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Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi and his followers

Feature Freedom Mupanedemo
DEFE Dopota area in Gokwe South in the Midlands Province is viewed by most locals as one of the remotest and underdeveloped areas in the country. Nature and geomorphology have combined to exhibit an exhausted and ugly side of the area. Defe Dopota is situated on the precincts of the district, and fringes of Chirisa Game Park, further north of Gokwe Town.

A rugged terrain, sticky soils and hot temperatures, makes Defe Dopota, perhaps, the last place in the world that a tourist or neutral traveller would want to visit. Today, the area boasts of a clinic, schools, well-built modern houses and a state-of-the-art church that serves as ZCC’s headquarters and shrine.

The Zion Christian Church led by Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi has defied logic and settled in Defe Dopota turning the remote area into one of the most breathtaking locales in Gokwe South District. The place, which also serves as its shrine, is fast developing into a “small town,” thanks to the ZCC leadership.

To Bishop Mutendi’s followers, Defe Dopota is a complete town albeit one without a municipality. The bishop is son to the late church founder, Reverend Samuel Mutendi. “It’s home away from home. We’re here every year to receive blessings from our church spiritual leaders. We pray for good health, good jobs and our country’s prosperity. This place has been our shrine since the late 60s when our founding leader, Baba Samuel Mutendi, was forced out of his home area in Bikita to settle here by his detractors and the Rhodesian government,” said a middle-aged woman at Gokwe Town who identified herself as MaDube.

Today President Mugabe has rewarded the church for its unyielding stance in promoting indigenous values by giving them vast land and appointing Jethro Mutendi as chief last year.

Ever since Chief Mutendi ascended to the throne, the area has witnessed rapid growth and development. It has turned into an oasis of hope in a district that has been experiencing erratic rains ever since the fall of cotton prices on the world market. Engineer Pesanai Mombe, who is also a ZCC elder, said the church’s works in Defe Dopota was testimony that indigenous churches could also help develop their country.

“President Mugabe handed over vast land to the church last year. We’re really grateful to His Excellency for the trust he has in the church and our leader, Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi. To show his gratitude to the President for honouring the Mutendi family and the ZCC in Zimbabwe, Bishop Mutendi is developing Defe into a modern town. This is work that we’re undertaking as a church and the community,” he said.

Eng Mombe who is based at Defe said the church has completed the construction of a huge dam which will be the main source of water for Defe “town”. He said they were servicing roads while allocating stands to church members and other villagers who are willing to own houses in Defe Dopota. “Defe is a town in the making. By December this year we hope the road network will be complete and everything to help turn this place into a town will be in place,” he said.

Unlike Gokwe Town where government with the help of the local authority have committed resources towards infrastructural development, the story of Defe’s growth is an intriguing one. Then an inhabitable, malaria-infested area, Defe today has a fair road network, shops, houses that qualify to be city mansions, street lights, a huge dam and lodges for visitors thanks to the Zion Christian Church.

Zion pilgrims have for decades travelled from all over the country, southern Africa and overseas to Defe Dopota annually for a special annual gathering at the shrine. There is a spirit of oneness in Defe Dopota that is mainly anchored in the area’s religious history.

ZCC founder, Rev Samuel Mutendi, who died in 1976 under mysterious circumstances, is buried in Defe Dopota. The shrine has been given a facelift and is now a marvel to the eye. Rev Samuel Mutendi was born in 1880 as Mutendeziso from which the surname Mutendi was later derived. His life and death has remained a mystery to this day.

After branching left from the highway, a motorist drives for about 15km on a smooth dust road to the Defe shrine. The dust road is well-maintained to an extent that the only noticeable difference with a motorist driving on the tarred road is the cloud of dust that whirls up as one drives on the smooth surface.

Just before the boom gate leading into Defe shrine there is a huge dam whose wall appears new. The big dam, which has plenty of water, gleefully shows its thirstiness for more. To the eastern side of the dam are stylish stand-alone thatched lodges, perched on the hilltop, giving an aerial view to guests of the dam and the shrine itself.

Upon getting a pass into the shrine, you are greeted with a huge open structure, the Zion pilgrims’ temple, the first imposing super structure. Rev Samuel’s grave is seated on a one-hectare brick-walled piece of land with mansions said to belong to Nehemiah’s four wives circling the grave. The shrine is guarded 24 hours. Only a few people are allowed inside the shrine but not before a long “consulting” prayer is conducted. Visitors to the shrine also need the instruction and permission of Bishop Mutendi to gain access to the shrine.

Elegant mansions are built haphazardly around the shine. More linear houses and lodges stretching for a distance exceeding 2km are under construction outside the shrine. To the northern side is a state-of-the-art 14-bed clinic. The church is now in the process of recruiting more nurses. An office belonging to a non-governmental organisation that offers counselling is open to deal with individuals who need counselling.

There are grocery shops further to the west of the shrine. Engineers responsible for the development of this “town” are busy on the ground laying sewer pipes as well as servicing the roads. Along the river that forms the Defe dam is a kilometre-long banana orchard and some thriving vegetable gardens run by the church.

Chief Nemangwe who shares a border with Defe Dopota, said his subjects were now flocking to Defe in search of jobs as well as buying vegetables for re-sale at Gokwe Town. He said the development of Defe Dopota will help create more jobs in the future. “There’s a lot of construction taking place in Defe Dopota and people are going there seeking employment. In the near future we’re confident that Defe will be a fully-fledged town employing many of our people,” he said.

Memory Matongo, a villager in Defe said she was happy with the developments taking place at Defe Dopota. “This area used to be very remote but all that is a thing of the past. Defe has developed tremendously and very soon we will no longer be travelling to Gokwe Town. The place will be a town soon once the church authorities start building shopping malls and when other businesses come in,” she said.

If government efforts to restore the cotton crop’s top price on the market succeed, the growth of Defe Dopota and surrounding areas in the two Gokwe districts will become a reality. Gokwe South and North are among the biggest cotton growing districts in the country.