A fitness club in a Zimbabwe cemetery aims to outpace death one step at a time
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — 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 neighborhoods, 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%, of annual fatalities, according to the World Health Organization.
Non-communicable diseases currently account for about 40% of deaths annually in Zimbabwe, according to its 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% 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 (189 pounds) and struggled to stand up. I would struggle to breathe just walking in my house. Now, I’m down to 76 kilograms (167 pounds) 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 neighbors, she approached the coach, who happily took them in.
Now the cemetery has come to symbolize 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.
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By FARAI MUTSAKA
Associated Press
