Makokoba not flashy but pregnant with history
Op1

The art on the wall of MaKhumalo Beergarden known today as Big Bhawa, also illustrates some of the lifestyle in Makokoba suburb

Yoliswa Dube Features Reporter
“MAKOKOBA Township” for some spells out over-crowding, high levels of criminal activity and filth.
But to most it spells out “home”. A place with a rich history, a place filled with love and unity but most importantly a place to belong.It is a place where some of the fondest and oldest memories were made.

Being the oldest township in Bulawayo, Makokoba is where some of the country’s stars emerged, among them the late musician Beatar Mangethe and soccer sensations Peter Ndlovu, Madinda Ndlovu and the late Adam Ndlovu.

Revolutionaries such as Masotsha Ndlovu, Martha Ngano, Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo, Edwin Ndlovu and Ethan Dube also lived in Makokoba.

To date, Stanley Hall has become the hub of nurturing up-and-coming talent, especially in theatre.

It is the annual venue of the internationally acclaimed Ibumba Festival that is run by Siyaya, a group made up mostly of people who grew up watching plays at the place.

Pethugwalo Aaron Ndlovu (86) said he started staying in Makokoba in 1949.

He distinctly recalls coming to Bulawayo from Matobo in search of employment like it was yesterday.

Ndlovu told the tale of how he would sleep under a bridge near Centenary Park before he was allocated a place to live in Makokoba.

“Ngangilala emfuleni duzane le park. Ngangingena etshanini ngembathe ingubo yami ngaze ngayithola indlu khonapho koMakokoba (I used to sleep under the bridge near Centenary Park before I was allocated a house in Makokoba,” he said.

Ndlovu eventually got a job at Matabele Steam Laundry where he worked for 37 years after which he was given a bicycle and a watch for retirement.

“Idholobho (Makokoba) lalilihle kakhulu sigcinene, abantu belozwelo, lakhathesi lokhe kunjalo (Makokoba was a beautiful place, people used to take care of each other and they still do even to date),” he said.

Ndlovu who was spotting a hat, white shoes, white trousers, scotch jacket and a tie when a Chronicle news crew met him, said he used to be given an order basket by people who wanted their clothes to be dyed and would get a commission for it.

“Ngangitshova ibhayisikili ngisiya emsebenzini le order basket (I would cycle to work with the order basket),” he said.
Ndlovu recalls how some people would sleep out in the cold while others would be fined for overcrowding prior to being allocated housing.

“Laba lokh’ liqhela ilokitshi. OMaKhumalo (bar) bakhiwe sikhangele. Akusela dubo lwezindlu kodwa abantu sebebanengi, sebeminyene, abanye sebelala emkotweni (The township continued to grow, there were no longer accommodation problems but people are now over-crowded such that others don’t have decent accommodation),” he said.

Makokoba Township was a place filled with vast entertainment and recreation facilities with bands and musicians such as Khahla and Richard Makoni being at the helm of it all.

Independent brewing was rife with people like August Musarurwa of the “skokiaan” fame at the top of the list. The genesis of shebeens was also in Makokoba.

The growth of the township also saw the emergence of MaKhumalo Bar known today as Big Bhawa and Khefa Beer factory established in 1913.

Traditional beer brewing was a business in the hands of women hence the subsequent naming of beer gardens after women.

The location superintendent during the time the township was being established at the height of racial segregation walked with a stooping gait and a walking stick uMakhokhoba, therefore the location was named “koMakhokhoba” after him.

It is said he used to arrive at the lodgings unannounced.

Among other duties, the location superintendent had to check whether or not there were any women living in the area since they were not allowed there due to segregation laws.

Before then, it was known only as “the Location”.

Far from the stereotype, people in this close knit community are friendly and know each other in a way that is just beyond.
Jane Ncube (77) affectionately known as Gogo MaNcube said she started living in Makokoba in 1959.

“We used to stay along 4th Street (in Makokoba) in a one-roomed cottage while we were the four of us. We used to divide the room in half with a curtain.

“Kwakusiba le inspection sisiya koMakhokhoba (location superintendent). Umama owayengatshadanga wayengaphiwa indlu kodwa obaba babephiwa lanxa bengakathathi (The location superintendent would do an inspection to check for anomalies. Unmarried women were not allocated houses but men were allocated houses regardless of their marital status,” she said.

Gogo MaNcube narrated of how she moved from Kezi coming to Bulawayo and later getting married.

She was, however, unhappy about the alarming rate at which crime in Makokoba has grown.

“Kudala kwakungela sela. Khathesi sekungcolile njalo sekugcwele omahotsha (There were no thieves back in the day but now it’s so dirty and the levels of prostitution are alarming,” said Gogo MaNcube.

She attributed these shortfalls to unemployment saying despite being educated, there was an employment shortage in the country as a whole.

Makokoba is where the humble beginnings of the liberation struggle began, with Martha Ngano of Xhosa extraction, campaigning for the blacks’ right to vote.

The development of trade unionism began in Makokoba in 1928 with its pioneers, Masotsha Ndlovu and Clemence Katali living there as well.

They advocated for improved working and living conditions. In 1945, the most effective strike by railway workers led by Grey Bango began there.

Although the trade unions were trade specific, they later became one body under the Bulawayo Federation of Trade Unions led by Jasper Savanhu.

There was later a transfer from trade unionism to nationalism when political parties began to emerge by 1934.
It was in Makokoba where the incremental developments to the liberation struggle began.

Dennis Tapfumaneyi (24) said the gist of Makokoba was that of unity.

“We live as a united people. Everyone is your mother; father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandfather or grandmother. Even if we are committing crime, we do it together. Everything is done in the spirit of oneness,” he said.

Tapfumaneyi said his life was dependent on the person next to him and the next person on the next.

“That is just lokitshini culture that you can never understand if you have never stayed there. The most important thing though is that you can’t live in isolation, you need the next person,” he said.

Makokoba Township was the only place where blacks lived for a very long time until the establishment of Mzilikazi in 1945.

Churches were at the helm of education with schools such as St Patrick’s Primary School, St Columba’s High School and Methodist Vocational Training Centre having been the first to be established in the area.

Government schools such as Lotshe Primary were constructed later.

The township was initially made of hut structures then later cottages. One of the biggest markets eMkambo, known today as Makokoba Market, was also established for trade. The market is still actively functional today.

People continue to sell their wares there and earn a decent living.

The township has come a very long way. From the time of segregation to night soil (people would relieve themselves in a can which was then collected for disposal in the morning) to now, when people live freely and enjoy the history of the place in which they live.

Mangethe Khumalo (49) said he was born and bred in Makokoba.

“I watched this place develop from the time I was a small boy. My father used to work at Meikles’ Stores at the time,” he said.
Khumalo said people would come to Bulawayo from their various rural homes and looked for employment at a place called Vundu.

“These houses in Makokoba were built specifically for the men who would come looking for employment. Makokoba is the heart of Bulawayo and the centre of black movement and liberation,” he said.

Bulawayo this year celebrates its 120th anniversary with Makokoba being the oldest township.

Bulawayo is the first capital established by King Lobengula in 1870 when he emerged as successor to King Mzilikazi, his father and founder of the Ndebele state.

Initially named “Gibixhegu” the capital was later named “Bulawayo”.

The king lived here until 1881.

Makokoba was Bulawayo’s first township for blacks (natives). In the early days, it was the only township that housed both the natives and Indians or Asians. The location stands were sold by the Sanitary Board of the Bulawayo Municipal Council while dagga and thatch huts were rented out to non-Council workers and the unemployed.

There was over-crowding and no street lights until after 1929 when flood lights were introduced.

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