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Tales from the Hood: Banakulu Reaveals it all

It was a Monday morning around 07:00am when Banakulu (Grandmother) was seen in the hood slowly making her way to her tenants. Banakulu was a 68 year old woman who owned a house in the hood and lived in a different area. She usually sent here grand children to collect the rentals for her every moth. Everyone in the hood knows that when Banakulu shows face it meant only one thing, her tenants had not paid rentals and things would definitely go sour if they did not pay.

As Banakulu approached her house, word had gone around like bushfire that Banakulu was in the area and everyone should brace themselves. Everyone started loitering outside their yards whilst trying hard to act busy and not look obvious that they were waiting to see what would happen next. 

Even though news of Banakulu’s arrival in the hood spread at lightening speed it did not get to Bana Kasakula’s house fast enough for her to “take cover”. Banakulu with a stern expression walked straight to Bana Kasakula’s house ignoring the greetings from her other tenants. She knocked on the door and Banakasakula was seen coming out of her house and walking back out with a chair.  She gestured to Banakulu to sit who just ignored her going straight to the matter at Hand the RENT.

Bana Kasakula explained that the money was not ready and that her husband had not been paid his salary at work, Banakulu started shouting on top of her voice notifying anyone who cared to listen how Bana Kasakula and her husband had defaulted on rentals. She round the house to each of her tenants knocking on their doors and telling them of the injustice Bana Kasakula had done to her an old woman.

As soon as Banakulu was done complaining to all the tenants at her house she walked back to Bana Kasakula’s door step and  asked for her money. No sooner had Bana Kasakula explained that the money was not ready than Banakulu begun wailing. She threw herself on the ground screaming and rolling herself towards the roadside. The absence of a fence at Banakulu’s house attracted the attention of passersby and those going to work to stop and decipher what was happening to the poor woman.

She rolled herself all the way to the roadside and started jumping up and down while screaming and crying. Those that attempted to calm her down only seemed to worsen the situation. Banakulu then leaped into the air and begun climbing the only tree in the yard, a Malberry tree by the roadside. As she ascended the tree people begged her to get down as she could get injured but she would not hear of it.

Banakulu got to the top of the tree and sat on a branch and started wailing. She then responded to those that were begging her to come down that she wouldn’t come down until Bana Kasakula and her Husband gives her the money. She then turned to directly address her debtor saying “Nipaseni ndalama zanga after all simwenzeko pamene nenze kuchita uhule nabazungu ku pamodzi hotel, kuti nipenze ndala yo mangila nyumba iyi”  (give me my money, after all you weren’t there when I was a prostitute exclusively for white people earning money to build this house).


Banakulu revealed a number of other unprintables until a  man who was passing by could not take it any more and walked to the tree where she was and asked how much they owed in rent. She told him K120 and he gave her K150 told her to get down the tree as he had paid the rent for them. Banakulu with a hint of a smile got down the tree and walked away, but not before telling Bana Kasakula that she should pack her things and vacate the house.

Comments

Love Congolais said…
Haha this can't be true Su. Hilarious !!
2:44 AM
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