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Tafadzwa Zimoyo Senior Lifestyle Writer

A spike-haired youth finds himself trapped in the intricate web of street life in Harare. His blood shot eyes, his gait, cracked feet and dirty clothes, broadcast his story to everyone who cares to stare at him. Vice is written all over him!

Set adrift from family by the death of his father and subsequent re-marrying of his mother, street becomes his home.

The corner of First Street and Kwame Nkrumah becomes his “home” for more than a decade and he works close by, along CBZ Kwame and NMB Bank, parking cars, begging and bagging, again and again. Again and again.

The big and experienced guys bully him for two years and teach him to beg but order him to surrender his gains to them, until he finds his feet and becomes his own master.

Soon he indulges in everything a street kid does. He becomes part of this complex community but somewhere in his mind, he does not like all this. He does not like it!

But can anything good come out of the streets? “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45–46.).

Today, Levi Mwachirolo is the man behind successful bottled water brand, Water Guy. How he crawled out of the streets to become a businessman of repute, who today wines and dines with the Who’s Who of Harare, sounds more of tale-tell, than reality.

Now he has been able to fund his own holidays with family to China. Life is good.

When stories are told, Mwachirolo joins celebrities Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes and Charlie Chaplin, among others who rose from the ashes of the street life to fame and cash.

If you went into any binge before the corona lockdown, in Harare, be it Ginimbi’s white party or Killer T’s black party and even attending a VIP red carpet awards ceremony, you bumped into a welcome bottled water inscribed — “water supplied by The WaterGuy”.

Who is this guy?

Saturday Herald Lifestyle caught up with the former street-kid turned businessman at his residence in the Avenues, Harare where he shared his experience, secrets and lifestyle. The guy is living large, I tell you.

Born at KiKi Nursery Farm along Domboshava Road on the outskirts of Harare on June 23, 1984, Levi Mwachirolo has shocked many people, including himself.

Mwachirolo was born in a family of three boys and one girl from Mozambican immigrants.

“My father died when I was three years old and my mother remarried. This is when life changed for me. I was being ill-treated by my step father. We looked like slaves. Real slaves.

“My step father was working from farm to farm until we got a single room in Hatcliffe Extension. I decided to go in the streets in 1997 because of that situation.”

For the next decade the street was to be his home and today his colleagues are still there.

“I started staying in streets and my base was corner First Street and Kwame Nkrumah, working along CBZ Kwame to NMB Bank. That was my post until 2005,’’ he said.

But the streets are always difficult.

“Life was not easy. At first I was under mentorship by some of the street kids who had been on the streets for longer. I spent months without putting money directly into my pocket. At this moment I was being trained how to beg, wash cars and toughen up.”

“So all the money I got that time, washing cars was going to the, ‘big guys’ the so-called commanders of whole of First Street,” he explained.

Mwachirolo said he was forced to lie that all his parents had died and he lived that lie.

“I had to lie to people that I was still in school yet I had left school after Grade Seven.

“At some point in 2000, there was a street clean-up and I was picked up and taken to Kadoma Probation Prison and I was there for almost three years, then I was released and came back into the streets.”

After prison he thought of going back to school and sought assistance from people parking cars.

“I once asked Dr Gideon Gono (former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor) to help me go back to school. He helped me but after a month, I dropped out and I was back in the streets,” he said.

The Water Guy as he is affectionately known said he was later rescued by a lady, whose name he does not know to date. She gave him a computer.

“I used to look after and keep a car of certain lady who was working at Intermarket Bank. She trusted me and we had a conversation about business prospects. She gave me a computer though I had no clue on how to use it.

“I have never owned or had a technical gadget in my life.

I then met boys who were in the business of pirating music. I gave them my computer in exchange of DVDs and CDs to sell as they were making money with my computer and giving me some tips of how to use the computer.

“At that point, because I had money I decided to leave the streets and it was in 2005,” he said.

“In 2006 I looked for a job and I started working for a Chinese man at Karigamombe Centre who ran Nulgen Technology, Autotrade, ZED, Oppo, and ZLG for almost 10 years until 2016. It was there that I got friends who trained me on water purification and I invested in machinery. It is now by big business.”

Mwachirolo said he then decided to go to church for counsel and help because everything was not working well for him.

“I started going to Prophet Makandiwa’s church — UFIC — by that time it was the hottest and trendiest church. I got a prophecy from him on the Cross Over night in 2016 while in Chitungwiza and he told me that I will travel to China and God is going to raise me through printing. Surprisingly he told me the conditions of the prophecy and it shocked me because I had nowhere to start, even money for an air ticket,” he revealed.

“I sometimes visit my friends in town and some are still in the same spot we grew up. I remember Lucky, Humba, Tsuro and Bhechani. Some of them are still alive operating along George Silundika Road,” he said

During the interview, he receives a phone call . . .

“I will call you back, right now I am in an important interview. I have your bottles ready . . . will deliver them Friday (yesterday) morning. I have already seen your payment thank you,” he hung up the call from the latest iPhone 10 and in business etiquette, he apologised for the interjection.

“My inspiration comes from Prophet Makandiwa. I came up with the idea of the ‘The Water Guy’ for branding bottles because everyone was just calling me that, ‘mukoma nhasi mune mvura here, mukomana wemvura auya yakafreezer here?’

“I then decided to go big with the business and got a boost from Live Global Advertising Company that has already crossed the borders, as they are in Mozambique.

“My water is borehole sourced and I buy purified water reversed by osmosis. I have a contact with a SAZ registered bottling company in Waterfalls. I do water branding in Waterfalls but marketing is done in the Avenues as part of my office duties. I have my registered company called The Water Guy which is empowered by my other registered company that have something to do with graphics and designing.  I have done water for celebrities, companies, prominent figures and even some of the popular restaurants. I can’t mention names because of confidentiality and security reasons,” he added.

Meanwhile how did he meet the love of his life and did he tell the truth about his background: “Boys lie — women love”.

“I met my wife Karen at church one Sunday. It was love at first sight. We sat down and shared our past stories. She accepted me as I am, then boom, we got married and wedded in 2017.  We have one child together and are expecting our second.

“In 2004 I had sired a child, ‘zvemusikanzwa zvemustreet’ right now the child is with the mother in Gweru.

“I no longer have many street friends but professional business friends. I spent most of my time with my family,” he said showing us his Mercedes Benz C320.

One good thing about Mwachirolo is that he does not forget where he came from as he has an Unto Him Foundation where he feeds and clothes the less privileged.

“My foundation is 11-years-old and I have been doing a lot of projects, feeding them and sometimes outsourcing clothes from sponsors and well-wishers. I have Chinese friends too,” he said.