The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter —
THE name Chris Siduna might not be familiar with those beyond the 40km radius of Zimpapers metro radio station Diamond FM frequency reach but the jovial presenter cum producer’s eloquence in the Ndau language has left many yearning for more after his weekly ‘Ngati bhuye bhuye’ show.
Every Tuesday on Diamond FM (103.8) at 12pm to 1pm, Siduna leaves listeners in stitches while at the same time imparting useful serious HIV and AIDS and other health related information.
For example, the recent previous ‘Ngati bhuye bhuye’ programme focused on the importance of knowing one’s HIV status and early access to Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) as outlined in the latest World Health Organisation 2015 guidelines.
While ‘Ngati bhuye bhuye’ focuses on real life serious issues, specifically health matters, Siduna has a rare aptitude to unpack such serious issues in jest as he serenades listeners with unmatched heavy Ndau accent that leaves a lasting impression.
Being a qualified journalist as well as counsellor that he is, Siduna exudes a deeper understanding of health issues and listening to him articulating health issues on radio for one good hour can be enough evidence for those who could doubt his abilities.
“I am so humbled when I meet people who are non Ndau telling me how they enjoy listening to my radio show done in Ndau. It makes me proud to be an ambassador for the language I dearly love and grew up speaking.
“It is not really about poking fun out of it but communicating effectively in a language that I fully understand and speak eloquently,” said Siduna.
That Ndau language is one of the official languages as espoused by the country’s supreme law only serves to make clear the importance radio programmes like ‘Ngati bhuye bhuye’ which seek to promote local languages.
Apart from the HIV and AIDS issues that he talked about in his recent previous show, Siduna discussed issues to do with all other matters of physical health.
Interestingly, interviewees on the ‘Ngati bhuye bhuye’ programme, Ndau or non Ndau, have never had challenges in grasping and responding to Siduna’s questions.
“I find it so gratifying that all the interviewees that I have engaged on my show ‘Ngati bhuye bhuye’ have never shown any difficulties in grasping the Ndau language.
“To me it shows how rich my language is effectively communicating all other people,” said Siduna.
