KARIBA – Kariba-born sculptor Ronika Tandi, currently based in Germany, will return to Zimbabwe this Saturday, 8 August 2026, to host a community engagement marking the ninth anniversary of her landmark stone sculpture, Masaisai, also known as the Kariba Wave.

The “Meet the Artiste” event, scheduled for Heroes Day at Kariba Viewpoint in Heights, will function as an open, informal gathering with no stage and no speeches. Tandi’s return is intended to directly engage schoolchildren, tour guides, elders, and visitors to ensure the artwork’s cultural significance is accurately understood.

In a press statement released Thursday, Tandi explained her choice of the holiday date to maximize participation. “I chose the 8th because that’s when I have time, and that’s when people have time too. It’s Heroes Day. Schoolchildren are free. Families are free. And we are celebrating 9 years of Masaisai standing in Kariba,” she said. “I want everyone to come, schoolchild, guide, elder, visitor – and hear from the horse’s mouth. So the meaning of the wave is not lost in wrong interpretations.”

Carved from stone nine years ago, Masaisai draws directly from the Seven Myths of Kariba within Tonga/Batonga cosmology, representing the story of the great wave, the spirit of the river, and the people’s relationship with Nyami Nyami. Tandi said the artwork highlights the resilience of the Tonga people, who were displaced by the construction of the Kariba Dam in the 1950s.

“The wave is not only water. It is our history rolling forward. It is Batonga resilience. It is us saying: we are still here, our culture is still here, even after the waters rose,” Tandi explained.

Over the past nine years, the sculpture has evolved from a piece of art into a cultural anchor for Kariba’s tourism sector. Local tour guides now include it in itineraries alongside fishing and boat cruises, while schoolchildren use it for sketching, and tourists frequent the viewpoint for photographs with the dam wall and lake. Tandi noted that the piece supports Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Curriculum and has bolstered domestic tourism from Harare, Bulawayo, and Lusaka.

The sculptor also used the announcement to advocate for honoring living creators. “We celebrate artists too late. Often it’s when they are gone. I believe we must celebrate the artist while they are still alive, while they can still look you in the eye,” she said.

Tandi credited the late musician Stella Chiweshe as a profound influence on her work, describing her as “my legend, my mentor.”

Looking to the future, Tandi expressed hope that Masaisai will continue to serve as an educational bridge for cultural and climate discussions. “When a child stands here and learns the myth, when a tourist asks a guide about the Tonga people, when an elder nods and says ‘yes, that is us’ – then the sculpture is working,” she added.

The public is invited to attend the free event on Saturday, 8 August 2026, at Kariba Viewpoint in Heights. “On Saturday, the wave will not move. But the stories around it will,” the artist concluded in her statement.