Madhinga Bucket Boy: From Boyhood in Colonial Rhodesia to Manhood in Zimbabwe, A Native Son's Story, by Philemon Matibe.

Amid the evils of apartheid, a quest for humanity; against the terrors of tyranny, a cry for freedom. In one of the most compelling memoirs to emerge from modern Africa, the renowned political exile recounts his experience in the former "Breadbasket of Africa," from growing up in white-supremacist Rhodesia to speaking out in Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

From his "accidental" birth in 1967, Matibe brings to life his boyhood with the spare eloquence and easy humour of the tales told around his village campfire. He commemorates the clutch of an affectionate family in an oppressive society. He marvels as his parents make the necessary compromises with a brutal, all-powerful system without compromising their honour. And he recalls his brief infatuation with a charismatic young revolutionary named Mugabe - until his uncle's ultimate sacrifice points him to a more authentic meaning of freedom. 

The enormities of apartheid and civil war give way to epiphanies of liberation and self-knowledge. But his country's liberators soon turn despots. And when the brief flowering of Zimbabwean independence is extirpated, Matibe trades in his plough for politics. His challenge to Mugabe's rule brings him into conflict with Webster Shamu, who threatens, then evicts Matibe (and now serves as a minister in Mugabe's murderous regime). 

Timeless as fiction, urgent as witness, Madhinga Bucket Boy is a searing tale of racism, revolution, and redemption. A testament to the enduring verities of love and land, it stands apart from the recent deluge of African memoirs, documenting a native's experience of the Zimbabwean story. The barefoot boy who once carried water to his village now seeks to unleash the waters of freedom for his country.

Circa 1969, father Philemon Matibe, mother Phoebe Matibe,

L-R Takalani, Phil, and Petros.

"The level of trust built up by all individuals (black and white) against such great odds are being broken by this mad despot Mugabe, and we can rise above this and at least discuss our differences (as Philemon has done in this brilliant book) in open debate with no fear or intimidation, Zimbabwe will rightly become a great country once again. A great read, read on!" Dave Evans