Chronicle Editor
Ekasi stories with Clifford Kalibo
(Continued from last week)
The Gestapo, the Berliners and the Black Power gangs of Njube, Iminyela and Matshobana townships respectively were to be identified by their common dressing of striped round neck T -Shirts, or short sleeved checkered shirts, Hombri jeans and Super Pro or black Bata Tenderfoot tennis shoes. On their heads they would wear black berets, pointed caps or “umkhomba ndlela” or small round hats known as “umdobs”.
The Njube Gestapo grew out of a group of street fighters who would fight each other on the weekends. There were more of a territorial gang who spent much of their time defending their territory and women from their neighbouring rival gang, the Berliners.
They later turned to knife point robberies, house breaking and protection fee racketeering. Some of the notable Gestapo gang members were the likes of Bra Hendrix, Sbhejile, Bra Tito Mareza, Knox One Time, Mawisa and the ring leader Uncle Mjondolo.
The Berliners of Iminyela were largely concerned with small-scale crime such as pick -pocketing and shop lifting.
They would often travel up and down in the ROC (Rhodesia Omnibus Company) buses to steal money and other valuables from the commuters. I faintly remember that the Berliners would throng Sizinda Township to steal wage packets from the unsuspecting Railway employees. Their efforts were more often thwarted by the deadly Sizinda Spoilers.
The Berliners tended to be armed with Okapi knives and Three Star knives. The most outstanding of the Berliners were Mandla Sixpence, Themba Spikiri, Boy Boy, Jack Tsotsi, Chipembere, Tim’s Mkalanga and Mancane. Themba Spikiri who was the ring leader of the Berliners was to be later brutally knifed to death by Uncle Mjondolo of the Gestapo, in a very nasty fight over a popular lady who was known as Mandundu. Uncle Mjondolo is said to have been found guilty of first degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
The Night Strollers belonged to Tshabalala Township. This gang was more of an appendage of the Sizinda Spoilers. It was mainly composed of weak gangsters who looked upon the neighbouring Spoilers as their “ Big Brother. Misheck Hove, Luke, Tomborombo, Bra Luwiza, Achimwene and Bra Knox are a few of the gangsters that come to mind.
Like the other gangs, the Night Strollers were also keen to protect their area, even though the Spoilers were virtually ruling Sizinda as well as Tshabalala. The Night Strollers imitated the adult American gangsters such as Two Time Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Brooky Joe.
The notorious lady Mandundu, who apparently had a taste for gangsters, appeared again on the scene when Achimwene of the Night Strollers was involved in a bloody and messy knife fight with Mandla Sixpence of the Berliners. It would seem it was a love triangle gone wrong, the bone of contention yet again being Mandundu.
Both gangsters had to be hospitalised after the fight. The other gangsters were now baying for Mandundu’s blood, and she fled to Zambia to join the liberation struggle as a Zipra cadre. She resurfaced in Bulawayo at Independence in 1980.
She got married to Bra Tito Mareza of the Gestapo. She is now living in Marinoha area, about 15 kilometres away from Maphisa in Matobo District and she is a very successful farmer.
The Black Power of Matshobana were a very violent and aggressive lot. They always carried with them dangerous weapons such as knives, knobkerries, and catapults. They ravaged the areas under their direct control through muggings, house breakings and harassing shop owners.
Their area of dominance extended to Mpopoma Township where there was no gang, so they easily took over Mpopoma. The ring leader of the Black Power gang was Marchion, and his members were guys like Alec Mathe, Mblayo Masuku, Uncle Naison Lumumba, Bra Nyamazana, and Bra Zeff.
The most memorable incident occurred in 1974 on the 15th day of September, outside Rio Hostel in Matshobana. It so happened on that day that two Spoilers, Bra Sofaya and Bra Edgar had visited Matshobana, apparently on a secret surveillance mission. The two Spoilers were spotted by the Black Power gangsters and all hell broke loose.
The writer has it from reliable sources that a very strong fist fight erupted between Edgar and Sofaya versus ten Black Power gangsters. Both Edgar and Sofaya put up a very spirited and brilliant fight. They employed all the tactics in book and eventually they defeated the Black Powers in a fight that lasted close to one and a half hours.
The two Spoilers had to make a rushed escape to Sizinda via Mashasha bush with the reinforced Black Powers in hot pursuit. Word had already reached Sizinda about the fight.
The Spoilers grouped together and chanted a war cry as they ran towards Matshobana via Mashasha. They met the Black Powers who were still in pursuit of Edgar and Sofaya. They met halfway near Hlalo Brothers.
A nasty scene could have occurred were it not for the intervention of the ringleaders, Mdhala of the Spoilers and Marchion of the Black Powers who quickly called for a truce. That fight was dubbed as the “Rumble in Matshobana”.
Uncle Naison Lumumba now lives in Nyamandlovu and is a successful chicken farmer. Bra Nyamazana is now a Pastor in a Seventh Day Adventist Church somewhere in rural Gweru. Meanwhile Bra Zeff is now a Sangoma in Tsholotsho.
In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to all the gangsters, both the dead and the living. Even though gangsterism was frowned upon by society, the gangsters did leave a rich history that is indelible in history. This history will go deep down the annals of History and remain as a strong memento of township History for many years to come.
Very special tribute goes to the Spoilers who have supplied me with invaluable information, without which it would not have been easy to write this article. As always please enjoy reading this article as you enjoy your Sunday.
Feedback: Clifford Kalibo/ 0783856228 / 0719866228/ email: [email protected]
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