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Roselyn Sachiti Features Editor
Most people who have female relatives belonging to the zebra totem affectionately call them “Madhuve” or “Manjenjenje”. The women are said to be beautiful and graceful, taking after the zebra.
One man, though, has taken the love for Manjenjenje to another level by going for the real thing: domesticating a zebra.
Some call him crazy.

Others describe him as bizarre with a few hinting at witchcraft.

Another group thinks his loneliness has pushed him to do what has left some villagers amused and others shocked.

For 65-year-old Simon Temba of Jeredini area, Tiger Reef near Kwekwe, domesticating a zebra and treating it like his sister is nothing out of the ordinary.

The zebra he has named Judy or Madhuve is just his “long lost sister” who the ancestors have delivered home.

Being the only child, he loves and cherishes the animal, for she is the sister God has given him.
Her stripes make him happy and he speaks of her like she is human.

While his lifestyle is a puzzle for many, he seems to easily put all the pieces together.

“My totem is a zebra and the ancestors sent Judy to my door at 5am a year ago.

“I was sleeping and was woken up by a sound outside.

“I thought someone was trying to steal my cattle only to find her standing there.

“She was very small. We spent the day together and when night came, she slept outside the kraal with the calves.

“She has never left me from that day and knows my scent. Even if I go far from her, she follows and finds me.

“If someone comes close to her she runs away, but is very comfortable with me,” he explains.

Judy, he says, despite being his “sister”, has now blended with his 10 cattle, it was natural.

She grazes alongside the cattle, goes to drink water from the local dam and moves along the highway.

But it is Judy who draws the attention of motorists.

“She knows she is beautiful and sometimes enjoys walking a distance from the cattle so that people admire her. She, however, is afraid of cars and runs away when she hears one approaching,” he adds.

He says Judy will not have any offspring – she is a “nun”.

“My sister is a nun and I do not worry about her not having a stallion to mate with. She is my sister and keeps me company,” he says.

Other villagers suspect Timba uses the zebra for juju.

The allegations are difficult to substantiate as they have no proof; they just think there is something weird about him.

He even keeps to himself and they ponder what he is up to.

“I live alone because I left my wife in Wenela (South Africa). We could not afford the R150 airfare needed back then. I don’t remember the year, but it was a long time ago,” he says.

He has three houses in Kwekwe, 213 kilometres from Harare.

“My nephew manages the houses and I just go to collect my rentals every month-end.

“People just do not understand me. I am a good person. The problem is I might be cursed. People take things from me and never return them.

Others even steal from me; I have helped so many by creating employment for young poor boys but they are not grateful,” he adds.

Temba, who does not belong to any church, believes in God who he says has provided everything he has.
“I used to go to Dutch Reformed Church but stopped some years back. I just occasionally go to any church now. If I see people worshipping under a tree, I just join them only for that day,” he says.

Temba said he bought his house using money he got through vending and gambling.

He would buy oranges for resale at Beetie Farm in Chegutu, tomatoes, masawu, maize and nyii in Mbare.

“Most old generation traders at Mbare Musika know me. I was hardworking and would trade in anything,” he adds.

He was also a gambling addict, his choice being horse betting.

“I went to Mashonaland Turf Club in Kwekwe in the mid-nineties and bet. I used a dollar and won ZW$3 000. That was a lot of money and I started a small business of selling fish. I would go to Norton near Harare and buy fish for resale.

“I then bought a house and extended it. I bought my second house from a family that could not afford to pay bills at their local municipality.

I bought the third the following year,” he said.

Temba has been unlucky in love and regrets some choices he has made.

“One day, as I was at home, a woman, Irene, who claimed to have been chased by her sister knocked on my door. She said she had walked all the way from Gweru and her legs were swollen.

“Irene told me that her sister chased her away because she had broken a tea mug.

“She said she wanted a place to put up for the night. I told her that it could be hard for me to help her. I wanted to take her to a nearby family which consisted of mostly females. First, I stayed alone and did not want people to start talking.

“Second, I was afraid that she would claim that I raped her the following morning. It was hard to make the decision.

“I still felt sorry for her and helped her. I have very beautiful blankets and a big bed from Johannesburg and that’s the one I gave her,” he added.

Irene left the following morning, only to return a day later, and this time she wanted to stay for good.

“She said I was nice to her and wanted to thank me. She said she would like to be my wife and we both agreed.

“But three months later, Irene disappeared with my Jo’burg blankets, clothes and everything. I had gone to herd cattle and I was deeply hurt when I returned to find her gone.

“The only thing she failed to steal are my cattle: maybe because of their size. Why me, I always help others but get hurt in the process? I do not even know where she went. I just remained with my cattle and Judy,” he added.

According to the evolutionary physiologist and geographer Jared Diamond, in his acclaimed book “Guns, Germs and Steel” (Norton, 1997), there are six criteria that animals must meet for domestication. Many species come close, but very few fit the bill.

But, everyday mysteries.com says it is difficult to domesticate zebras as they are unpredictable and are known to attack people.

To be domesticated, animals must meet certain criteria.

For example, they must have a good disposition and should not panic under pressure. Zebras’ unpredictable nature and tendency to attack preclude them from being good candidates for domestication.

But, so far so good between Temba and his Madhuve “sister”, Judy.

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