44 years in cemetery, 3 000 graves dug

. . . tale of grave digger, unpaid benefits

EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD Romance Nyabvumba is one of the unsung heroes to emerge from Karoi, a farming district, about 192km northwest of Harare. The area is home to celebrities like the late internationally-acclaimed musician Mhosva Marasha affectionately known as Biggie Tembo and sungura ace Mitchel Jambo, among others.

In the sporting world, Karoi boasts of producing the late Themba Mtukura who once played for Caps United.

But it is the tale of Nyabvumba, also known as Nyerere, that will leave many with the conclusion that he could have his name inscribed in the country’s history books.

The octogenarian has been working in a cemetery in Karoi for 44 years and has dug more than 3 000 graves.

He has since retired, but is struggling to earn a living as the local authority is yet to pay his pension benefits.

“I am not afraid of corpses; I have spent four decades working in a cemetery. I saluted the deceased people as they embarked on their final journeys,” said Nyabvumba, who has been nicknamed Ward 4.

“Saluting the deceased is a way of respecting them. To me, these people are heroes who deserve our utmost respect.

NewsDay Weekender recently visited the pensioner at his residence in Chikangwe high-density popularly known as KwaJulius where he opened on his journey in the cemetery until he decided to take a rest.

The beautiful flowers around his yard gave the news crew assurance of life and hope, but that was the opposite as Nyabvumba, now frail looking, is a dejected man.

“My duty was to peg and dig graves. I ended being a popular undertaker with bereaved families often asking me for assistance, I enjoyed it, I knew I was contributing a lot to the community,” recalled Nyabvumba.

The father of five is now living with his three grandchildren.

His fate is anchored on non-payment of pension benefits from Karoi Town Council after working for the local authority for nearly 48 years.

Nyabvumba joined the then Hurungwe Rural Council workforce in June 1968 as a florist before turning his hand to digging graves.

He worked under 10 council secretaries, some too young to be his grandsons.

However, Karoi council omitted to remit part of his pension after retiring — a development that is worrying him day and night.

“Council is not being sincere with my case. I am yet to get my pension benefits. Council has been making several empty promises on when I will get my pension, but all is in vain,” he lamented.

The octogenarian revealed how the non-payment of his retirement benefits is affecting him mentally.

“I do not sleep at night; I can’t stop thinking that I worked for nothing all these years. The response I am getting from the council is not satisfactory. I am mentally not well,” Nyabvumba said.

The grave digger retired on March 13, 2013 and today he is still anticipating that his pension benefits will pop into his account.

Karoi Town Council acting chamber secretary Tongai Namusala admitted that Nyabvumba and other former employees are yet to get their pension benefits.

“If they have any query, advise them to visit the human resources department. As a council we contribute to the pension fund and the pension fund pays them, that is all,” Namusala said.

Nyabvumba’s fate is not isolated as some former workers died without getting a cent as part of their pension benefits from local authorities around the country.

Council workers’ pension is deducted and remitted to the Local Authorities Pension Fund.

Most pensioners are suffering in silence over poor payouts while others are battling to make ends meet soon after retiring.

Mary Audry Chard, executive director with Friendship Bench, an evidence-based intervention developed in Zimbabwe to bridge the mental health treatment gap, said affected traumatised communities rely on individuals that face the same fate of trauma.

‘‘Pensioners are dependent on social and family care to an extent that makes them vulnerable to abuse or neglect. We should look at mental health issues such as trauma from different angles and pensioners are prime victims,’’ Chard said.

‘‘Most of the pensioners feel rejected, abandoned and lonely. It becomes mental torture and traumatic.’’

Gamuchirai Chinamasa, a Systemic Family Counsellor and Child development psychology student, said trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event.

‘‘As for the elderly and pensioners, the older an individual gets, the more likely they experience a variety of traumatic experiences affecting their wellbeing.

‘‘The sense of hopelessness, lack of achievement or security for the future, especially when decades of hard work and sacrifice go unnoticed especially when paired with lack or remuneration,” Chinamasa said.

‘‘Trauma in older adults can easily be overlooked because family members and the community may think the symptoms are caused by ageing, cognitive decline, or social isolation. Some pensioners may find themselves affected by adjustment disorder and it is a response to a stressful event. This can result in sadness, tearfulness, hopelessness, excessive worry and nervousness and in some cases suicidal thoughts.”

Chinamasa noted that one may struggle to sleep and may experience fatigue and muscle pain.

Economist Prosper Chitambara said pensioners are living in distress.

‘‘Pensioners’ wellbeing is being fuelled by a high inflationary environment that has eroded real incomes including pension since it is hardly increased according to inflation and are worst affected,’’ Chitambara said.

‘‘There must be stability which will help preserve the value of pensions and any other income. My personal view is that we should attain low and stable inflation to address challenges being faced by vulnerable and marginalised groups, including pensioners.’’

Another economist Masimba Kuchera suggested that pensioners need a stable income to afford better healthcare.

‘‘There are some social issues, especially after building a good lifestyle that you need to maintain and failure to do so push you physiologically to trauma. Some pensioners may face dejection from wives and it becomes a traumatic experience. Poor pension payouts contribute a lot of unbalanced lifestyles in reality,’’ said Kuchera.

Insurance and Pension Commission (Ipec) public relations manager Lloyd Gumbo said there is need for assistance to aggrieved pensioners.

‘‘Ipec is the regulator for the insurance and pensions industry with the mandate to protect their rights and interests. If there are any private occupational pensioners who feel that they would have been unfairly treated by their pension funds or administrators, they can engage us for recourse,’’ he said in written responses.

As he gazes at his lavishly growing flowers in his yard, Nyabvumba, is afraid that one day he will return to the same cemetery, this time in a coffin, before he gets his benefits.

To the community he is a hero, but to the octogenarian, it is meaningless as he has nothing to show for it.