Big Charlie

help from Hwange Colliery here and there in terms of food. I wear shoe size 22 which is not locally available, there is no mold for such a size and I have been getting help from the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe who have been bringing them from America. There are evangelists who come every year and they bring shoes for me.

“When I approached a local shoe making company, they said they had a mold up to size 15 and could not go bigger owing to the market. They could not make a mold that big for one customer,” he said.

The last time he weighed Big Charlie was 288kg although he says it rises and fluctuates giving him more problems.

“My challenge is that the body is too heavy for me and while I was a refuse loader, I injured my back over the years. I used a small shovel while I was working so I can no longer stand up properly. The weight of my body has also affected my knees as they cannot support it. I also have diabetes sores under my feet and I need medication for that. I received a donation of hypertension and diabetes medicines from one organisation but if it runs out then I’m back to square one,” he lamented.

Big Charlie says he can no longer get into the Central Business District as his vehicle, a Toyota Bongo, has no wheels making it impossible for him to navigate the town he grew up in.

“The late Chief Hwanges’ son usually takes me in his car and we just drive around and do a few errands. If I get a set of wheels for this car then I can drive, be mobile again and see places and people,” he said.

Big Charlie’s love life remains a mystery with some saying he never married nor had children, while he was elusive about the subject and did not answer satisfactorily when asked about the existence of a family.