From former Finance Minister Magande’s memoirs: I dropped into the deep water

Ng’andu Magande

“The demise of Simalambo resulted in some changes to the administration and physical setup of the Mwiinga Cibuyu Village. Grandfather Matongo succeeded Simalambo as the Village Headman. He also inherited most of the assets including the cattle and the gun from his elder brother. The new headman was a cool tall gentleman, who was interested in the modernity being introduced by the colonizing Europeans.
In his youth, Matongo and some friends had trekked all the way to Kalomo Town in the hope of getting across the Zambezi River to Wankie in Zimbabwe for work in the coal mines. When they ran short of money to continue the journey, the team worked on one of the newly established farms in the Popota area of Choma. Matongo, therefore, encouraged his subjects to adopt the new crops and crop husbandry. The changes in farming methods resulted in increased food security and prosperity for the villagers of Namaila, as they had plenty of small grains and maize.
Within a short period of time, some villagers, including my parents, were producing surplus maize, which they delivered to the nearest crop depot at Nkonkola, about thirty kilometres away. The nearest dip tank was situated close to the crop depot and as per livestock health regulations, we took the cattle for dipping once per month.
Most of Simalambo’s children relocated and built new homes in distant places nearer to their fields. Matongo remained in the same old location, where he enjoyed the cool shade of the huge and dense musikili (trichilia emetica) medicinal tree. Uncle Aaron and I moved with Mizinga and her new husband, Haazunga, to a new home on the southern side of the Likoma River. My parents and siblings, together with my paternal grandmother Kasamba, relocated eastwards across the Kakolyo stream.
One day, Uncle Aaron and I were coming from the northern side of the Likoma River, which we found swollen because of heavy rains upstream. My uncle kindly decided to carry me on his shoulders as he waded across the river at a point where the current was slow. On reaching the middle of the river, my uncle let go of me and I dropped into the deep water. Since I did not know how to swim, I flapped my hands while gulping a large quantity of water.
My uncle seemed to enjoy the show very close by before he rescued and laid me on the bank of the river. While mumbling something, he hit my bulging tummy with handfuls of wet sand. Suddenly, much of the water in my stomach poured out. He then asked me to put an insect called njebebe, which is agile in water, on my tongue and it bit me. It was strongly believed that the bite of this insect injects some fluid that arouses swimming capability in human beings.
My uncle then confessed that he had faked slipping-off into the water. He wanted me to learn how to swim. He proclaimed that from thenceforth I would not fear water and that I would never drown. This proclamation helped me as I confidently crossed the Simaila River on the way to and from school.
By some misfortune, my grandmother’s new husband passed away late in 1953. His funeral drew thousands of guinea fowls as if they’d come to bid farewell to their tormentor. Haazunga was a good hunter and he provided the family with fowl meat on regular basis. My grandmother decided to relocate back to the northern bank of the Likoma River, where most of the people lived. It was also decided that I should join my parents at their new location as I was a grown-up boy.
Staying with my parents presented new challenges as I took on new responsibilities and had to learn new skills as the eldest child. No more kid-glove treatment such as I’d received from my old girlfriend, Mizinga”, from my Memoirs.