Legendary author, actor and producer, Aaron Chiundura Moyo, revelaed a touching gesture he recently received from a well-wisher.
He said on his social media pages: “I am really impressed by some people’s actions. In my hands I am holding my book “Ndabve Zera”, US$100, and a plastic bag with groceries, not FROM me but TO me. The giver refused to appear in this social media picture. He said to me: “Old man, I am not doing this to gain mileage. No! this is just to express my gratitude for your dramas on ZTV. I bought you an original copy of your books to give you as the author to accompany my small gift. I am not rich and you didn’t solicit for this gift but please accept my gift with your whole heart so that I feel like I have repaid my debt to you for your great works.”
Chiundura Moyo wrote a short message in appreciation to the mysterious benevolent man: “I don’t know where to start. I would have loved to reveal his name and his face. Anyway, I told him his gesture came when I was compiling notes for my memoirs and my biographical documentary. His name and his pictures will be featured because my book will tell the truth, how can I leave these important details. This is part of my memoirs and a good stroke of fortune.”
It is so easy for me to feel drawn to Aaron Chiundura Moyo. Like Oliver Mtukudzi. Like his younger brother Jonah Moyo of “Solo and Mutsai” fame. Jonah Moyo does not own ‘Solo na Mutsai.” Our parents did. And we grew up nourished musically by that song. If you want a very Zimbabwean song from the best years: this is the one.
Aaron Chiundura Moyo coined the one liner phrase on TV: “I am a gentleman, I tell the truth” or in shona: “Ini ndiri jendurumeni handivanzi.” He uses the expression to refer to his brother Jonah’s latest album and says: “Ini ndiri gentleman handivanzi, apa makabata basa Moyo” (“I am a gentleman, I tell the truth, you did a great job my brother).”
Moyo’s son Tatenda is also an Admin on his dad’s social media pages. It’s a hard to tell which one of the two wrote this quote. But when Jonah Moyo saw the quote he shared it on his pages and said: “Ukaona wanzi namukoma Aaron Chiundura Moyo wagona unenenge watobuda ziya kusvika kumakumbo chaiko but apa zvirokwazvo ndinoti haushaiwi yako.” (When my older brother Aaron Chiundura Moyo compliments you, he really means it buy this album, you will like at least one song).
Chiundura Moyo wrote and featured in some of the best dramas, wrote some of the best books and is a very quotable, credible source in literature. You couldn’t pass shona exams without reading his books carefully and answering questions based on those books. And yet reading his book was a thrilling experience, far from the chore it can be, to do something ‘compulsory,’ like getting infant injections or visiting a dentist. It didn’t hurt at all.
And yet, one recoils at these thoughts. As much as his novels were our compulsory exam set-books and his dramas were etched on our minds with the writer being the arch-villain (there was no better villain in all our dramas), he is still a stranger. I got to chat with him a lot more during Covid, even face to face.
In this confused state I write about a true great of our time, hesitant he will question all or at least some of my words. “Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts. Facts alone are wanted in life,” wrote Charles Dickens in his old book ‘Hard Times’ another set-book, but in English.
Chiundura Moyo’s fascination with facts, spelling, grammar and shona is befitting of his status. He might as well fear death, but not as much as he fears errors in his writings or his statements.
Chiundura Moyo is an award winning writer, actor and producer. But he deserves another award extraordinary for his services to the shona language. When he is gone he will be a legend. Here is a list of some of his works. He advises that in writing this list it may be best to mention just some, but not all, for such is the short attention span of today.
He summarises: “I am an Author, playwright, filmmaker, poet, actor for all of theatre, radio, screen and so on.” He adds as an afterthought: “I Also created Studio 263 series, Zimbabwe’s first soap opera.”
By age 40 classical music legend Beethoven was completely deaf. He still wrote ‘Symphony 9,’ his best work, in that state .After a decade of being deaf the musician performed the song with an orchestra and a choir on 7 May 1824. A certain Carol Unger turned the musician around to see the standing ovation and applause of the audience.
Aaron Chiundura Moyo is not deaf. But he is deaf to praise and does not flatter people in his lifetime pursuit for excellence in writing, reading, acting and producing.
As he reads these 2 paragraphs, he will be laughing at me incredulously and questioning my judgement.
True Zimbabwe’s artistic luminaries write for a limited global audience when writing in shona. They may have a smaller home grown audience in English also. So judging them on their net-worth would not reveal the true and whole picture. But this does not in any way reflect on their artistic success fairly and accurately.
Some can remember walking past Town House and picking up only one man in the rush hour crowd. That man was Aaron Chiundura Moyo, coming from or going to ZBC. They studied his set books. Those privileged with TVs at home in those days watched the drama series he wrote and then acted in as the ultimate arch-villain.“I wrote bools, novels, plays and short stories. These are ‘just” 19.”
Some of these are:
!) UCHANDIFUNGAWO,
2) ZIVA KWAWAKABVA
3) WAKANDICHEKA NERAKAGOMARA
4) NGUO DZEUSWA
5) YAIVE HONDO
6) CHEMERA MUDUNDUNDU
7) NDABVE ZERA’
8) CHINAKU CHINOBVA MUZEVEZEVE (all novels)
9) CHENGA OSE
10) WANDIBAYA PANYAMA NHETE
11) KURIDZA NGOMA NEDEMO
12) PANE NYAYA
13) KEREKE INOFA
14) CHABVONDOKA
(All plays in book form)
This year CHABVONDOKA is a form 3 set-book for next year’s examinations.
KURIDZA NGOMA NEDEMO is being studied for form 5 to be study text for next examinations.
I was involved in these TV Drama series:
1) Chiwoko Muhomwe
2) Ziva Kwawakabva
3) Madhunamutuna
4) Masimba
5) Zviri Mudendere Prt 1
6) Zevezeve
7) Zviri Mudendere Prt 2
8) Chihwerure/ Mafuro Manyoro
9) Tiri Parwendo
10) Pedyo Kure
*RUJEKO (film).
“I worked for Radio 2 now Radio Zimbabwe,” he says. He used to do dramatic reading of novels on radio as only he can.
He also did:
1) Several drama series (from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe)
2) Radio acting as well
3) Worked as a producer/presenter for 12 years, scripting, producing and doing other programmes eg: Kuyaruka, Mitambo Inobva Kuzvikwata Zvakasiyanasiyana, Muninga Dzepfungwa, Tsika Dzedu, Munhu Vanhu, Independence and Heroes programmes etc.
