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OWIKU: The Voice That Saved the Innocence

THE BATTLE IN MAGWI LANDS

By: Abunerry, Ayella.

8-10-2025

Everyone was busy; the village was quiet with men and women determined to rebuild their lives after a long-endured conflict—no one thought of leaving their homes again. Children attended school under trees as construction for a permanent building continued. Health centres were established in every unit. The villagers enjoyed relative peace. But this quietness was interrupted.

In July 2016, voices began to travel through the air, landing on each villager's ears. A voice that called for destruction rather than reconstruction. A voice, dressed in the camouflage of tsunamis. What can we do? Should we take shelter around the riverbanks? Shall we be safe? No one has the answer. The wait is too long for the answer. Owiku keeps on hooting loudly. No one could find a solution to the threat posed by Owiku’s loud hooting. The peace is disappearing from the villagers' sights.

Yes, the villagers were accused. They were labelled as hiding rebels. Was it true? No one has the answer. But the unprecedented tsunami was real. It was about to hit harder than the villagers could bear. Owiku kept on reminding them, and late in the evening, it hooted louder. The voices could be felt farther than the graves. Peace has gone, and real war has endangered the villagers. Why us? The questions remained silently unanswered. Owiku continues to bang every door, giving an alert to the villagers.

The accusation continued, and soon, the villagers began to disappear. They arrested young men and drove them to unknown locations. They suffocated some and threw others to die in the rivers. Older women watched helplessly as the invaders crushed their children by motor and hit others with tree trunks. They raped both young and old women who were in either the gardens or collecting firewood. Owiku was real. Those who listened to its warning signs escaped unhurt. Those who ignored the voice suffered severe injuries, including amputations, and many died as a result.

In just a short run, a village, once a centre of hope, a beacon of light, and a development model, turned into a ghost city. Everybody fled as Owiku strengthened its warning campaign. But why us? It's the question the villagers never found the answer to.

To be continued...

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