By Kelvin Kasiwulaya
In a bizarre incident that has sent moral shockwaves in Gweru’s Mtapa high-density suburb, a former police officer who is suspected to be mentally deranged roasted and ate a male dog before being reprimanded by fellow residents to stop the feeding misdemeanor.
Tendai Gwenhamo (32) of Section 2 Mtapa picked up a dog that was hit by a motorist along the City -Ascot road. Gwenhamo packed the dog carcass in a sack later to be seen by fellow residents at ‘KumaGarage’ braaing the dog.
This reporter managed to catch up with Gwenhamo whose sobriquet is ‘Boss Tindo”, he confirmed the incident and narrated the ordeal.
Before chronicling his story, Boss Tindo solicited a Pacific Storm cigarette, a Pepsi drink and a ‘Saints’ illicit brew from this reporter. The solicit bid was however granted with inquisitive speed.
“Wangu imbwa yakadyiwa, but kaiva kaexperiment, I did not kill the dog, it was already dead, and it was hit by a car near Mtapa market. The dog was meaty and strong and this prompted me to carry it home.
Firstly I removed the offal parts of the dog and then placed it on a burning fire to remove fur from the hide, fat started to drop from the carcass. That’s when I realized that this was a good meal. As I began to cut the dog meat, people started to gather around me telling me to stop, but I refused because it was my meat, I then took the dog inside the house and ate the hind (thighs and back) and left the other parts in the house.
Boss Tindo noted that there was nothing wrong with eating dogs, in fact, people continue to suffer looking for relish while dogs continue to roam around the streets.
“Vanhu varikushaiwa usavi imbwa dzakazara kudai kkkk (he laughed) that’s why most Zimbabweans starve, they are too choosy, dog meat is edible,” he eloquently argued.
As if to argue from a logical dimension, Boss Tindo proffered a cultural dichotomy that exists between those that eat dog meat and those who do not.
“Eating dogs is a taboo to you (referring to this reporter). But how amusing it is that we want to impose our taboos on others, and yet we are not aware that so many foods we eat are taboo to other people but they never come to our doors raising banners commanding us to stop eating,” he vehemently argued.
To corroborate Boss Tindo’s story Ishmael Gumbo who works at the “Magarage” area noted that he even tried to stop Gwenhamo from the misdemeanor but he was too persistent on the move.
“It’s not the first time that he has done this, sometime last year we found him roasting a dog and we admonished him against the act, he later buried the dog at his house, and this time around we tried to stop him, but he ate the dog meat in front of everyone to see, he even bragged saying “inodyika iyi”, “inodyika iyi”.
A former classmate of Gwenhamo, Mrs Pricilla Chidzoyi who works at Mtapa Shopping Centre as a vendor said Boss Tindo was brilliant in class when they schooled together at St Michaels Primary, however, she is now rather shocked that her former classmate eats dogs.
“I am rather perplexed that Tendai is behaving this way, he was top of our class at St Michaels, I hear he later passed his ‘O’ level and proceeded to become a police officer in Bulawayo, however when he came back to Mtapa, he seemed mentally unstable but I never thought he would go on to eat dogs.
“Tindo is a landlord in Mtapa section 2, he actually collects rent from his tenants, he inherited the house from his mother who passed on 2 years ago,” she said
Incidents of bizarre feeding patterns are not foreign to Mtapa residents, in a related incident another mentally deranged man who prowls the Magadge area of Mtapa also ate a cat.
Popularly known as “Shuto”, the mentally deranged man, late last month stoned a cat to death and cooked the meat in disused paint tin before eating the whole carcass.
Shuto is sly and violent he even ascents to the top tower light shouting at the top of his voice, an interview with this man was a mammoth task that could not be achieved.
It is not illegal to eat cat and dog meat in Zimbabwe, rather it is a taboo and such a practice is not part of the nation’s food culture.
That apart, the Bantu do not eat dog flesh probably because dogs have a much more important utilitarian hunting and security value than as part of a family’s menu.
Another reason could be that dogs generally become more emotionally attached to their owners than any other domestic animals. It is most unlikely that many of us would very happily slaughter our dogs for a meal or for a Christmas party.
Also, consuming dog meat has the potential to cause bacterial infections such as Salmonella, Anthrax and hepatitis. In addition, dog meat can increase the risk of bacterial infection by up to 20 times. According to research by Radboud University Medical Center, rabies can be transmitted by eating dog meat. #The Sun
