David Mutasa
David Guy Mutasa is a Zimbabwean politician and sculptor with demonstrated experience in bronze casting. He made the Zimbabwe Bird sculpture that is outside the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the statue of Mbuya Nehanda.
As a politician, he is a member of Zanu PF and contested in the 2003 elections as the party's parliamentary candidate.
Personal Details
Born: In a family of 11 being the fifth born. [1]
Marriage: David Mutasa's wife is Joyce Mutasa.[1]
Children: David Mutasa has four children. Mutasa said his firstborn Michael is a talented artist although he decided to pursue farming in Banket.
He has another son named Tinotenda Mutasa.[1]
School / Education
Mutasa was only 12 when he first worked with clay under Job Kekana at St Faith Primary School in Rusape.
Mutasa's father wanted him to be a farmer and had already gathered all the necessary requirements for Mutasa to enrol at Chibhero College of Agriculture. He did his primary education at St Faith in Rusape and proceeded to St Mary’s Magdalene in Nyanga for his secondary education. Mutasa attained a diploma in Arts and Craft at Kekana's School of Art at St Faith. Kekana was a missionary who was a talented artist and nurtured a lot of artists at that time. The diploma was a three-year course he attended in 1972.[1]
Service/Career
Net Worth
Whilst his actual met worth is unknown, Mutasa received half of Z$18 billion in 2014 to do four statues of Joshua Nkomo.[2]
Scupltures
Sekuru Kaguvi
He did a statue of Sekuru Kaguvi for the Parliament of Zimbabwe and also made the Zimbabwe Bird sculpture that sits outside the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe building in Harare. He has produced busts for many prominent personalities including four busts of Prince Charles of England, of which one was presented to the then Zimbabwe High Commission in London in 1990 to mark Zimbabwe's 10th independence anniversary. In Zimbabwe, he made busts for Herbert Chitepo and Maurice Nyagumbo, Mbuya Nehanda statue inside RBZ banking hall, Statue of the Unknown Soldier at Zanu-PF Building among many others.
Marcus Garvey
Mutasa has done two bronze busts of Marcus Garvey for the Marcus Garvey Library and the Grange Museum. He also did the Statue of Hector Peterson.
Mbuya Nehanda
David Mutasa was also tasked to make the statue of Mbuya Nehanda. [3]
Mbuya Bona
In 2017 he presented President Robert Mugabe with a special gift of a portrait bust of his late mother, Mbuya Bona. Mutasa was requested to do the portrait by President Mugabe's late sister, Sabina Mugabe. He gave President Mugabe the portrait in July 2017 just after a Zanu PF Politburo meeting. Mutasa said Sabina Mugabe requested him to do the portrait of Mbuya Bona as she wanted to give it to President Mugabe as a surprise. He said Sabina saw it only once and recommended some corrections.[4]
Joshua Nkomo Statue
The Home Affairs Ministry was accused by Parliamentarians of flouting tender procedures. The State Procurement Board had awarded the tender to local sculptor David Mutasa but the Home Affairs Ministry unilaterally awarded it to a North Korean firm.
In 2014, National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe executive director Dr Godfrey Mahachi said the State Procurement Board awarded the tender for all the four statutes to Mutasa at a cost of Z$18 billion. Mutasa was given 50% of the money for purposes of purchasing material so that he could make sure all the materials required to fabricate the statue from the very initial stages to bronze casting was done.
Mutasa produced a plastered statue before changing the price for bronze casting to about US$200 000 in addition to the 50 percent down payment, arguing the six-month time frame had elapsed.
Mahachi said the Ministry of Home Affairs then decided to engage the Korean firm after it charged about US$230 000 for the whole job. The firm was then awarded the tender that saw them producing the statue that was unveiled by Robert Mugabe in Bulawayo at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street (former Main Street) and 8th Avenue.[2]
Mbuya Nehanda Statue
In December 2020, President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered Mutasa to redo the statue of Mbuya Nehanda following a public outcry. Zimbabweans said the first version whose pictures circulated online did not capture what Mbuya Nehanda is believed to have looked like based on a photograph of her. [5]
Politics
Following the death of Learnmore Jongwe in 22 October 2002, a by election was held 29–30 March 2003. The result, Kuwadzana returned to Parliament:
- [[[Nelson Chamisa]] of MDC with 12 548 votes,
- David Mutasa of Zanu PF with 5 002 votes,
- Kempton Chihuhute of National Alliance for Good Governance with 82 votes,
- United Parties with 12 votes.
In the 2018 elections, Mutasa was elected Makoni Ward 8 councillor. In 2020, Mutasa was the council chairman, the president of the Association of Rural District Councils of Zimbabwe (ARDCZ) and president of the Zimbabwe Local Government Association (ZILGA) — which is an amalgamation of the ARDCZ and Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ). [6]
Events
Other Businesses
Mutasa had business interests in Kuwadzana. He owned a milling company there. [7]
Further Reading
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Talent Bope, Sculptor explains Mbuya Nehanda statue, The Herald, Published: May 29, 2021, Retrieved: May 31, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lloyd Gumbo, Nkomo statue torches storm, The Herald, Published: March 28, 2014, Retrieved: May 24, 2021
- ↑ Sifelani Tsiko, Mbuya Nehanda statue demystified, The Herald, Published: July 13, 2020, Retrieved: May 24, 2021
- ↑ Mugabe's mum cast in bronze, Bulawayo24, Published: July 26, 2017, Retrieved: May 24, 2021
- ↑ WINSTONE ANTONIO, Mbuya Nehanda statue set for unveiling tomorrow, NewsDay, Published: May 24, 2021, Retrieved: May 24, 2021
- ↑ Samuel Kadungure, Interrogating service delivery, The Manica Post, Published: March 27, 2020, Retrieved: May 24, 2021
- ↑ ZANU-PF Business Man Vies for Kuwadzana Seat - 2003-03-24, VOA News, Published: March 24, 2003, Retrieved: May 24, 2021
