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…. talking about Mr Andrew Magwaza and his wife, Keresiya, of Harare’s Epworth suburb, who, after 63 years of marriage, are still very much in love.

Sir Hugh went on to say: “This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvellous thing it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident.”

When the two fell in love in 1947, Mr Magwaza was 20 years old and his wife only 17. Now 83 and 80 years old respectively, the two still “only have eyes for each other”.
They celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary at Epworth Methodist Church last weekend to further cement the “match made in Heaven”.
“I still feel for him what I felt when we first met back then,” said Mrs Magwaza, as her husband relished being the object of his madame’s affection.

As Sir Hugh put it, the couple’s meeting was indeed a discovery of each other. They both lived in the same village in Chikwaka at the time.
They were, however, oblivious to the life-transforming moment their coming together would present. By his own admission, Mr Magwaza was a real charmer, a favourite among the ladies.
It had to take a stunning figure in the mould of young Keresiya to terminate his pastime as a love broadcaster.

“I had several other girlfriends. When we started seeing each other, I quickly got rid of the others one by one. Her beauty, both inner and outer, is what caught my eye,” he said, smiling.
According to him, lovebirds in his day exchanged necklaces or beads as testimony of their love for one another.
So, because he had several girlfriends, it also meant he had several necklaces.
“I just called the other girls one by one and asked them to pick their necklaces from a small box that I kept in my room. That was the end for them.
“Only Keresiya’s remained in that box,” he added before bursting into laughter. That marked the beginning of a long love story. The two were blessed with 12 children — seven of them girls — and have been blessed to see their grandchildren’s grandchildren.
They tied the knot at Epworth Methodist Church in 1969 and neither of them has any regrets. The fact that they used the same venue for their wedding anniversary took many of those in attendance 42 years back.

The ceremony was more romantic and special this time around, as even their great-greatgreat-grandchildren were there to witness a chapter of the couple’s great love story being written.
“We didn’t like the idea at first, but I surely enjoyed myself on the day!” said Mr Magwaza of the anniversary.
“The wedding took us back down memory lane and we appreciate all our children’s efforts to make the day a memorable one. Fellow parishioners at our church are still showering us with praises.”

The couple admits the long journey has “not been smooth sailing”. Mrs Magwaza said their marriage has, however, remained unchanged it keeps evolving through higher levels of love and mutual respect, both virtues that seem to have disappeared from today’s marriage institution.
The Magwazas rely on God for inspiration.
“The secret for us is that we put God first in our marriage and we have made it a point to never go to bed without ironing out any problems or differences,” she said.

The two, who occasionally held hands during the interview in a display of undying affection, said being humble, especially towards each another, has also played a great role in their union.
Like his wife, Mr Magwaza stressed the need for couples to resolve problems amicably. He said working together as a unit is also an essential ingredient to a successful marriage.
Their wedding anniversary inspired a lot of residents in the township as well as relatives, a good number of whom has many a time approached them for marital advice.
Neither has ever been formally employed but have always been involved in small business ventures. They are still into farming, albeit behind the scenes.

Nowadays, they spend much of their time relaxing at home. And who does the cooking and laundry?
“I do,” said Mrs Magwaza. She gets help whenever she needs it, but still loves cooking for her husband all the same.
Said the husband: “She really knows how to cook up a great dish! My favourite is vegetables served with peanut butter. By the way, I do cook when given the opportunity because I also enjoy it.”

Their son, Andrew Junior, said they organised the wedding anniversary to demonstrate how much they appreciated and loved their parents.
Andrew said growing up, their father was very strict, and believes it is this strictness that guided and moulded them into good people.
“We are fortunate to have been blessed with such loving parents and we have all learnt a lot from them,” he said.
“We just want to thank them for being there for us and may God continue to guide and bless them.”
Epworth Methodist Church is of great significance to the Magwaza family because Mr Magwaza’s grandfather (Chiremba) also tied the knot at the same church in 1912.-The Sunday Mail