Maitengwe Weekend Trending Stories: One Year Down Memory Lane

By Yours Truly
As Maitengwe Post celebrates its first anniversary, it is worth taking a brief walk down memory lane to revisit some of the stories, controversies, tragedies and moments of humour that have shaped Maitengwe Weekend Trending Stories over the past year.
The journey began on October 11, 2025, with the first edition, “Maitengwe Trending Stories with Yours Truly,” opening with the tragic death of Honourable Desire Moyo after his vehicle collided with elephants while he was travelling from Parliament. From there, the column moved through the controversial Sapatina State House feast, a dramatic wedding no-show, the inspiring story of a young cancer patient determined to write his Grade Seven examinations, improved O-Level results at the writer's former school in Dombodema, the Gaza ceasefire, Donald Trump's Nobel Prize complaints and the Warriors' draw against Bafana Bafana.
By the end of October, the column had already established its personality. “The Devil's Own Sister” took readers through the Polokwane bus tragedy, Zimbabwe Saints, the conviction of Bridget Makaza, Madagascar's political crisis and the memorable television interview involving Operation Dudula's Zandile Dabula. It was becoming clear that this was never going to be a column restricted to one subject or one corner of the news cycle.
Then came 2026, and with it a heavier dose of Zimbabwean politics. Headlines such as “The Persuaders Succeeded in Persuading Him to Not Go as Geza Ascends,” “Bulawayo's Two Days of Fear and the Questions That Followed,” “The Nation's Constitution Cannot Be Reduced to Party Property,” and “Increase Salaries, Not Term Extensions” reflected a country wrestling with questions of leadership, security, constitutional reform, succession and the everyday struggles of ordinary citizens.
Yet the column never allowed Zimbabwean politics to completely dominate the conversation. “Iran Is Far Away From Zimbabwe” examined how a conflict thousands of kilometres away could still find its way into the Zimbabwean household through fuel prices, transport costs and economic uncertainty — a reminder that in an interconnected world, distance does not always mean detachment.
By August, the political conversation returned with “From CAB3 to CAB4 to Monarch,” before the column shifted to Bulawayo and the debate over municipal policing under the headline “ZRP, Please Move Over — City Council Police Is Coming!” The latest verified edition, “Two Mothers, One Son,” once again combined political controversy, allegations, tragedy and a touch of humour, ending with the wonderfully Zimbabwean episode involving Sensei Tendai/Tendai Maduwa and parking marshals.
Looking back, perhaps the greatest achievement of Weekend Trending Stories is not any single headline, but the journey itself. In one year, the column has moved from elephants and Parliament to State House and weddings, from Dombodema to Bulawayo, from Madagascar to Iran, and from constitutional debates to parking marshals.
It has tried to do something simple but important: look beyond the obvious story, ask another question and find the story behind the story, while never being afraid to laugh at the wonderfully unpredictable theatre of everyday Zimbabwean life.
As Maitengwe Post celebrates one year, Weekend Trending Stories therefore stands as more than a collection of weekly articles; it is a small diary of a remarkable year — filled with grief and celebration, politics and sport, controversy and laughter.
One year down. Many stories behind us. And Yours Truly is still watching.
Happy first anniversary, Maitengwe Post.