By Thando Sithole

HE is the new bad boy in comedy.
He hails from Masvingo and his comedy is rich in ChiKaranga culture.
One can pick it up in the dialect of speech.
David Mubaiwa’s (Sabhuku Vharazipi) ChiKaranga dialect will never go away even if you bring him to Harare.
Sabhuku Vharazipi was introduced by a theatre group called Ziya Cultural Theatre Club based in Masvingo.
No wonder Sabhuku has that rich Karanga tone.
His comedies are set in the rural areas of Shashe and show the day-to-day life of rural folk at the height of drought in the area.
To date the theatre club has managed to produce two comedies based on this artificially bald man all titled Sabhuku Vharazipi.
The first comedy brought this bald headed headman to the limelight.
He caught the eye of the Culture Fund who gave him sponsorship to continue the chronicles of Sabhuku Vharazipi in the Shashe settlement area.
Sabhuku Vharazipi is roughly in his middle forties.
The headman is corrupt and a philanderer.
He is always flirting with the wife of his dead best friend, Mbuya Petunia.
Sabhuku Vharazipi wants to be famous; he is the only ‘celebrity’ in Shashe settlement.
He demands respect since he is the headman.
He wants to be the Alfa male in the village and will do anything to achieve the status.
The comedies bring out corruption and how some leaders abuse their leadership positions for their own personal gain.
Sabhuku Vharazipi does not distribute the grain rations fairly.
In the first comedy he plans to oust the widow from ‘his territory’ because she is a woman and has turned down his love proposal.
He abuses his power oppressing the less privileged.
All these social-ills are highlighted in a comical way.
At one point in the second comedy Sabhuku Vharazipi evades arrest by using juju and hilariously brags about its power.
The widow being harassed by Sabhuku Vharazipi knows that he is a good-for-nothing character and stands up to him becoming the voice of the voiceless in the community.
She gathers up courage to report the corrupt philanderer to the police but Vharazipi being Vharazipi he wriggles his way out of trouble somehow.
Again in a hilarious manner the scourge of corruption is highlighted as the policeman is bribed by Sabhuku Vharazipi.
The naughty behaviour and antics of Vharazipi make both comedies a worthwhile watch.
Names of characters in both productions superbly add to the comedy.
Vharazipi, suggests someone who relentlessly chases women and girls.
There is a girl by the name Svosvai, a name which suggests a highly seductive character.
Sabhuku Vharazipi is simply a great entertainer.
I hope Ziya Culture Theatre Club will give us more of Sabhuku Vharazipi’s tales.