A SOMBRE mood engulfed the Bwanya residence in Chitungwiza as the family mourned the death of five-year old Andrea Gada, their grand-daughter who died after being struck by a car while walking home from school with her father Wellington in Eastbourne, East Sussex on December 16 2014.
They say time is the best healer, but this has not been the case for the Bwanya family who have not yet found closure as they are being denied the chance to ‘send off’ their grandchild.
Stephen and Grace Bwanya are parents to Charity who is Andrea’s mother.
A month has passed and the Bwanyas have tried in vain to apply for visas to travel to the United Kingdom to be with their daughter in this time as is customary in the Shona culture.
However, they have found themselves denied visas over and over again.
“I am at pains with the decision by the British officials who are denying us the chance to mourn our grandchild and comfort our daughter,” said Stephen Bwanya in an interview with The Patriot.
“All I want to do is to pay my last respects to my grand-daughter.
“I feel powerless, my hands are tied I cannot do anything to help the situation except to hope that the authorities grant us the permission to be with our daughter during this trying time.”
The family’s applications were turned down on the basis that they did not have any assets and would use the funeral as an excuse not to come back to Zimbabwe.
This was despite the local Liberal Democrat MP, Stephen Lloyd, offering to personally guarantee that the relatives would leave the UK when required.
“They say we do not have assets here in Zimbabwe and a substantial amount of money in any account hence they suspect we will not have any reason to come back home after the funeral,” Bwanya said.
“I used to work for a local beverage company and after my retirement the bank that used to hold my account collapsed and since then I did not open another account.
“The authorities should know I have lived all my life in Zimbabwe and my other four children are here with me and they are the reason I will come back home after the funeral.”
Having persecuted the Zimbabwean Government for not being democratic and violating human rights, it is hypocritical for the British to deny the Bwanyas the right to mourn their grandchild.
While the English culture often leaves the aggrieved to grieve alone, the Shona culture dictates that one finds solace in other members of the family.
“Charity is still young and this is the first experience of losing a child and it is only prudent that she has someone close to her to comfort her and help her go through this phase,” said Charity’s mother, Grace who was almost in tears.
“We only saw Andrea once last year in August in South Africa and in December we received the sad news that she had passed away.”
The late Andrea’s parents moved to the UK in 2000 at the height of the Land Reform Programme.
Charity and Wellington were granted asylum and joined other thousands of Zimbabweans who were ‘encouraged’ by the opposition MDC and its handlers to deem Zimbabwe an unsafe place to stay. Because the British wanted to reinforce the perception that President Mugabe was autocratic, they granted the applicants asylum.
The two had joined the bandwagon of Zimbabweans who left the country having felt the pressures of the economic challenges that had been worsened by the illegal sanctions imposed on the country by Britain and her allies.
Like any asylum seeker, Charity and Wellington cannot come back to Zimbabwe.
Wellington is studying finance and accountancy while Charity is training to be a nurse.
There are striking similarities in the Bwanya narration and the Chipfupa family.
‘Renowned’ Zimbabwean film maker Tapiwa Chipfupa has been trying to go to be with her family or have her family return for the last 14 years.
Unfortunately Mr Chipfupa, a farm manager, opposed the Land Reform Programme under the guise he too and his family were being persecuted and for reasons unknown Tapiwa was left behind.
The British government has refused to reunite the family for reasons best known to them.
Back to the Bwanya’s, Monalisa, Andrea’s aunt who was also denied a visa said it would mean a lot to the family if they could travel and be with their sister.
“We are willing even to report to the police daily or even wear monitoring devices during our stay as long as we get the chance to mourn together as a family,” she said.
As the family continues to mourn and hope for the approval of their visa applications, the British should be aware that they are victims of something they created.
The quote from the famous poem by Walter Scott describes the situation the British find themselves in.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”