Judgemental

01 April 2022

17:45

 

Pastor Mkhize

 

"Son, is everything ready for tomorrow's service? It is the biggest day in our church calendar. We have visitors coming from everywhere so I don't want anything going wrong." Pastor Jabulani Mkhize says to his son JJ as they sit on the dinner table together with wife and daughter. Pastor Mkhize is a well known preacher in the area of Mobeni Heights where he has a church with a membership of about 400-500 congregants even though he and his family actually live in Durban North's up market area. He is 60 years old; married to 50 year-old Zoleka for 25 years now and they have 25 year-old twins- Thandeka and JJ.

While JJ is very much committed to church activities since he is church's music director Thandeka doesn't seem to be invested much to her father's work. She wants to do things her own way and church doesn't seem to be her thing.

"Yes dad everything is ready for tomorrow...the band and the choir are fired up for this. It will be surely a great service." JJ says with a smile of satisfaction on his face. "Good son, that's very good...and did you get security to remove those people sleeping by the gate? We can't have them chasing our esteemed visitors and guests tomorrow." JJ's mother Zoleka says as she rolls her eyes as though she is disgusted by something but her daughter Thandeka interjects, "Mom, are you even hearing yourself?" she asks in disbelief. "These are human beings, not trash that you can just sweep away alright. Where exactly do you want those people to go, huh?" She seems really shocked by her mother's statement.

"What do want us to do Thandeka, huh?" Zoleka asks as she shrugs. "The church is the private property not a shelter and tomorrow we will be having important guests who are coming from all over the country...we can't afford to have those people spooking them away.

"But mom, they are not in the property alright?" Thandeka protests, "They are outside the gate. Do you see why I don't wanna join your circus mom? It's thing like this..." her brother cuts her off, "Hey, hey, hey...don't you dare call the Lord's work a circus okay? We are doing God's work here and that might not be important to you but it is for the congregation and the people who visit us every Sunday." he says as he raises his voice a little bit. "Lord's work? Lord's work?'' Thandeka says as she shakes her head. "Is chasing homeless people away to the cold part of God' work? Tell me, which part of the bible instructs the church to do such? Shouldn't you guys be an example of love, kindness and compassion?"

Now JJ doesn't seem to know how to respond to his twin sister as he looks a little embarrassed but his mother interjects again, "You know what, don't try and guilt trip us right now okay?" she raises her voice a little bit "You are the one who chose to not be part of the church like your brother but chose to be an atheist instead. Now you are going to criticize us everytime?"

"No mama, I'm not trying to guilt-trip you, alright?" Thandeka says. "I just hate the hypocrisy around here. Look at us mom...we are having delicious meal everyday while the people who attend your church are poor and surely some if not most of them go to bed hungry or with just one meal a day, yet these are very people who give their last money every Sunday. Is it not the church's job to give to the poor instead of the other way around? What you should be doing is cooking meals for those homeless people at the gate instead of behaving like how Chief Priest and the Pharisees did during Jesus' days."

Now this last part seems to shock Zoleka as she raises an eyebrow on her daughter but Jabulani as been quiet long enough listening to these two bickering so he interjects, "Alright that's enough both of you..." he says as he raises his voice. "Now mntanami(my child) I think you have made your point alright? But we just want to make sure that tomorrow goes great okay? You know very well that we have never chased those people before sweetheart."

"Look dad, you guys do what you want...it's your church right?" Thandeka says with a somewhat defeated voice as she shrugs before standing up. "Just remember when you stand up to preach tomorrow, when you start talking about the love of God and Christ's compassion...remember those people you chased away. Remember the cold they'd have had to brave after you chased them away. You too bro...when you sing haleluja louder than the angels themselves, just remember the poor people you organized the security for, to chase them away..." She turns and walks towards the stairs.

"Thandeka, yima mntanami(wait my child) okay?" Jabulani begs as he tries to stop his daughter from leaving but Zoleka says, "No love...let her go alright? She will come around..." calmly as the mood threatens to turn sour at the dinner table. "Your sister can be stubborn JJ...I'm just glad that you did not turn out to be like her, thank God."

"Oh come on honey, you can't say something like that alright?" Jabulani says calmly. "Thandeka may have not joined the church but she is still your child and we can't force her to do something she doesn't want to. We just have to accept that not everybody will be the same in the family, so Thandeka is one such example."

"Well then as long as she remembers that this church is making her life comfortable..." Zoleka says as she looks away as though she is annoyed but Jabulani and JJ don't respond to that as they feel the topic might be a little exhausted now. They all continue to eat their meals silently in the absence of the defiant Thandeka who has gone up to her room.

***

01 April 2022

18:00

 

Xolani and Bheki

 

"Eish bro, I'm really hungry hey...last time we ate was in the morning..." a grumpy looking Bheki says to his best friend as they under the bridge of a small road that connects to the main road. This is a stop for many people who jump off here and go under the bridge to the nearby township of Ntuzuma and at this hour of the day the two friends will see a whole lot of people who are coming from work or town. Bheki and Xolani are two jobless friends who grew up together and live in the nearby township of Lindelani. Everyday they walk the streets trying to find ways of making money, anyhow they can. They struggle to get formal employment because they both never finished school.

