The ManicaPost
The couple shows off their wedding rings
. . . as nonagenarian ties knot
Tendai Gukutikwa : Weekender Correspondent
IN a rare, perfect act of pure love, a 94-year-old nonagenarian walked down the aisle with his 84-year-old octogenarian sweetheart whom he has been living with for the past 65 years.The colourful wedding which was filled with love, gaiety and laughter was held on August 7, 2016 and was organised by the couple’s children.
Naume Nyamhindu tied the knot with Rerutsai Stephanie Chikomba at Chisuko Anglican Diocese in the Eastern Highlands, Honde Valley.
Asked on why they had exchanged vows 65 years later after having stayed together and given birth to 11 children, Chikomba said it was out of love for his wife, the love that never died since they first met at Pungwe River in 1951.
“The main reason that I have wedded my wife, of course with the help of my children is because I love her. I still love her because she gave me 11good children whom I consider to be my brothers and sisters. It was love at first sight. The love which we had 65 years ago has never died since day one,” he said softly.
. . . You may kiss the bride
Sadly, four of the Chikombas’ sons and daughters have passed away and the couple is left with one surviving daughter and six sons.
Chikomba, however, pointed that he would have wedded his wife way back, but they were facing financial constraints as they had to look after 11 children and an extended family.
“We could not afford a white wedding back then because we had a very large family that needed taking care of and stayed in Sakubva’s Chisamba quarters when I worked at Sisal Hotel and retired in 1979,” he said.
After retirement they then settled in Chisuko rural area where he is the current headman under Chief Chikomba.
He went on to say that because he was an orphan when he met Nyamunda, he respected her and took her as his mother as well as his loving wife.
Chikomba smiled as he recalled the day he first met his love. Looking into a faraway land, he explained that they first met at Pungwe River where he and his friends were hunting, while Nyamunda and her friends were bathing in the river.
The couple is assisted in cutting the wedding cake ( Pictures by Zorodzai Chibuwe)
“We had grape fruits and I said to myself the first girl to ask for some fruits from me would be my wife. As I expected, she was the one who came to me and asked of the fruits.
“When we met next it was at a jit function in Mandeya Village. Ndakabva ndamuita musengabere ipapo nekuti akanga akazvarirwa (I eloped with her because her parents had offered her hand in marriage to someone else at her birth),” he laughed.
Asked on their secret to old age and happy marriage, Nyamhindu said it was as a result of the love they had and knowing the importance of privacy in a marriage.
Ambuya Naume Nyamhindu tied the knot with Sekuru Rerutsai Stephanie Chikomba
Said Nyamhindu: “You should have privacy in your marriage with your spouse and not divulge everything to so-called friends. My husband was and still is my best friend and young people nowadays should learn the importance of privacy and not tell everyone everything.”
She also said traditional foodstuffs and abstaining from alcoholic drinks as well as drugs had helped them to live long.
The Chikombas have 21 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren. Nyamhindu’s niece, Pamhidzai Mwaemudzeni, said her uncle and aunt’s relationship was a marriage worth copying as it was filled with love and happiness.
