Chronicle Editor
Blessing Karubwa
Author, Meluleki Sibanda is expected to publish a fictional Ndebele novel titled ‘Imfihlakalo Yasebunyameni’ next month.
Sibanda who also edits IsiNdebele novels started penning the novel in 2019. The novel which will be availed on Twitter and Facebook seeks to reveal the power of prayer.
“Imfihlakalo Yasebunyameni is a work of fiction where the author had to be creative and imagine what the evil doers do at night. Somebody, somewhere, somehow, has encountered the work of evil. So the question is, does witchcraft really exist?
“I created a fictional story whereby there were a group of men and women who worked in the darkness, casting spells on innocent people of Makhankeni, a fictional place. The aim is to convey the message that through prayer, one can conquer evil. All that is done in the dark shall be seen in broad daylight,” he said.
Amid fears that the ongoing load shedding might interrupt his plans, the author could not reveal the actual date when the novel would be published.
Born and bred in Nhlupho, Matobo District, Matabeleland South Province, the St Johns Apostolic Faith Mission congregant left Zimbabwe for South Africa in 2006. He now works as a sales clerk in the neighboring country and has so far, penned 12 novels with six of them having been published.
“In 2013, we published an anthology of short stories titled ‘Izigigaba zakwandonga ziyaduma’ and in 2014, we published a poetry anthology titled, ‘Sigiya Ngolwethu’. In 2019, I co-authored an anthology of short stories with Abalondolozi Bolimi. These are some of the novels have written so far.”
One of Sibanda’s traditional books titled, ‘Kunjani Nxa Kunje?’ sold more than 150 copies at its launch which was held in 2015 at the Hillbrow Recreational Centre in Johannesburg.
The 40-year-old said he always had a passion for writing since 1995 when he was in grade six.
“The teachers moulded me to be a writer. In 2009, through the use of social media, I started writing most of my books and met various writers who also had the same vision as mine. Writers like Bongani Ncube, Butholezwe Mpofu, Zibusiso Lima, Dingindlela Dube and Mzamo Effort Dube are some of them. Consequently, we formed an organisation called ‘Abalobi bakithi’ whose main objective was the revival of Zimbabwean indigenous languages,” he said.
Last year, Sibanda scooped the top prize in a playwriting competition held by the Barbara Clara Makhalisa Nkala Literally Trust (BCMNLT) after being awarded another first prize in a short story writing competition held by the same organization in 2021. – @KarubwaTicha
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