A fitness club in a Zimbabwe cemetery aims to outpace death one step at a time

HARARE
—
At
dawn,
65-year-old
Nelly
Mutandwa
swapped
her
pajamas
for
leggings,
a
T-shirt
and
sneakers.
She
grabbed
a
bottle
of
water
before
heading
to
an
unconventional
workout
spot:
a
cemetery
in
Zimbabwe’s
capital,
Harare.

Surrounded
by
rows
of
graves,
she
joined
other
members
of
the
Commandos
Fitness
Club
in
an
hour-long
session
of
squats,
lunges
and
stretches
as
upbeat
music
blared.
For
Mutandwa,
the
daily
routine
is
more
than
exercise.
It’s
her
lifeline
in
managing
diabetes.

“They
are
resting,”
she
said,
pointing
to
the
graves.
“I
just
don’t
want
to
join
them
yet.
That
means
I
have
to
do
the
hard
work
here.”

With
limited
fitness
facilities
such
as
gyms
in
their
neighbourhoods,
older
Zimbabweans
are
exercising
wherever
they
can
to
combat
Africa’s
growing
problem
of
non-communicable
diseases
like
heart
problems,
high
blood
pressure
and
diabetes.
Other
groups
exercise
along
highways
or
disused
railway
lines.

Globally,
non-communicable
diseases,
which
are
conditions
that
cannot
be
directly
passed
from
person
to
person,
are
the
leading
cause
of
death,
responsible
for
41
million,
or
74
percent,
of
annual
fatalities,
according
to
the
World
Health
Organisation.

Non-communicable
diseases
currently
account
for
about
40
percent
of
deaths
annually
in
Zimbabwe,
according
to
the
ministry
of
health
and
child
care.

In
Zimbabwe
and
the
rest
of
sub-Saharan
Africa,
non-communicable
diseases
are
set
to
overtake
communicable
diseases
such
as
HIV,
tuberculosis,
malaria
and
cholera
as
the
leading
cause
of
death
or
illness
by
2030,
according
to
WHO.

Previously
associated
with
older
people,
non-communicable
diseases
are
increasingly
spreading
to
children
and
young
adults
due
to
smoking,
frequent
alcohol
use,
unhealthy
diets
and
lack
of
physical
activity.

This
has
sparked
huge
concern
among
experts
and
governments
on
a
continent
that
is
experiencing
the
world’s
fastest
population
growth
and
is
home
to
its
youngest
population.

Dr.
Johannes
Marisa,
a
public
health
specialist
in
Harare
and
president
of
the
Medical
and
Dental
Private
Practitioners
of
Zimbabwe
Association,
said
doctors
are
witnessing
“a
rapid
change”
as
more
children
and
young
people
are
diagnosed
with
NCDs.

He
attributed
it
partly
to
sedentary
lifestyles
as
many
people
spend
much
of
their
time
glued
to
their
smartphone
screens
at
the
expense
of
physical
movement,
as
well
as
growing
substance
abuse
and
unhealthy
diets.

While
climate
change-induced
droughts
have
left
many
rural
people
in
Zimbabwe
scrounging
for
food,
traders
in
urban
areas
are
racing
to
get
a
piece
of
the
fast
food
market
that’s
widely
blamed
for
obesity.

In
Harare
and
other
urban
areas,
franchises
such
as
KFC
compete
with
a
mushrooming
number
of
cheaper
local
restaurants
and
informal
roadside
stalls,
public
markets
and
even
homes
where
one
can
grab
a
fried
piece
of
chicken,
a
burger
or
a
fries-and-sausage
combo
for
a
dollar.

In
response,
Finance
Minister
Mthuli
Ncube
in
the
2025
national
budget
imposed
a
“modest”
0.5
percent
tax
on
sales
of
doughnuts
and
other
foods
including
tacos,
pizza,
hot
dogs,
shawarma,
fries,
chicken
and
burgers
by
retailers
to
encourage
“healthier
dietary
choices”
and
mitigate
the
prevalence
of
non-communicable
diseases. Meanwhile,
some
older
Zimbabweans
are
taking
up
physical
exercise.

For
Mutandwa
and
her
Commandos
Fitness
Club
crew,
the
surroundings
of
the
cemetery
suffice.
Coached
by
Joseph
Nekati,
whose
mother’s
stroke
in
2023
inspired
him
to
help
others,
the
free
club
has
become
a
sanctuary
for
older
fitness
buffs.
Eight
of
the
club’s
roughly
20
members
are
older
people,
Nekati
said.

“I
weighed
86
kilograms
and
struggled
to
stand
up.
I
would
struggle
to
breathe
just
walking
in
my
house.
Now,
I’m
down
to
76
kilograms
and
I
can
walk
long
distances,”
said
Susan
Gomo,
a
64-year-old
grandmother
managing
high
blood
pressure
and
arthritis.

The
group
exercise
is
also
meant
to
encourage
other
older
people
to
work
out.

“Some
of
my
age
mates
are
reluctant,”
Gomo
said.
“They
end
up
just
eating
and
sitting
at
home.
They
might
change
their
minds
when
they
see
me
in
great
shape.”

Mutandwa
said
she
picked
up
the
habit
of
power
walks
when
she
visited
her
daughter
in
the
United
Kingdom
in
2022.
She
decided
to
try
it
back
home
in
Zimbabwe,
but
the
roads
in
her
township
were
potholed
and
crowded.
She
went
for
solo
walks
on
a
nearby
hill,
but
she
felt
unsafe.

Last
year,
she
noticed
the
fitness
club
in
the
cemetery,
where
a
wide
and
well-maintained
path
provides
a
convenient
workout
spot.
With
three
of
her
neighbours,
she
approached
the
coach,
who
happily
took
them
in.

Now
the
cemetery
has
come
to
symbolise
Mutandwa
and
others’
quest
to
live
healthier
and
outpace
death
—
one
step
at
a
time.

“It’s
serene,
it’s
safe
and
we
have
a
lot
of
space
with
minimal
disturbances.
Hopefully
the
(local)
council
can
build
proper
facilities
for
us,”
she
said,
preparing
to
stroll
back
home.
–
AP