CHIBHORANI TALK
WITH SEKURU TAURAI

Welcome to Father’s Day 2023 which is just around the corner, a day set aside for everyone to honour and celebrate their fathers. Don’t tell me you don’t have a father. As we all know, everyone has a father although some may not know theirs while some fathers have gone where there is no return. Now there are good fathers and bad fathers. As for a bad father there may not be much to celebrate about except that he is the one partly responsible for bringing you into the world. A good daddy loves and cares for his family. He works very laboriously to provide for children and wife without forgetting their moral upbringing, vana vakure vaine hunhu. He is the first hero in the family with the wife being the heroine of course.
The million dollar question now is; is this the picture of a good father we are seeing here in Chibhoraniland? I am sure you will agree with me that you are beginning to see a lot of bad, bad fathers around and countrywide. There are fathers who make babies but refuse to take responsibility of pregnancies leaving the born child to be cared for by the struggling mother as a single parent. There are numerous fathers who abuse or mistreat their own children. They will not hesitate to give away underage daughters in marriage either on the basis of their religion or just for the money. Heartless fathers have been known to rape their own babies even as young as two years or less or other people’s young children. Other fathers are abducting children on their way to school for their own selfish purposes. As you know in our Chibhoraniland culture when you become a father you are a father not only to your own child but to all the children in the community and should therefore treat them as your own. Of course not mistreating them because you mistreat yours. Some fathers have killed their own babies while battering their wives. When you beat your wife you traumatize the children as sung by O. Mutukudzi in his hit song Tozeza baba. No child will celebrate such a fathers on Father’s Day. Actually the day will bring sad memories of a difficult childhood that was characterised by a difficult father not worthy the title of father. May Father’s Day motivate all fathers to be true fathers not just to their own children but to all the children of Chibhoraniland. Then and only then can they be honoured and celebrated by children and spouses as well. Having a Mother’s Day too hopefully one day we are going to have a Children’s Day giving parents time to honour and celebrate their offsprings.