Thulubonge Mpande

Thula wakes up before her alarm goes off. A faint aroma of chicken korma and impepho still hangs in the air. She reaches for her phone and turns off the alarm and opens her bible app. The verse of the day does not resonate with her so she takes a moment and sits quietly in the dark. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in, relies on, and confidently …,” she begins to recite with her eyes closed and both hands on her lap. Her second alarm rings 35 minutes later. She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. She repeats this four times before getting out of bed.

“How many interviews are you left with?”

“Based on yesterday’s rate, we’ll probably finish another three today and the last two tomorrow,” she replies. The grass is still damp from last nights rain so they decide to remain standing.

“I saw Jill Scott near the gate tolo. I’ve never been so glad to do anyone a favor. Her name is Mlanga, short for Mlangazua. Her smile, shoo,” Khana fans herself.

“Chesa wena, aaand?”

“Eish, I don’t know. Amagwinya akho are the main reason why she spoke to me, she’s kinda forward.”

“Amagwinya?”

“Yeah, from your aunt, they’re in my room. Focus tu. What do I do next and how do I know?” Khana shrugs and Thula remembers that Khana has never made the first move before.

“Khana, I’ve never made the first move either,” she lies and sounds more dismissive than intended.

“Weeh, kanti we’re both armatures,” Khana laughs, “ and if something does happen, I’m not sure what the protocol is yazi,” she continues and hooks her arm into Thula’s. She knows that Thula has read everything about this deployment, about Thaba Tshwane and all the rules of conduct. Thula looks over to Khana who is now resting her head on her shoulder. She smiles as a passing breeze transports a fresh smell of mint and coconut from Khanas dreadlocks.

“Okay I’ll help,” she eventually says with muted hesitation.

The white beads worn by Gogo TK remind her of the light blue set worn by Bab’ Duke. The family visited Bab’ Duke the December before Thula started her first year of university. During the visit Bab’ Duke prayed and then gave Thula her own bundle of impepho and candles. It was her first bundle. He told her to light them if she ever felt anxious or thankful or when she missed home. He did not give specific instructions on how to pray. But told her it would be good to express herself whenever she light impepho. That December they spent Christmas kwagogo for the second year in a row instead of driving to Qwaqwa to visit Mmes older sister Ruth. Mme Ruth was disappointed when Mme called to tell her they would not be coming. So Mme had to promise to send an apology to the churches thanks giving celebration organizers.

“Most people stare because they are fascinated by my attire. Not you though MaMpande,” Gogo TK says using both deep Zulu and English. Thula looks up from staring at Gogo TK’s hands and smiles.

Its 18h45 when Thula finally gets an opportunity to go through Rev Sobantu and Father Daves interviews. None of what she overheard them discuss is mentioned in their recordings. Maj. Mwashita gives her permission to request follow-up interviews. On the call with the Rev she notices his hesitation when he begins to expand on religious concepts she had not asked him about. In an effort to focus the conversation, she admits to over hearing his conversation with Father Dave. Her wanting to understand his perspective a bit more peaks his interest.

“MaMpande, we were told very little about the groups activity you know.”

“What kind of information do you feel was missing from the briefing you received Rev?” Thula asks, thankful that this is a telephone conversation.

“Akusenani, no matter,” the Rev replies and Thula remains quiet. Although his pause is longer than the ones that are between sentences, Thula knows that the Rev is not at the end of his reply.

“One day I was praying for my community as I usually do. During the prayer, I got a sense that I needed to do more research about this groups activities for the sake of the community. Another member of the congregation also received the same message. And so I did more research.” He continues and end the story by offering to bring his research with him for the second interview. He assures her that he didn’t bring it up during the initial interview because he assumed that they would have this information already. Thula was dreading the conversation with the Rev because she thought he was too charismatic and verbose. But as she ends the call, she feels a sense of appreciation and safety. A feeling she often feels when speaking with Mme Ruth.

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