Chronicle Editor
Day by Day Ekasi stories, with Clifford Kalibo
TOWNSHIP life is a sweet bliss which inevitably invokes nostalgia to many who grew up in the townships also known as Western areas/Ekasi/Emalokitshini. There is never a dull day Emalokitshini. You have it all there Ekasi. There is an assortment of character (kule mkhando).
Invariably the majority of the top guys in Government, private sector, NRZ, Zesa, politicians, doctors, lawyers, etc are all products of the western areas and were schooled there mostly before the popular migration in the 1980s from “B” Schools Emalokitshini to “A” Schools izikolo zamasalala in the low-density suburbs.
Schooling in the townships during the 1960s and 1970s was very exciting. Each day at school was a full package of fun. The writer had the privilege of learning at one of the most popular primary schools, namely Maphisa Primary School situated in Sizinda Township next to Birkenhead Road. By the way Birkenhead Road is the longest public road in Bulawayo!
My school days bring to memory the creamy and delicious milk (popularly known as umkara) which we drank for free during break time at 10am. You could drink as many cups as you could stomach! The milk was always in abundance. We would each bring from home drinking cups (Kango mugs or amankomitsho ezenge). Of course there were those with gigantic appetites who would bring one-litre cups!
The caretaker, old Mr Fuyana, short in stature and with a permanent lop-sided grin would dole the milk to us from big metal silver dairy containers. Next to Mr Fuyana would be another caretaker, old Mr Khumalo who sold to us creamy Lobel’s buns for half-a-penny, which later changed to half-cent after the system moved from imperial to metric in 1971.
The milk would go down well with the buns. The two caretakers were always immaculately clad in khaki shirts and shorts and gumboots, which was the common uniform for Government general hands and domestic workers during the colonial era.
I remember we would secretly laugh at the two old men who were clad in khakis like us the students (even though their khaki was a shade darker than ours). The two caretakers were a funny-looking pair to us as they both had pierced ear lobes (ukuklekla) and both had missing front teeth. Mr Kumalo had a habit of inserting a cigarette stub in the hole of the pierced lobe.
We were young of course and all that was funny to us at that time. It was much later, around 1976 (I was a school prefect by then), that I grew closer to the two old caretakers. They would tell us lots of stories from long ago. But when I think back now the stories were more of fiction than genuine stories. The two old men told us that they belonged to the Ndebele Royal Family and were descendants of King Mzilikazi. They narrated a lot of interesting stories about the Royal Family.
These stories I will reserve them for another of my weekly episodes.
Now back to break time (umkara time). My class had several bullies. I remember in 1974 my class had notorious characters such as Cosmas Mbewe (Koma), Kamima Phiri, Israel Banda ( Iza), Chiwewe Zulu, Bhebhu, Austin and few others. We were in Grade Four but these guys looked so grown up that you could mistake them for teachers.
These guys were rowdy, disorderly, noisy and rough, both in and out of the class room.
Now at the first ring of the bell signalling the start of break time these characters would bolt out of the classroom with the speed of lightning and head for umkara. They were always the first to arrive there. By the time the rest of us got there, the bullies would already have downed three or four cups of milk each.
We would find them holding a cupful of milk each, waiting for us the smaller guys to buy buns so that we could share with them our buns. They called this “protection fee”. Up to now I still have no idea what we were being protected against!
After filling their bellies with umkara and “protection fee buns” the bullies would rush off to join bullies from other classes to play rough games such as “amajemeni” (karate chops) and a combat-like game which resembles present day (WWE) wrestling. We would always watch in awe and mesmerisement as the bullies displayed their physical strength and judo skills. After break the bullies would go back to class dirty and dusty and at times bleeding.
Now back to the classroom. Our ordeal (we the weaklings and younger ones) did not end with the “protection fee buns”. You see, these bullies, Cosmas (Koma), Israel (Iza), Kamima, Chiwewe, Bhebhu, etcetera, despite the fact that they possessed physical stamina as evidenced by their rough judo plays, these guys sadly lacked intellectual or mental stamina.
They always failed every test and so dull were they that they could not construct a simple sentence in either Ndebele or English. I am even wondering if their lot could count up to 10. So the bullies would force me and my friends, the likes of Cyprian and Hlabathi to hand over our books so that they would copy our written work. For that reason the bullies would always get high marks like us.
But alas, the bullies’ gravy train came to an abrupt and embarrassing end one Friday morning. It would seem, our class teacher Mr Mapholisa had been silently observing the bullies’ unconventional methods of passing class tests.
It was a cold Friday morning and we were to write a weekly class test. The norm was that our teacher Mr Mapholisa (a tall, dark-skinned gentleman with a hoarse voice) would give us a test each week in English, Ndebele and Mathematics. He would leave us to do the tests and would collect the books at the end of the day.
It was during the teacher’s absence that the class hooligans would forcefully demand to copy our work. If you refused to comply you would be threatened with a thorough judo beating! At that threat a cold shiver would run down my spine and I would quickly hand over my books for the judo masters to copy.
On that particular Friday, Mr Mapholisa dropped a bombshell. He announced that Cosmas, Israel, Bhebhu, Chiwewe, Austin and Kamima should follow him to the staff room where they would write their tests separately from the rest of us and under his strict supervision. I still remember vividly the shock and fear that registered on the bullies’ faces as they followed the teacher to the staff room. I also remember Cosmas glaring at me angrily with a threatening look.
The whole class jumped and ululated with joy after the bullies had departed. As you can predict all the bullies failed dismally. They were further ordered to write all future tests in the staff room. At least we were now rid of one problem. What now remained was the “buns protection fee’’ problem.
Till we meet again next Sunday for yet another exciting episode of “Day by Day Ekasi”. This is a true account. All names in the episode are real. In the meantime let’s please stay safe and protect ourselves from Covid-19. Mask up. Sanitise. Maintain social distancing. Stay at home. Wash your hands regularly.
The writer would like to pay tribute to all former teachers and students of Maphisa Primary School, inter-alia: Teachers: Mr S Hadebe, Mr Z Z Thodlana, Mr R K Ncube, Mr Ville, Mr A Bhuku, Mr T Mapholisa, Mr Mkandla, Mr Suis, Mr A Bhebhu, Mr R Tshuma, Mr C Mkwananzi, Mr K Sibanda, Mr Hlabangana, Mr Gumbo, Mr Nekatambe, Mrs Bango, Mrs Dupute, Mrs Gwebu, Miss V Ncube, Mr Nxumalo.
Caretakers: Mr Fuyana, Mr Kumalo (Snr), Mr Foreman Kumalo (Jnr), Mr Ndiweni.
Students: Hlabathi Mbewe, Cyprian Gande, Mlonda Mathe, Judea Ndlovu, Wamundila Waliuya, Clemence Tambwali, Austin Tshuma, Sailors Ndlovu, Moses Gozhora, Mark Mlauzi, Caston Abel Ngwane, Cosmas Mbewe, Bhebhu, Israel, Chiwewe, Kamima, Mavis Masuku, Lungowe Mathe, Mainas Banda, Tabita Tembo, Akulongwe Lungu, Anna Phiri, Christine Sato, Belita Gomani, Charles Kamanga, Zondiwe Ndlovu , Norah Ndlovu.
Feedback: 0783856228/0719856228/ email: [email protected]
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter