Lion of Soweto

Chapter 36

Audrey found love after leaving college, but Margaret lived off different men until she met Dumisani, a Zulu man posted to Harare for a bridge-consruction contract awarded to Transnet – the company he worked for.

"Be my woman for life," Dumisani sweet-talked Margaret. "I've come all the way from Pretoria to find you."

Dumisani made Margaret his offsite companion, promising her golden spandex and silver teeth – stories Margaret fell for, thinking her lucky moment had come. She accompanied him to Pretoria when the project ended. But on getting to Mamelodi, he lodged her with Atlarela, a bachelor friend. Margaret protested on the spot. "Why can't I live with you?"

"I'll be going to Maputo for a new project starting soon. Will you follow me to war zones or you'll stay here and be safe?"

"What do you want people to say of me?"

"I'm the one you're involved with. Whenever I return from trips, I'll meet you here."

"Okay, I hope your friend is a gentleman?"

"I trust him to bits. He's laid-back and gentle in many ways."

Margaret agreed to stay with Atlarela, but Dumisani didn't travel to Maputo. He was married and lived with his wife and two kids.

The same week, Atlarela wanted Margaret on his bed, threatening to throw her out of the house at midnight if she refused. With Dumisani supposedly thousands of kilometres away, and no phone to reach him, Margaret caved in.

Dumisani showed up Saturday mornings to take Margaret out, on the pretext that he took a break from work just to be with her. Sunday evenings he would return to his wife and kids. They continued that way for almost a year, a period of prolonged physical abuse which led Margaret to seek help from neighbours.

She soon got pregnant, announcing to Atlarela who pointed at Dumisani as the rightful father, but the dribbler would have none of it. "She stays with you, so you're the one in charge." Dumisani then said.

The men couldn't agree on the paternity, prompting Atlarela to spill the beans, sitting Margaret down for a flavoured heart-to-heart talk. "Dumisani is married. He has four kids who live with their mother on Harriman Street nearby. He's hiding you from his wife because she will kill you if she finds out. Let me tell you the truth: you're not his only mistress."

"Why are you just telling me now that I'm pregnant?" Margaret queried.

"I wanted you to find him out yourself, but you don't understand the person you're dealing with. See, he doesn't travel during the week. His place is not far. I'll take you there if you want. He can't marry you. He's just wasting your time."

Devastated Margaret felt deceived. Friends and neighbours advised her to leave since the guys didn't want her. "Your life is at risk," they warned.

Unwilling to raise a baby with her homeless condition, Margaret aborted the pregnancy and returned to street life. Luckily she had the requisite skills to pull through, needing only to tap into her Harare hustles.

"Return home and start afresh," Audrey then advised, but Margaret didn't heed. Uncle Jude was no longer alive, where would she stay in Harare? Audrey wouldn't tolerate a wayward lifestyle around her loving husband.

Margaret stayed put in South Africa, making friends with the locals and her compatriots based here – the Shonas and Ndebeles.

She wobbled and fumbled through hard life on the street, but luck soon smiled on her when she met Soweto-based Moyane who had visited Mamelodi for a weekend weed-binge. He proposed but she turned him down, thinking it was dagga at work. When he persisted, they became friends. He was well into his fifties.

"Are you sure you're not married with kids?"

"I live alone, but I have three children who live with their mothers."

"It's fine. Since you're not married, we can roll together."

Margaret moved in with Moyane, a pensioner who owned a three-bedroom apartment in the Orlando area of Soweto. Glad to have a place to call home, she introduced herself to neighbours as Moyane's wife. Those who'd seen many ladies arrive and leave doubted her claim, but the strong affection between the two suggested so.

Margaret lived with her new lover for three years, birthing her first daughter, Forgive. She informed Audrey about the newborn, to which she received congratulatory messages. Sheline was then eleven.

Margaret would later fend for herself after Moyane died in a Mamelodi riot. The need for a new home pinched her to look around for cheap accommodation: Princewill, Polemann or Mabatho, she combed all adjacent streets in Orlando but had to stay put in the same flat which had been willed to Moyane's last born – her first child.

With accommodation problems sorted, Margaret job-hunted and got hired as a salesgirl in a retail store.

For someone used to multiple men, Margaret found it tough to live without one. She often invited guys to her flat, and soon she got pregnant again. As before, paternity was an issue. Which of her three part-time boyfriends was responsible? She settled for Zikala – the one she loved the most but who was twelve years younger.

"I'm expecting a baby with you," she told him.

"A baby!" The lad danced around all day, tickled about being a father. "My baby with get a balanced life – I'll make sure. Not this tough life I live."

What gladdened Zikala was the opportunity to station himself under Margaret's roof where he needed not pay rents. He had no job; neither did he run a business. Meeting Margaret's amoral needs became his focus, a task he did with religious fervour.

With Margaret now user-unfriendly with a swollen belly, Zikala sought other ladies, returning home once in two weeks, especially during her last trimester. Margaret coped with his eccentricities 'til she delivered the baby, believing he would turn a new leaf after delivery. Zikala got worse.

Though Zikala cared for the newborn, a certain event killed off their dalliance. One afternoon, Margaret returned from work earlier than usual to find him under the sheet with another lady. He sent him away, and that was the last she saw of him.

Still, life was a struggle for Margaret. Providing for two kids was tough. She hoped to meet a wealthy man who'll cater to her needs, physical and material. The desire to live with a man pinched daily.

A chance encounter with a Jehovah's Witness lady brought Margaret closer to God. Touched by it, she attended their Kingdom Hall meeting. But on realising that their worship pattern differed, she switched over to the Presbyterian Church in Jabulani where she still worships.

***

Water drips from Sheline's eyes listening to Margaret's tale. She moves over to hold the woman's hands. Having to live on the street is a hard choice. Doing so far away from home evokes pity.

Sheline retires to bed with a heavy heart, but fatigue from the long journey knocks her off early. The young lady glides into bed at 10 pm, waking up 9 am on Sunday.