Biography

I was born on 12th July 1973 in the then native township of Torwood, Redcliff, in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

I am the only child to Elias Japhet George Mbofana and Anastasia Takazvida Mbofana (nee Mbiriri).

I have one son – interestingly also my only child –  Elias Tendaishe Mbofana, born on 18th January 2003, whom I named after both my father and myself.

My father was a teacher whilst my mother was a state certified nurse (at the same hospital where I was born).

My parents were married in 1971 but had two miscarriages. My mother was finally able to have a baby in 1973, but I was born not breathing.

It took the local doctor, Robin Kirk, about 45 minutes before I began breathing – leading to the prognosis that I would grown up in a persistent vegetative state due to a prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain.

Interestingly, I was originally named in honour of Dr. Kirk by being given the middle name Robin.

This was, however, misspelled to Ruben by a local church priest on my baptism certificate – which effectively became my official middle name.

In spite of the dismal prognosis, I grew to be a healthy intelligent young boy, who did quite well physically, psychologically, socially, and academically – although I was more of an introvert who preferred to be on my own.

This most likely led to my bullying during my early years of school as well as sexual abuse at the hands of a girl who lived with our family and shared a bedroom.

After Zimbabwe gained her political independence in 1980, my family moved to the former whites-only suburb of Redcliff in 1982, where I did my education at Redcliff Primary School.

This is the time I witnessed some of the most brutal traumatizing events of my life, which left an indelible influence on my life by shaping the man I was to become.

In 1984, at the tender age of eleven years old, the ruling ZANU PF party unleashed its youth brigades to beat up any known Ndebele-speaking people in Redcliff, eventually burning their homes with some being killed.

This was all part of the Gukurahundi massacres that left more than 20,000 innocent unarmed civilians dead in the Midlands and Matebeleland provinces at the hands of Zimbabwe’s 5th Brigade military wing.

In witnessing the heinous acts, together with the abuse I faced, the spirit of fighting injustices was etched in me for the rest of my life.

At the same time, as a result of my move from the then native township of Torwood to the predominantly white Redcliff suburb meant that my poor mastery of the English language was regarded as a cause of great concern by my new teachers.

As such, my parents were urged to encourage me to read as many English books as possible, in addition to writing and speaking in the language.

This inevitably birthed a passion for reading and writing in me from a young age.

In my early high school years at Kwekwe High School, I began producing a handwritten newspaper for my fellow classmates.

At the age of 16 years, I started contributing news articles for a weekly Kwekwe-based publication named The Midlands Observer.

By the time I was in the Lower Sixth form in 1991, I was a regular columnist for another newspaper in the city of Kwekwe, The Midweek News.

My writing already touched on issues of social justice, where I spoke boldly against the injustices and suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans, mostly at the hands of the ruling elite.

This particular time (1991) was when the Zimbabwe government had embarked on the IMF (International Monetary Fund) designed ESAP (Economic Structural Adjustment Program), which was marked by the mass retrenchment of tens of thousands of workers.

This was the tragic sorrowful plight faced by hundreds of employess in my own Redcliff community, who lost their jobs at the then iron and steel making giant ZiscoSteel.

I watched, with much sadness and pain, as many were cast into abject poverty seemingly overnight.

That is when I decided to become their voice.

These were the heartbreaking scenes that inspired me to embark on my social justice weekly columns in 1991 – which I named ‘The Un-Oppressed Mind’.

As a result, I received some threats from local ruling ZANU PF leaders, with one (who worked with my mother as a nurse) telling her that they would stop my noise by making sure the whole of Redcliff was filled with the sounds of cockerels, which was, at the time, the ruling party symbol.

This never fazed me, as I continued with my writing unflinchingly.

Nevertheless, it was not all doom, as I was approached by various local opposition leaders to join their political parties.

These included a Mr Chibanda from ZUM (Zimbabwe Unity Movement), which was the main challenger to ZANU PF at the time and led by Edgar Tekere.

There was also Mr Archibald Ngcobo from another smaller opposition party.

Even today, various political formations – curiously including the ruling party – continue to make overtures towards me.

I, however, have repeatedly but respectfully refused since I do not regard myself as a politician but rather a voice of the voiceless.

