Tribute to Robert Malcolm Kavanagh Mshengu

On 27 November 2023, Robert Malcolm Kavanagh Mshengu celebrated his 10th wedding anniversary surrounded by those close and dear to him. The celebrations were in Marirangwe in the heart of Mhondoro. The sun shone brightest and hottest but there was going to be a party there. His bride was dashing in a white wedding dress and Mshengu himself fashionably dapper in a black suit, red shirt and tan lace-up shoes. His trademark Joza cap completed the look. He was calm and regal, ready and prepared for another important performance. I was nervous for the occasion but I trusted his demeanour and willed some of it to rub off on me.

After a lovely sermon from Bishop Dr. A Nyabanga, the couple renewed their vows and put on each other’s rings. The eating of cake was hilarious making for some moment of humour befitting a performing man. The light-hearted yet profound ritual was repeated by the pastor couples including the Bishop and his wife. Then came the speeches.

Family and friends were effusive in their commendations. The running theme was how Mshengu and his wife were of the people with the people. Reverend Amai  Maclaren did not just carry the Bible but was transforming lives teaching important life and living skills. A local lady said they could have had their anniversary in some leafy shindig in Harare or gone off to some unknown holiday destination beyond our borders. Yet in true Simon Chimbetu nostalgia, here they were, Kumarirangwe, vana sekuru varipo. Vana tete vamire nekoko, vachiti tsikira jiti.

When it was yours truly’s turn to say a few words, I recalled from my theatre memories of this great man. I started off by saying, Robert was the university lecturer I never had. I would have loved to be part of the UZ Theatre that gave us such phenomena like Mavambo, Samora Continua, Katsaa! and others I can not remember. How I would have loved to be a student with the likes of Professor Samuel Ravengai, mukoma Titus Moetsabi, sisi Chipo  Mashingaidze and others a little older than me like Rev Nicholas Mkaronda, Chirikure Chirikure, the late Ozias Tungwarara, Albert Nyathi. All these people are proud products of Robert McLaren at the famous University of Zimbabwe Theatre Arts Department, but I digress.

I spoke about Mshengu’s love for learning and education. The man loves books, writing them and reading them. He also loves Africa and its people regardless of colour, religion, race, sex or even age. Then he loved his work at the University of Zimbabwe. Embracing the challenge to lead the setting up of a theatre arts department, he teamed up with other like-minded lecturers and got down to work. He loved a university that was in tune with the challenges and aspirations of the community that birthed it. Anything to the contrary and that university becomes an academic white elephant, a relic centred on itself and therefore irrelevant to the people it ought to be serving. His vision for the university was to a large extent his wishful model for the newly independent nation of Zimbabwe.

Much later he becomes “Uncle Robert” as he is part of the team that sets up the Children’s Performing Arts Workshop (CHIPAWO). With passion, conviction and heartfelt commitment, his founder’s hand grows CHIPAWO into a colossal. There are so many successful people all over the world who will attest to the positive influence of CHIPAWO in their lives and chosen careers. Examples include the late Chioniso, actors Chipo Chung, Danai Gurira and many more. After a short but well-deserved break from the helm of CHIPAWO, Uncle Robert is back overseeing a new-age renaissance after a period of careless crisis. He is determined to get it right again.

Some of us are privileged to be invited into his inner sanctum. He is generous in sharing his wisdom, education, accomplishments, possessions, dreams, aspirations and even his vulnerabilities. He still remains a man in spite of and despite his accomplishments. Speaking more than 6 languages, world travelled and acknowledged, Robert Malcolm Kavanagh Mshengu confessed being “moved” by his wedding anniversary.