adminAuxilia Katongomara and Bongani Ndlovu Entertainment Correspondents
They are very unapproachable. They look menacing and their gigantic bodies also add to their demeanour. They are commonly referred to as bouncers or ongalongalo or mamonya and they are seen manning entrances at clubs and gates at gigs.Last week Saturday Leisure decided to go out to talk to some of Bulawayo’s bouncers who have been in the industry for a very long time.
Leisure wanted to find out how the bouncers have been able to eke out a living from the trade and how it feels to be a bouncer.
Local bouncer, Dumisani Mpofu has been in the industry since 2004 and said he was happy with his chosen trade. The 33-year-old said he became a bouncer in 2004 after he came back from Botswana where he said life was hard.
“It was a boring life in Botswana because I had to carry my passport always and I decided to come back to Bulawayo and my mother told me that I was fit to be a doorman.
I started work as a bouncer at Paparazzi in 2004 till its closure, then I went to Brass Monkey in Bradfield. The bouncer retraced his footsteps to Botswana where he worked as a bouncer at Gaborone Hotel.
One would first be hesitant to meet the bouncers because of fear that they are violent. However when this newscrew visited them they proved to be the opposite as they opened up and were willing to share some of their experiences in the trade.
Mpofu said he came back to Bulawayo in 2006 and contacted Vaxon Dube, as one needs connections to make it in the field.
“For one to be a real bouncer, they have to go to the gym very often to keep fit. I have been an amateur boxer, which is my favourite sport. I tried karate but later quit. Till today, I don’t understand the meditation part before training and a match,” he said.
One of the major reasons why bouncers are hired is that they have to quell violence and deal with rowdy revellers. We sought to find out how they deal with the violent and misbehaving patrons.
“One needs technique on how to deal with a situation, but we just assess the situation and we don’t beat up people, it’s not our duty.
“Unruly patrons are taken to the police or we handcuff them and then surrender them to any nearest police station,” he explained.
As bouncers who provide security at different venues, they are likely to meet different ladies, especially ladies of the night who need free entry into the venue as well as protection from harassment by male patrons.
“I am happily married and am a father of two boys, I am faithful to my wife and I am a Christian, I go to church on Sundays and I even interpret for my pastor. But I do take the wise waters, which I believe is not a sin,” he said with laughter.
Ironically, though bouncers are perceived to be courageous, Mpofu said he was scared of travelling at night.
“I fear walking at night, as I was mugged in June last year. There are those guys ababamba inkunzi and I fear them.
They approached me from behind and threatened me with a small axe and I had to surrender my salary and mobile phone and since then I don’t like walking at night,” he said.
Although he could not divulge how much he earns per month, he revealed that they make more money during the festive season and the months of January and February are dry.
A veteran in the game Vax Dube, who is the chairperson of the Bulawayo Bouncers’ Association, said he joined the profession 20 years ago.
He said he has provided security, has seen who-is-who in the entertainment circles over the years.
“I started working at Hustlers. The joint used to be frequented by Indians and the coloured community in 1994. After that I have moved from club to club in the city,” said the soft spoken Dube.
He said there was no night spot in the city that he had not worked for.
“I have worked at night spots such as, Visions, Bangalanga, Paparazzi, Savannah, Khami Bar, stunts, Time Bar, Jock and Saddle, Baku to mention but a few. I do this as a part time job,” said Dube.
The happily married bouncer said he married in 1984 and has five children, three boys and two girls. He added that at 51 years he was now a grandfather of two.
“My children are all grown up, three are in Harare, one is in South Africa and the last born is at Nust,” said Dube.
He said he loves karate and he was a second Dan.
“As a bouncer you should do your weights for a particular sport. Training is supposed to be a way of living so that you are always fit,” said Dube.
He encouraged foreign artistes to take advantage of the services his association offers. The Bulawayo Bouncers’ Association was formed in 2011 with the aim of formalising their services.
The 50-member strong association trades under the name The Entourage. Patience is the key to being a bouncer as people who are intoxicated are sometimes a nuisance,” said Shepard Mpofu a bouncer from Thorngrove.
He said there were undisciplined people who visited nightclubs just to cause havoc.
“There are people who come to the clubs just to cause mayhem. Some would be drunk and unwilling to co-operate,” said the shy Mpofu.
He said on weekends he goes to Seventh Day Adventist church at Nguboyenja and is a father of three.
“I go to church on Saturdays at SDA in Nguboyenja near where I live. Apart from being a bouncer, I sell cars and run flea market stands in the city.
“You need to be versatile as a person,” said Dube whose first born is doing Grade Two.
He said Vax Dube introduced him to bouncing 10 years ago and he has worked at Khami Bar, Café Baku and Horizon, among others.
Such is the life of bouncers who seem to have a strong Christian background, which for some is surprising judging by their no nonsense attitude at night spot doors.
They are just ordinary family men who are trying to make ends meet in Zimbabwe just like the rest of the population.
Online Reporter