I saw, and still do see, politicians as only interested in political power than the genuine desire to uplift the welfare and wellbeing of the ordinary citizens.

Whilst doing my Lower Sixth form, I exposed corruption at the school at which I attended (Kwekwe High School) when funds intended for the purchase of a bus were allegedly misappropriated by officials.

This resulted in the then headmaster Remigio Mufuka angrily calling out and disparaging me in front of fellow students during school assembly by labeling me ‘Judas Iscariot’ (the man who betrayed Jesus in the Bible).

Although I knew that such an exposè carried the risk of expulsion from school – something that could have destroyed my future – my determination to fight corruption and injustice outweighed everything else.

During my schooling years, I joined the Boy Scouts Association where I served as a patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop leader, and subsequently assistant scout leader.

I was chosen to represent Zimbabwe at the 16th Australian Jamboree in Adelaide Australia in 1988 – to mark the country’s bicentennial celebrations.

I also helped form and led organizations (Support Other Students Club, and the Academic Promotion Association) that assisted fellow high school students who came from less privileged families with schools fees, uniforms, and other learning materials.

As my focus was now on becoming a professional writer, I studied journalism after school – first a diploma at CCOSA (Christian College of Southern Africa) in the capital Harare from 1997 to 1998, and later a bachelor’s degree with ZOU (Zimbabwe Open University) from 2004 to 2007.

A year after doing my GCE Advanced Level, in 1993, I was a temporary/relief teacher for two months at the local Rutendo Primary School.

From 1994 to 1995, I did a diploma in computer programming at Pro Data College in Harare.

Soon after graduating with a diploma in journalism in 1999, I convinced my parents to fund the establishment of my own newspaper in Kwekwe called the Midlands Monitor.

However, due to both lack of experience in running a business and a deteriorating economy, the newspaper folded at the end of the same year.

I proceeded to work for other local publications as an editor, such as The Redcliff News and The Oracle.

In 2004, I moved into the corporate world, where I worked as a public relations officer for a Redcliff-based marketing firm, Techset Industries Group.

Unfortunately the company also collapsed.

As Zimbabwe’s economy continued on its downward spiral, I endured many years of unemployment before subsequently deciding to immigrate to neighbouring South Africa in 2008.

During this stint, I worked as an administrator for an NGO in Midrand, Gauteng (called Botshabelo) that assisted less advantaged communities in the settlement of Olievenhoutbosch, Centurion.

In early 2009, I was fired from my job on account of my continued social justice writings for Zimbabwe newspapers.

As the NGO was also involved in distributing food aid to impoverished rural communities in Zimbabwe, the organization felt that my writings – which were largely viewed as anti-government – could jeopardize these efforts.

I subsequently found another job in Midrand for a company involved in the manufacture and distribution of atmospheric water technologies, Cirrus Water Management, as its project manager.

Nevertheless, after the agreement between the two main political parties in Zimbabwe (ZANU PF and MDC) to form a unity government in 2009, the local economy began an upward trajectory.

Thus, in 2010, I decided to go back home.

A few months after my return, I fell in love with a local Redcliff lady, Tinta Mzemba, whom I was to marry on 8 August 2011.

I had known Tinta’s family for decades and was even friends with her brothers.

In 2013, I worked as a business development and communications manager for a Harare consultancy firm, Psychosocial Support, Research and Training (PSRT) Centre.

Two years later, in 2015, I went back to Redcliff where I joined the Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-SA) as its communications advisor.

From the end of 2015, I went back to writing my social justice articles in both local and international publications… which I am still doing today.

It is widely believed that I have penned over 3,000 published articles – in various newspapers, including The Zimbabwean, Bulawayo 24 News, Newsday, The Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard, Nehanda Radio, Midweek Watch, and Ignite Media.

This work has given me immense influence in the country – leading me to be invited as a commentator and analyst on various media platforms, such as Al Jazeera, Voice of America (VOA), Deutsche Welle (DW), RT, Newsday, The Zimbabwe Independent, and many more.

I have also been regularly invited to speak at various fora on issues affecting our society.

I have also been involved in Zimbabwe Network for Social Justice (ZimJustice) on a voluntary basis, an initiative for activists to speak against injustices in Zimbabwe.