Uncle Tenson or adada sat in his brown sofa chair. Aunt a Nya Zghambo or amama sat is her brown sofa chair next to him. I sat in the corner closest to them on the long brown 3 cushion sofa.
“Tizaso and Misozi!” Uncle Tenson called.
“Sah!”
“Sah!” both of them answered and came to the living room.
“Go now to the bathroom. Musuke mino na mswaji, wear your pajamas and go to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow to go to school. Kucedwa yayi ka! (Go and brush your teeth. Do not delay).”
I quickly went to my bedroom and brought my package. I opened it on the coffee table to show them the 6 large dry bream fish I had brought.
“Yeo Tembo, (Thank you)” Aunt Nya Zghambo said clapping her hands. “This is very good fish. We will cook some of it tomorrow for supper. The rest we will put in the deep freezer.”
“Yes, Yeo Tembo (Thank you)” Uncle Tenson also said clapping hands.
“Tembo,” Uncle Tenson turned to me and said. “Malonje ngakuti ine na Anyi Namwe, and the family tose we are doing very well since you left. So tell us about Barotseland!? How was your trip to Western Province? How was it?”
“Adada na Amama muli apa, (Father and mother right here)”, I replied emphatically. “Ulendo ukanowa chomene. Ningamtetezghani yayi. (The trip was very sweet. I cannot lie to you).”
“Eh! Anenani (Tell us more).”
“Uku Ku Ulozi nkhuwemi chomene(The land of the Lozi is very good). “This was the second time I have flown on a plane. The first time was in 1974 when I flew Zambia Airways from Lusaka to Chipata for which I personally paid the fare of K13.00”.
“Sure?” my uncle said with surprise at the very low fare. “That was about the price of a UBZ bus fare from Lusaka to Chipata at the time!”(United Bus Company of Zambia)
“Enya!! The flight from Lusaka to Mongu was even better; very smooth very good. The NAMBOARD officials Mr. Imasiku and the Driver Mr. Mundia welcomed me at the air strip. But what happened the following day, I will never forget.”
“What happened!?”
“Mr. Imasiku had put me at Lyambai Hotel. When I woke up in the morning and opened the curtains of my window, the scene was the most beautiful I have ever seen in my whole life living in Lundazi, Chipata and Lusaka. The long glowing soft morning sun rays were landing on a beautiful canal with shimmering blue waters with some of the Lozi people busy rowing canoes up and down catching fish. After the first rains, the November tiny shoots of green grass were just beginning to shoot up all over the land along the canal.”
“Anenani (Tell us more)”, Uncle Tenson said sitting on the edge of his chair.
“The previous night I had gone to Sinjonjo Bar.”
“We are not surprised!” Uncle and Aunt Nya Zghambo laughed. “We know you are a young man.”
By Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D.
Professor of Sociology
PIECE OF C.R.A.P
Okay ba Tembo your story has lost the flavour. It has no punchline olo those details in the conversation iya what you saw after waking up in Lyambai Hotel you could have had left them out and instead summed them up with something like “before I embarked on a 10 minutes monologue telling him about what I witnessed in Western province.”
This story has become as dull as dish water.
Yangu ba professor! Even Mushota would have done better!
Sibweni Nkhani mwayidumulila pakati.
This episode is cut rather short and lacking the ummph effect to urge one to read on. Let the episodes continue to have the tasty flesh please, will you?
MMMMM TOO SHORT, GIVE SOME MORE JUICY MR TEMBO, WE CANT WAIT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF MS JITANDA’S STORY
Prof
Prof. Been reading intently then cut just too fast.
What is happening prof? This was rather too short. Drop ka part 6 manjemanje!
Prof Tembo, this is where you stop telling your story. You say for those who want the rest of the story they can get my book at Book World Manda Hill branch. You cannot keep this story alive anymore. We need the full book. Doing it in paragraphs will not do. You are no Julius Chongo of the fumbi kobo fame, who kept us tuned to radio 2 of the Nyanja service wanting to hear more. That man was a good story teller. So prof Tembo tell us where the whole story can be gotten. I agree with the rest that your snippets have starting to bore
This is not the whole part 5. Part 6 is coming. I would advise you to get my novel “The Bridge” there in Lusaka. One woman in Lusaka said she could not put it down. That week she could not cook for children and husband. One woman who I visited in Mpika in 2012, went to her bedroom at 16:00hrs to read “The Bridge”. She could not put it down until she finished at 21 hours. She is a Bemba woman. She came out of the bedroom and she said and this is true: “Iwe Tembo wali tumpa! This novel is very gugu!! But how can you end it like that? I am annoyed.” There are few copies in Lusaka. Ask around at Book Stores and call this number because Mr. Penda may have a copy of “The Bridge”. 0-979-443-150
Please more episodes.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha kwe kwe kwe kwe kwe heee hee hee hee hee hee heee, what’s this? aha aha aha aha oho oho oho. Laughing all the way. This story is like kandolo… very attractive yet ipata pamukosi, digestion begins in the mouth. Nanga iyi lyashi digestion ili kuli… manyi… vyakulolavye… muniswalele…byambo muki Kaonde.. Makani aya mu chitonga… Tumba lya mwili…ha ha ha ha ha… chintobentobe…Makande mwa silozi…zwelotokezi babancha…kusoneka muvwimbimbi…abude abude nshindi muluvale ha ha ha ha ha… That is how I have understood the story and you have just read my summary of it!!!!!
A Mwizenge, this story has stopped coming in the Daily Mail?