FROM NINE YEARS IN PRISON, FOR A RAPE HE DIDN’T COMMIT, TO MOTHER OF ALL WEDDINGS

SIXTEEN months ago, a grand public wedding ceremony at either Africa Unity Square or Harare Gardens was the last thing on Simbarashe Chadiwa’s mind. He had been there for a decade and he still had another decade to serve to complete his sentence. Ten years earlier, in 2015, Chidawa was sentenced to 20 years in jail after being convicted of raping a 10-year-old girl.

His pleas that he was an innocent man fell on deaf ears as his world collapsed around him. He ultimately served nine years before walking to freedom in April last year under the Presidential Amnesty. Subsequent developments dramatically vindicated his long-held claim of innocence after the complainant admitted that the allegations had been fabricated.

He has married Christabell Kudziwe and they recently welcomed baby boy Ayani, who is now two months old. Relatives say fatherhood has brought him a sense of peace he never imagined possible while serving time in prison. Now, he wants to hold a grand public wedding ceremony in the heart of Harare, which will be bankrolled by Good Samaritans desperate to see him replace years of pain with a beautiful memory.

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The event, pencilled for September on a date yet to be announced, is expected to transform either Harare Gardens or Africa Unity Square into a giant cathedral of celebration of hope, redemption and second chances. Organisers are even considering a colourful procession through the central business district led, possibly, by the Zimbabwe Republic Police Band before culminating in an open-air wedding ceremony featuring live musical performances. Should the plans materialise, Chadiwa’s wedding will join the rare list of high-profile public weddings usually reserved for celebrities, politicians, royalty or wealthy business personalities.

According to sources familiar with the arrangements, supporters have volunteered financial contributions, wedding attire, catering services, transport, décor, photography, entertainment and other necessities. The overwhelming response has demonstrated the emotional investment many Zimbabweans have made in Chadiwa’s story.

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