He was indeed a person loved by all around him. His friends, workmates, relatives, fellow patrons including religious leaders spoke glowingly of his loving character and persona.

He was a young man who had a bright future ahead of him which was promising.

“I am devastated,” said his father Mr Mutanga on the sidelines of his burial site.

“My pillar of strength has been taken away. If I had been asked to choose who to take among the Mutangas, I would not have chosen Andrew, probably I would have given up myself in his place because I have lived my life and he needed to live his own life too...” he said.

Dr Mutanga was a graduate of Bradley High School in 2003 and received his Bachelor of Veterinary Science Degree from University of Zimbabwe in 2010. He had other post-graduate qualifications in Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluations. At the time of his death he was pursuing Masters’ degree in Public Health (MPH) and Business Administration (MBA).

He worked as an associate veterinarian at Highlands Veterinary Surgery from 2010 to 2015. He was employed by Heifer International Zimbabwe as an Animal well-being Livestock Technical Advisor from 2015 up to the time of his death. He was also Livestock Advisor for the EXTRA Project under the FAO managed livelihoods and Food Security Programme and also worked with the Technical Advisory Team for Review of the World Bank Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Plan (CSAIP-Zimbabwe)

His interest included family and friends gatherings. He devoted much of his time providing animal health and livestock awareness activities through writing articles for the ZRP and social media platforms.

As I write this obituary, we draw a lot of lessons from his life –despite his education he remained humble and socialised with everyone yet he kept increasing his knowledge through education. He was always there to share his knowledge with everyone at no cost. Indeed a candle does not lose its lustre by lighting another. He was in love with his family which he sacrificed nice times with. Family is the reason why we toil day and night as such let’s enjoy together with them. Instead of being strangers to our wives and children, lets bond and become bosom friends.

Dr Mutanga is survived by his wife Avalone Mutanga nee Gwaze, his two sons Denzel (9) and Drew (6) and Daughter Savanna (2). May his soul rest in peace.