12 Aug 2015

Writers usually spend sleepless nights scribbling verses to later put into a story that makes readers fall in love with and characters, and so does Gorri Aldoras Golivar.

In his fictional book, Banda Wa Mokone, Kagiso Selabe, manages to send chills through the readers’ spine and lure them to read the whole of it to find out who Banda and his vicious dog, Hearts are.

Selabe fell in love with writing during his formative years at primary school. He attributes his success to his inquisitiveness and perpetual hunger for knowledge.

Like most writers, Selabe is also in love with nature and as such spends most of his time ‘listening to nature and admiring the creation of God’.

As a country boy he said he spent most of his time at the lands ploughing fields, where he also got inspiration as he had time to think about social issues and apply them to his writing style.

He remembers that when he was young he wrote a script that he purposed to always carry around. The script was however somehow lost and pain gripped him for some time.

He said during the time he knew nothing about publishing, but was nonetheless in love with writing till he reached senior secondary school.

The love for literary work saw Selabe win several prices for poetry and short stories while at junior and senior schools, where he even won an international award in a Commonwealth essay competition.

His ability to play around with words and create imaginary characters that breath life to his story line made him believe in himself and that he can write even more, not only to earn a living, but also to educate the nation.

In 2010 he published his first book in Germany called Rustling Gold, but never enjoyed the fruits of his hard work even though his book was, and is still selling worldwide even on Amazon and other online sellers.

Through this experience, he has learnt his lesson about publishing companies.

He said that despite the hiccup, he never lost hope and his passion remained as he kept on writing until his breakthrough in June when he published his second novel, Banda wa Mokone, a book that describes a beast of man who visited the Great Springbok Horizons and changed everything about it.

Banda, the main character, was inspired by the political unrest in Zimbabwe, during which unrest many Zimbabweans nationals fled to neighbouring countries including Botswana, where they started a new life.

Most of the Zimbabweans were employed to work at cattle posts because their dire situation forced them to accept any job with meagre wages.  However, there was something about this man that set him apart from many others because his physical make up and his dog called Hearts, which took orders only from him.

In the first book, Banda was a security agent who fled the country during the political turmoil. Selabe says he used Banda through to his second book because he wanted him to remain a mysterious figure, a thriller leaving the reader in awe and asking for more.

Banda Wa Mokone is a novel that will take the reader through countryside life and those who grew up there will appreciate the memories that the novel has captured and brought back to life.

Those who have read Kgogomodumo story and the myth that surrounds it will definitely enjoy this masterpiece that talks about the lives of ordinary people, which were totally changed by the arrival of Banda.

In his self-published novel, Selabe brings to life the issues of farming, animal husbandry and hunting very well and includes the seasonal changes from swarms of crop-raving black locusts through to Foot and Mouth Disease. ENDS