Moiyabana\'s mystery man cries for help

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Calviniah Kgautlhe

Location : Moiyabana

Event : Interview

It is just past midday as we enter Gobusamang Bogosi`s family compound in Moiyabana.

Moiyabana is a small village with a handful population of close to 4000 people about 60km southwest of Serowe, according to the 2011 Botswana Housing and Population Census.

Curiosity had gotten the better of us as we set out on trail of the young man who rumour has it that has been in solitary confinement for the past 10 years or so.

This somewhat sad reality is what confronted the Kutlwano team that was on a rural reporting mission in the Central District recently.

After exchanging some pleasantries with the family and explaining our mission, we are led to a small thatched earthy coloured mud hut but we are told we cannot go inside to see him.

The closest we could get, we are told, is to just stand by the slightly open door and talk to him from there.

Our curiosity levels are pushed even higher as we get closer to the door.

What follows is a sombre mood as we look into each other`s faces as if to search for clues of what we are about to experience.

Still awestruck, a sonorous tenor voice from behind the door suddenly catches our attention.

I begin to picture a frail looking but mature male crying out for help. What more with the village rumour mill suggesting that the man has never been seen in public for nearly a decade now.

During all these years, they claim, the man has never tasted the delight of interacting with neither his siblings nor his relatives, let alone playing any meaningful social role in his community.

The story is that he is only comfortable indulging in the merriness and innocence of children less than 12 years old but even then within the confines of his small mud hut.

Anyone beyond the age of 12 only stops as far as the doorstep.

Simply put, adults are not allowed in and have no inkling of his physical appearance, let alone the make of his complexion.

Even his family, the only thing they have is an old picture of him and treasured memories of his formative years.

Then he was a “free man” able to interact with them and the community.

As I try to unravel the mystery surrounding this man and how he landed in this condition, my eyes wander around trying to peer into the dark walls of the hut only to catch a glimpse of a pile of old electronic gadgets - radios, television sets as well as DVD players – stacked against the wall just an arm`s length from the door.

Just behind the pile, a strong tenor voice that I perceived to be that of 35-year old Gobusamang could be heard as he narrates to Kutlwano how he fell ill after completing Form 2 at Mothamo Junior Secondary School in 1994 and never had a chance to go for further education.

“As I was growing up I discovered that each time I saw people ke ne ke kgaoga pelo. I developed a severe heart condition.

The elders then took me for a traditional healing ritual – sedimo - which I did not complete but landed in this distressing situation,” laments Gobusamang, his voice audible enough to be heard from a distance.

He continues “for this reason, I never go out during the day and I am confined to this hut. Even at night I seldom walk out, this is painful.”

And over the years, traditional healers are said to have come and gone but all in vain.  “Mo mmeleng ga ke a itekanela, ke bokoa.

Life is unbearable in this condition. I need serious help,” he laments in faint Shekgalagadi accent.

Since then, the only people Gobusamang has had contact with are traditional faith healers (Sedimo) and they would only come whenever his condition seemed to deteriorate.

“I seldom see my mother because she only enters the hut when I am seriously ill,” he adds. Sometimes, says Gobusamang, he is trapped in the surreal. “I always dream of dangerous and scary things, sometimes I see myself in the company of dead people,” he says poignantly, his voice laced with sadness. 

“Someone please help, I need a restoration of my health so I can lead a normal life again,” pleads Gobusamang now with a strong voice.

Interestingly, Gobusamang`s technical prowess of repairing electronic gadgets such as radios, cellular phones, television sets, DVD players and watches has endeared himself to the villagers.

However, the question is how does he keep up with market trends as well as the latest technology if he is never out? “I send people to buy parts for their gadgets, besides relying on information I gathered before I fell sick and condemned to confinement,” he says.

Some of Gobusamang`s clients in one of the nearby villages of Motshegaletau had this to say: “we have never seen him. The only thing we have seen is a light coloured hand receiving our gadgets when we hand them over for repair, we will then pay for the service.” 

Whatever is going on in this man`s life is not easy to understand because no one is prepared to explain except Gobusamang himself who is just crying for help. 

His mother refused to talk while a social worker we contacted in Serowe was yet to familiarise himself with the case. Ends

Teaser:

“As I was growing up I discovered that each time I saw people ke ne ke kgaoga pelo. I developed a serve heart condition. The elders then took me for a traditional healing ritual – sedimo - which I did not complete and landed in this distressing situation”