Death Throes
By Charles Samupindi
Mambo Press (1990)
ISBN: 0 86922 480 5

ONE cannot talk about the First Chimurenga and fail to recognise the role played by spirit mediums such as Mbuya Nehanda.
It is befitting that for the role she played, she is given a place in the country’s history books; hence Charles Samupindi penned the book Death Throes.
In the book, the author takes the reader through the capture, trial and hanging of Mbuya Nehanda.
When the first white settlers arrived in Zimbabwe in 1890 taking over the land they underestimated the strength and determination of the locals to defend their heritage.
Having realised the pivotal role Mbuya Nehanda played in the uprising against the white man, the settlers hunted her.
Through the book, Samupindi explores how Mbuya Nehanda was brutally treated by the settler regime during her capture and trial.
It is worth noting that this is a story of the great ancestor of Zimbabwe, Mbuya wema Shona as Samupindi describes her hence the author, a Zimbabwean has the authority to write about her.
Unlike the numerous Rhodesian writers, that do not fully appreciate the role of Mbuya Nehanda in the struggle and portray her as a villain, Samupindi brings to us Mbuya Nehanda the heroine as she truly was.
With the help of facts gathered from the National Archives the writer recreates the capture, trial and hanging of Mbuya Nehanda.
It was on Wednesday, October 18 in 1897 when Mbuya Nehanda was arrested accused of the murder of the Native Commissioner Pollard.
She was arrested together with Zindoga, who was Pollard’s kitchen boy, Gutsa the hunter and Hwata.
The four were tortured by the police officers but this did not dampen their spirits.
“The flesh, bones and blood had gone over of mortality. But the spirit hung on,” writes Samupindi.
“Her captors might not have realised how impossible it was to defeat the spirit that believes.
“Made so lethal and invincible because belief cannot be altered by appeal to logic.”
Samupindi recreates the court sessions painting a picture of how Mbuya Nehanda remained determined and committed to the struggle till the end.
“I told my people to stand their ground against these foreigners who were snatching away their land, cattle and their heritage- plundering and routing in the process,” writes Samupindi quoting Mbuya Nehanda during her trial.
“But I warn you! I warn you oppressor that these bones will one day rise and wage a thunderous war to reclaim their heritage.”
True to her commitment to her struggle, Mbuya Nehanda is said to have cried during her trial and these were not tears of self pity but that of her people, ‘a people she had in vain tried to lead to resist subjugation’.
Not deterred by the torture,the four were not ashamed of what they were accused of instead to them it was victory as the killing of Pollard was a step towards freeing the locals.
Mbuya Nehanda, according to Samupindi argues that it was not murder rather they were defending themselves from a man who was ill treating them.
Samupindi also highlights how before and after coming to Zimbabwe the settlers viewed the locals as lesser human beings.
“The argument was whether these ominous things before him were human beings or apes,” writes Samupindi quoting Bayley the magistrate trying the Mbuya Nehanda case.
“Were they to be accorded human status or were they to be placed on the same level as chimpanzees and monkeys whose only value was to grace the museums along Downing Street.”
Bayley’s sentiments reflect the foolish thoughts the white man had when they came to Africa thinking they had dominion over the owners of the land.
It was such warped thinking that irked not only Mbuya Nehanda, but also the thousands who did not rest till the country was free from colonial bondage.
The author concludes the book with the obituary written by the surgeon who certified that Mbuya Nehanda was indeed dead after being hanged.
Just like the surgeon and his fellow white man who thought that by killing Mbuya Nehanda the uprisings and resistance from the locals would end.
Little did they know that her spirit would live on and her words, ‘my bones shall rise’ would come true and inspire thousands of Zimbabweans to take up arms and fight for the independence of their country.