Mwenezi, Zimbabwe — The mighty Runde River, flowing like any other African waterway to the unknowing eye, hides more than just fish beneath its murky depths.
To locals of Mwenezi’s Ward 3, it is sacred. It is alive. And now, it has given back one of its own.
In an event that has left skeptics speechless and believers whispering prayers of gratitude, Rowai Chihwakwa, who vanished without a trace in the early 1980s at the age of eight, has returned—four decades later.
Yes, returned. Alive. From the river.
Locals speak in hushed tones of the dziva spirits—mermaids and mermen believed to dwell in sacred waters. But never before had the legend been this… real. Rowai’s reappearance followed a deeply spiritual retrieval process conducted by revered traditional healers from Chipinge and Zaka, long dismissed by many as frauds. But as the saying goes in Mwenezi, “the river never lies.”
Her family, once torn apart by accusations and grief, now find closure. The aunt who had been with Rowai on that fateful day has been vindicated. The community rejoiced. The impossible had happened.
But just as quickly, the mysterious story twisted once more.
Rowai, frail and unfamiliar with the world above water, was whisked away by the same traditional healers who claimed they needed to “reorient her to land life.” That was months ago. The wait stretched endlessly, and the excitement began to fade… until now.
A sacred hut is being built, brick by sacred brick, under the supervision of healers who say her public reemergence is imminent. Hope is surging once again in Mwenezi—and not without reason.
Shortly after Rowai’s return, another lost soul resurfaced—Timson Chikwerengwe, missing since 1992, reappeared two years ago. Like Rowai, he too was taken for “spiritual realignment.” And now, whispers are growing that a third return might be on the horizon—a missing person from Masvosva Dam, where the Pambe River meets the Runde.
The question gripping Mwenezi now is: Who’s next?
Chief Negari’s chieftaincy is fast becoming a beacon of ancestral power, as traditional leaders and spirit mediums gather in quiet ceremony, reigniting the very essence of African Traditional Religion (ATR) once dismissed as backward or even diabolic by the wave of Christian denominations sweeping across rural Zimbabwe.
But not everyone is buying it.
“This is a test of faith,” says Sabhuku Tengera, a local headman. “Those tied to traditional religion will go back. But those of us who’ve found the true path will remain steadfast.”
Yet others, like local resident from Chirimigwa Kudakwashe Ngwenya, see a coming spiritual revolution. “With these water beings returning, the churches won’t stand a chance. People want answers—and power.”
As belief and skepticism collide along the banks of the Runde, one thing is clear: Mwenezi is no longer just a district—it’s the frontline of a spiritual awakening.
By Chana CheMasvingo aka Johannes Mike Mupisa
johannesmikemupisa11@gmail.com | 0775125488
