Tale of Epworth’s ‘inseparable twins’
THE story of the Kamunda twin brothers, Brighton and Brian, is interesting.
Now in their late 30s, the fraternal twins have mastered the art of attracting a lot of attention.
They still wear identical clothes. Apart from that, Brian and Brighton also cruise around in identical cars. They often use one car to and from work.
As if this is not enough, the two got married on the same day.
Brighton has three kids who are aged two, six and 12.
Interestingly, Brian also has three kids of the same ages as his twin brother’s.
Recently, The
Sunday Mail
Society sat down with the two, who enthusiastically shared their story.
Stories about the twins, who were born and bred in Epworth, are fascinating.
“If we can have things our way, we would like to die on the same day. Unfortunately, this is a decision that is beyond us,” said Brian, who is more talka- tive.
The twins first caught the nation’s attention in 2014, when they held a double wedding that attracted more than 1 500 people at the Hatfield Sports Club in Harare after three years of living together.
Their traditional lobola ceremony was in 2011. The wedding ceremony, which had six sets of twins as the bridesmaids and groomsmen, went viral on social media.
While statistics by the International Human and Marital Rights Organisation indicate that 70 percent of marriages between twins and non-twins collapse within three years from the day of nuptials, this has not been the case for Brighton and Brian.
Moreover, since the day they both tied the knot, the twins and their families have been inseparable.
To stay together, they renovated and moved into a house they inherited from their parents. Nine years later, the two families are still literally eating from the same pot.
Apart from the bedrooms, the twins’ families share every other part of the house.
“At first, our wives tried to separate us by creating conflicts. As brothers, we stood our ground and remained united. Eventually, our wives accepted the unusual setup,” Brian said.
The twins are devoted members of the Zion Christian Church.
Popularly known as “Team Bee” in their circles, their cars and other assets are branded that way. Brighton, a quantity surveyor, runs a construction company, while Brian is a businessman, who owns a chain of butcheries. Despite having different professions, the twins are still inseparable.
“We do everything as a single unit, as a family. Whatever we get, we use it as one family,” Brighton chipped in.
Loveness and Kudakwashe, who are married to Brighton and Brian, respectively, talked about their unsuccessful attempts to separate the twins.
“We faced challenges during the first days. For instance, when I discussed something that I wanted with my husband, we often agreed. However, after discussing the issue with his brother, that decision would be overturned,” Loveness said.
Added Loveness:“This happened to both of us (wives). No matter how much we tried to convince one brother in the absence of the other, we were always told to wait until the brothers discussed the issue.”
Kudakwashe now sees Loveness as her sister.
“I also tried to separate my husband from his brother, but failed dismally. In the end, I decided to embrace, rather than try to change them. Loveness is now more than a sister,” added Kudakwashe.
The wives, who are often seen wearing the same outfits, also go shopping together.
“We go shopping together and buy the same stuff because our husbands do not allow us to do different things. We have actually become twins as well,”Kudakwashe said.
Kudakwashe added that any twin present will take up the fatherly role and look after all the children.
According to Kudakwashe, getting married to a twin is a blessing. Loveness also feels, the twins’ bond is very strong. If one twin arrives home early, he will only go to bed after his brother is home.
Brian said their upbringing has kept them together.
“Our upbringing was tough. We do not know our father. Our mother died when we were in Grade Three. This background brings us together,” he said.
Brought up by their grandmother, who died when they were still in their teens, the twins then forged an alliance to take care of each other.
Statistics show that chances of twins giving birth to twins are slim.
For the Kamunda twins, this theory seems to be true. Both brothers have not yet been blessed with sets of twins.
Philanthropists in their own right, the Kamunda brothers joined hands with 10 twin pairs and formed the Twin Life Association (TLA).
TLA assists twins that are in need of school fees, food and other basic needs.
To date, the association has since grown to having over 50 twin-pair members around Harare. In Epworth, the twins are well-known and much-loved.
Recently, they celebrated their 36th birthday amid pomp and fanfare.
The birthday celebrations turned into a musical gig, with Epworth-based artistes Ghetto Defender, Chipoko ChaSauro and DJs Selector E-Man and Tafman performing DJ for free.