By Adley Munashe Muswati
MARONDERA, Zimbabwe — Five-year-old Ashton Samuel Takudzwa Maphosa lit up the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) Commemoration Day at Rudhaka Stadium with a spontaneous dance that drew cheers and gifts from the crowd.
Ashton, an ECD B pupil at St. Thomas Primary School, began dancing to traditional rhythms from the terraces before organisers invited him on stage to join the Mutoko Prison Dance Group.
Spectators and officials, including ZPCS Mashonaland East Officer Commanding Commissioner George Sibanda, watched as the boy matched the troupe step for step.
“My son loves dancing, but I didn’t expect him to perform so well before such a big crowd,” said his mother, Sylvia Maphosa.
“He has never done it on a stage like this.”
Audience members showered Ashton with cash and gifts. Among them was Tafadzwa “Shasha” Jim, secretary for transport and welfare in the Youth League and a councillor for Ward 23 in Marondera Rural.
“I’m impressed because he danced to traditional songs, and he is super talented,” Jim said. “We should appreciate such talent and find ways to mould, motivate and groom children like him.”
Ashton’s parents, Sylvia and Cleopas Maphosa, said the response encourages them to support their son’s passion.
“We’re proud of him,” Sylvia said. “This shows what can happen when children get a chance to express themselves.”
