The ManicaPost
Freedom Mutanda
SIZE Peyani Madakudya Mhlaba Mhlanga is no more. He died on January 31, having been born in August 1914.
He was buried at Chipinge cemetery at a funeral attended by hundreds of mourners. His was a life well lived and the tributes to the family man bear testimony to how his being a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses made his life wholesome and fulfilling.
Sekuru Mhlaba, as he was affectionately known, had 15 children; 12 are still alive. He had 100 grandchildren; 85 are still alive. His great-grandchildren are quite numerous.
He is survived by his wife, Lucy Mhlanga nee Munokwa. She has been a pillar of strength for more than half a century and even when his health failed, she was right there for him.
Dennis Mhlaba, his son, said his father had always imparted some Bible based teachings to his family.
‘’In the 1960s, my father had a meeting with Thembani Wilton Mutanda and the two had a fruitful relationship in terms of studying the Bible together. That culminated in his baptism in 1974. He urged us to keep serving Jehovah wholeheartedly and have love for one another,’’ he said.
Many fathers find it difficult to take care of their large families, but Size Mhlanga did everything in his power to fend for his family with good results coming his way.
‘’It is unbelievable that he brought up a large family in difficult circumstances and made sure that everyone went to school with the result that most of his children acquired professional courses. In return, his children bought a house for him in Chipinge that would make it easy for him to access medication since he was becoming increasingly frail,’’ said Dennis Mhlaba.
Size Peyani Mhlanga was a smiling man and very happy to associate with his daughters- in- law. One of them, Catherine Tsitsi Mhlaba, said her relationship with her father-in-law was more than a friend would need.
“He called me Amai and I would call him my first born son. He embraced me into his big family and treated me like his very own daughter. He told me to be ever loyal to Jehovah and never to look back. He told me to stand firm and keep preaching the good news,’’ she said.
Clement Mhlaba, an Agriculture expert, said he derived his penchant for farming from his father.
‘’He was a hard worker whose moniker, Madakudya, came from his being a hurudza. He went to South Africa to work, but never forgot to inculcate in us a passion for hard work,’’ he said.
In spite of his failing health, Size Mhlanga was a regular preacher.