It is unclear as to what actually happened with both their respective families but the two have been living together for a little while now ever since they decided to build a shack together in Lindelani. Their lives have been difficult most times as they have had to face the wrath of the community whenever they get into trouble about something.

"Well that what happens when you buy weed with our food money bro...do you realize that's the last cash we had?" Xolani says as he shrugs his shoulders. He seems a little annoyed but Bheki interjects, "Oh yeah, I forgot that I actually smoked the weed alone, right?" he says as he also shrugs. "Don't worry bro, this is precisely the reason we are standing here, angithi(right)? So relax we will get the money..."

While they bicker about this, someone jumps from the taxi and comes straight their direction- it's a woman. People walk under this bridge all the time and while it is beginning to get dark it is not really late in the evening, so the woman has no reason to feel unsafe walking alone down here.

"Here we go..." Bheki whispers to friend as they watch the approaching brave woman. Without a moment's notice, Bheki pulls from his pocket what looks like a knife and shouts, "Hey, hey, hey wena sfebe letha la icell phone yakho(b*tch give me your phone)..." as he and his phone split to flank the terrified woman who screams, "Please, please, please...don't hurt me okay? Please...here is the phone, take it...just don't hurt me please..." as she pulls a bag out of her bag and gives it to the thugs. "We won't hurt you but stop screaming or else we will hurt you..." Xolani says as he looks around to see if anyone is popping up out of nowhere.

"What else do you have there? Do you have cash on you? Sheshisa(quick) give it to me..." Bheki says with an intimidating voice as he points the knife at the woman who quickly pulls out a few notes from her purse. "Here...please take it." she says with a trembling voice as tears begin to fall down her face with fear.

"Good, okay now voetsek...run, run, run..." Bheki shouts as he forcefully takes the money from the woman who runs away as though her life depends on it. Bheki and Xolani watch on as the terrified woman runs away crying before they count how much money they took from her. "You see? I told you that things will workout just fine..." the smiling Bheki says as he gives a few notes to his friend while keeping a few for himself but Xolani's face suddenly changes as he looks a little guilty about what they have just done. He is trying hard to hid it from his friend and he puts the money in his back pocket.

"Yini mfwethu(what's wrong bro)? You don't look happy...something wrong?" Bheki asks curiously because he knows his best friend very well. He knows when he is trying to hide something from him, especially now that they just made some much-needed cash.

"Nah nothing wrong man...I'm just a little uncomfortable doing this thing here in our own area. These people we know vey well...they are like brothers and sisters; mothers and fathers to us, you know..." Xolani says with a low voice as he looks away fro his friend but that seems to be mood spoiler for Bheki who rolls his eyes as though he is a little annoyed. "Bro, don't start with that okay?" he says with a sigh. "Why can't you just be happy that now we will have something to eat. Now we can go to kwa mam Dudu and buy ourselves kotas and a few beers and be alright...come on man, don't spoil it for me."

"Look man, why don't we go do this job far away from our own area?" Xolani says with a low voice as he shrugs but Bheki quickly interjects, "Look bro I am not going all the way to Bridge City to do this job, only to get my ass kicked by people don't know there. We might even get arrested, do you know that?" he says with a worried face.

I know what you mean bro but I think we should find another way of making money then, of we are not going to do this somewhere else..." Xolani says with a low voice. "Another way? Like what?" Bheki asks as he shrugs. "You know very well that we have tried other means...honest means of making money, but it just hasn't worked out for us. Atleast you have matric...I don't. I'm a drop out, remember? I don't have any skill to fall back to...all I know is this right here, this is my hustling man and I happen to be very good at it. Now you tell me, what else can we do to make money?"

"But it isn't hustling if you are taking from those who are hustling, is it?" Xolani says with a calm voice. He doesn't want to turn this into an argument with his best friend. "What I'm trying to say man is that, this should be our last resort, or if we do it we should do it far away from here. Look at these people man...they are also trying hard to make a living for themselves. They are not rich."

This makes Bheki to think for a second before saying, "Well, there's always an option to stealing copper..." as he raises an eyebrow but Xolani quickly interjects, "Are you insane?" he shouts in shock. "Do you actually know that copper theft has become priority for the police lately? Stealing copper is an absolute no, no...okay? You have been behind bars before, alright? You know how that is. The plan is to do our thing under the radar...so, copper is above our pay-grade. We will have to find another way to make a living."

"Like what, bro?" Bheki shouts in frustration as he throws hands. "What else do you want us us to do? You forget how you and I found each other? The system is not designed for either of us to pass...we are failures all the way. The very color our skin is the fight of our lives and I don't wanna spend the rest of my life doing it."

This makes Xolani think for a second as he looks at his best friend with eyes of sadness. "I know what you mean man..." he say calmly with a deep sigh. "You and I come a very long way...we have been through things together and we have seen quiet a lot. You know very well that I'd never abandon you and I know that you you'd never abandon me. All I'm saying is that, there's always a way to do things man. Our thinking has to change....the woman we jut mugged here is obviously from the area. At some point we are bound to bump into her...what will we say to her that time?"

This makes Bheki think for a little while before saying, "Look man, let's just go to mam Dudu for ama kota okay? I hungry as hell..." as they leave the bridge heading towards the best kota in town.