Sunday Afternoons at Centenary Park: A Family Tradition That Refuses to Fade

Every Sunday from about three in the afternoon, Centenary Park fills up. Picnic blankets unfurl. Maputi crackles in plastic packets. Children sprint between trees as fathers tune transistor radios to Highlanders commentary on Skyz Metro FM.

It is a tradition older than most who attend. Generations of Bulawayo families have used Centenary Park as the city’s communal lounge — somewhere between a public square and an extended family living room.

“My mother brought me here when I was five,” said Themba Ncube, now bringing his own children. “My grandmother used to bring her. Four generations of us have eaten amagwinya under that same tree.”

Some traditions don’t need preserving by a committee. They preserve themselves, one Sunday at a time.