Brothers and sisters, let’s be wary of the Covid-19 monster; it is real

I am driving my motorised contraption from Arusha to Njombe. I have to attend the funeral of a good friend of mine, a retired teacher and many more.

He passed away earlier this week.

He was diabetic. But he also had a mild high pressure on account of our social and economic hurdles which destabilise our lives.

However, what took his life was not these two maladies. He died from the current Covid-19 pandemic borne by the mutating coronavirus.

As I sip my ‘ulanzi’ traditional drink (bamboo wine) at Ipogolo below the Iringa Town escarpment, I get to know that this pandemic is indeed serious. The residents of Ipogolo inform me that they have lost three villagers to this disease which they believe is a curse from God.

I try my hardest to explain to them the dynamics of the disease and how to prevent it. My efforts were futile. How can they survive with their noses and mouths covered by barakoas, face masks? they wonder.

And how can they socialise when they can’t touch each other in social-distancing mode - particularly when they are greeting one another? they ask.

They do agree that it is logical and hygienically important to wash/sanitise hands after one has come in contact with anything which might compromise one’s health.

But, there is no way they can go beyond that as they believe this disease is a curse from the supreme being. And they say that this is so because we have flouted God’s admonitions.

The conclusion I drew from all this was that we, as a community, have a long way to go in surmounting this pandemic.

Come to think of it, I have lost four elderly friends in the past two weeks alone. And all have passed away from this deadly disease.

One was an engineer whom I met at college. The other was a doctor who went to the same primary school I attended.

The third was a successful businessman who was based in Dar es Salaam.

The last one a teacher at a private secondary school.

As I left Ipogolo on my way to Mafinga and onward to Njombe, my mind recalled my own previous close encounter with the disease.

As explained in this very column a few weeks ago, I was a goner after I caught the viral Covid-19 pandemic.

It is thanks to the dedicated work of the doctors at Ikelu Catholic Church hospital near Makambako that I am alive to tell the tale in this piece.

But, on a more serious note: we all need to take this pandemic seriously.

Imagine the serious impact it is having on our communities as it terminates the lives of many people who play an important and strategic role in our social, political, cultural and economic lives.

For example, the good friend who just passed away in Njombe was an extraordinary person: a vital cog in the wheel of development in that region.

He was an education expert, a promoter of modern commercial farming and chairman of several educational institutions.

But, come the hydra-headed Covid-19 monster - and we have lost him. Surely we are much worse for that.

It is time we woke up and fervently embraced the hygienic directives and guidelines that would effectively curb the pandemic soonest.

The author is a veteran journalist and communication expert based in Arusha