The late business maverick Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure aptly named his nightclub: Dreams. In life, Ginimbi had indeed dared to dream. A rural boy from Domboshava, an idyllic countryside northeast of Harare, emerged from a granite-hilled landscape to capture the attention of Zimbabwe and the continent through his lavish lifestyle and extravagant display of his wealth.

His business success transcended borders and he was known even in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya, mainly thanks to social media. In life, Ginimbi was an enigma whose source of vast fortunes remains a mystery. The prominent dealer would usually throw a big birthday bash in October every year. Guests would be required to dress in white.

His Dreams Night Club in Harare’s Avenues had become a symbol of his “success”. He would host the rich and famous, popping champagne. The watering hole was always buzzing with life and awash with high-value cars. As fate would have it, Ginimbi died on November 8, 2020, in a freak road traffic accident after a night of heavy partying at the Dreams Night Club.

His sibling, Juliet, who recently died ironically on Ginimbi’s birthday, was a beneficiary of her late brother’s estate as co-executor with her younger sister Nelia, who likes the life of the bright lights.

Three years after his death, everything in Dreams Bar went under the hammer on Friday. Even in deaths, the “ides of November” seems to be stalking Ginimbi. When NewsDay Weekender visited the nightclub, it was a pale shadow of its former glory. Potential buyers were milling around waiting to scavenge for things on offer.

Among the items sold included four Lamborghini (champagne carrying holders), four Ferraris (champagne carrying holders), six bar fridges, five-door cardboard display unit with aluminum glass and aluminum doors. The other auctioned items included 99 honeycomb lights, one bar sink, 32 big ice buckets, 23 stools, 23 amplifiers, two display upright fridges, 32 big ice buckets, 25 small ice buckets, 12 shisha pots, 37 shisha heads, 40 shisha pipes, 23 stools, and 23 round tables.

Nice cocktail tables, 34 speaker tops, 12 bass speakers, seven ceiling air cons, 56 screen panels, six red couch pieces, 41 black couch pieces, seven white couch pieces, and six silver couch pieces also went under the hammer.

“We were instructed by the directors of Dreams Night Club to sell the stuff. They were struggling to run the bar, and the overhead bill kept on ballooning,” said Kaftin Auctioneers officials, who declined to be named.

For one to witness or take part in the auction, he or she had to part with US$400. The media was denied access to the proceedings. Ginimbi’s funeral drew large crowds beginning on a Friday as hundreds of people, among them international dignitaries, turned up at a funeral parlor in the capital as his body was being collected. The late flamboyant socialite was mourned in a way that will probably go down in the annals of history as among the most affluent.

His death grabbed headlines beyond the borders and trended on different social media platforms. On the burial eve, a music concert was held at his mansion in what appeared to be a special treatment bestowed on Ginimbi by the police, who had initially banned the concert. The police had warned Ginimbi’s family against flouting COVID-19 regulations, but surprisingly, the concert went ahead despite musical performances or concerts having been banned at the time.

Scores of people, among them police officers, turned up for the COVID-19 regulations-busting concert which was headlined by Jah Prayzah with performances by Killer T, Hwinza, Allanah, Ndunge Yut, and popular outfit Judgement Yard.

After selling champagne glasses yesterday, NewsDay Weekender is reliably informed that the remaining family members will auction his vehicles and other properties soon. Some of his luxurious vehicles were impounded by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority over non-payment of duty. After joining his maker on November 8, Ginimbi’s famous Dreams Night Club was driven into extinction on November 11, three years later in a weird twist of fate in what can be aptly summed up as Ginimbi’s ides of November.

In other news – Harare declares state of emergency as cholera cases rise

Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, has officially declared a state of emergency in response to a cholera outbreak that has claimed numerous lives, with confirmed cases on the rise. Since the initial confirmation of the outbreak in February of this year, Harare has reported 12 deaths and recorded 123 cases on Thursday, according to the Health Ministry.

Harare’s Mayor, Ian Makone, emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, “The situation is dire, and we have declared a state of emergency in Harare. When you have 10 people dying and a hundred cases being recorded, it calls for action.” Currently, 16 individuals are hospitalized in the capital. Read More