By Zweli Martin Dlamini

As a motivation to all University students who dropped out like Mankayane street vendor Thabo Sibandze, let me share this success story of my childhood friend who is now a lawyer. 

In 2003 we were working in a textile factory at Ngwenya with my childhood friend,he used part of the money to upgrade his subjects.

Well,he was not born from a poor family as his father was a policeman and his mother was my primary school English teacher.

But I remember him approaching and pleading with me to help him look for a job as I was already working as a textile worker.

I convinced the Chinese to employ him and we then shared a one room flat at Ngwenya.

Amid the cold weather, as temperatures in that area are always low,I taught him how to cover his legs and toes with plastics when we go to sleep, it was a laughable yet most effective experience.

The plastics would then generate heat in the toes in order for us to enjoy peaceful sleep with only one blanket without freezing amid the cold weather conditions.

That was an experience I learnt when sleeping in the mountains and bushes, looking for missing cattle for my grandfather,I had to teach my childhood friend.

After upgrading his subjects,my friend through his own efforts, got hired as a police officer and at the time, I was a part-time drama play writer for the State owned radio.

One day I asked him why he did not go straight to the Police College through his father’s connections instead of working as a textile worker and said;his father who was also a Pastor stated categorically that,he doesn’t support corruption.

“My father told me that if I want to become a police officer like him I must apply like all emaSwati and if I don’t qualify,I must upgrade my subjects”, said my childhood friend.

I remember seeing my childhood friend’s application letter while he was making efforts to become a police officer, his father told him to develop wings and fly as he was an adult.

But my childhood friend continued to pursue his dreams,while working as a police officer,he applied to the University of Eswatini(UNESWA) to study law.

But one day, he was almost in tears as he narrated how Isaac Magagula, the then National Commissioner of Police tried to stop him and other police officers from pursuing their studies within the University. He always speaks highly about Deputy Commissioner Masango who he said, helped and motivated him to study law.

After Isaac Magagula tried to stop the police officers, my childhood friend approached Deputy Commissioner Masango who was the then Head of Operational Support Services Unit(OSSU) and Masango demonstrated leadership by allowing my friend to work at night, during the day he was studying with a few hours to sleep.

During graduation, my childhood friend sais the then Commissioner Magagula tried to force them to wear their police uniform and he refused, indeed he was not wearing his police uniform. He said if it wasn’t for Deputy Commissioner Masango, he wouldn’t have achieved his dream of becoming a lawyer.He said Isaac wanted praises in front of the King for graduating police officers, yet he was frustrating them, my friend respects Deputy Commissioner Masango even today.

Maybe, a lesson could be learnt from Isaac Magagula’s conduct; while pursuing your dreams, there would always be those who will stand in your way but through perseverance, God will use others to provide a solution. 

In 2020, I was arrested for writing critical articles against this regime and detained at the Lobamba Police Station.

Political activists were not allowed to see me but, my childhood friend arrived to check me inside the police cells.

Despite being a police officer, he was not afraid to tell his colleagues at Lobamba Police Station that he was also a police officer and my friend, he bought some toiletries for me.

When I asked him if he was not afraid to get fired, he told me that he was a learned police officer with passion to defend human rights, he said police officers are expected to uphold the rule of law.

But I’m sharing this to inspire street vendor Thabo Sibandze and all University students who are facing difficult situations, nothing comes easy in this country.

I know many political activists who are pursuing their dreams under very difficult conditions, they push the struggle while making efforts to develop their lives and survive because the truth is; we cannot blame everything on Government.

It is for these reasons I decided not to politicize or put pressure on Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini to help Sibandze, he can help him if he got touched but, Sibandze’s situation is not different from the thousands of University students who struggling to get scholarships.

The difference with Sibandze is the passion to work and try other means to survive and for this perseverance, he deserves support so he can become a better person tomorrow.

Prime Minister Russell Dlamini is also a former Petrol Attendant who worked hard to achieve his goals, we can talk about Government’s failure to provide scholarships later.

But in this article, I just want to urge young people to keep trying other lawful means to survive until they achieve their goals, through hard work, street vendor Thabo Sibandze will achieve his goals.

The story of my childhood friend always produce tears, this is a man who was not born from a poor family but, driven by a desire to be financially independent and shape his future, he left his parental home to look for a job in the textile factory.

But the success story of my childhood friend taught me that, sometimes you don’t need to blame your parents or the Government but, you must try other things in your corner and push your dreams.

Even under the coming new democratic dispensation, things will not come easy but, democracy comes with fair opportunities, social development, laws and policies that create a fair political environment.

Therefore, working hard and less complaining like Thabo Sibandze should be a culture of young people so that we can have a vibrant economy even in the new democratic dispensation.

As we continue to put pressure on Government to provide scholarships, the success story of my childhood friend and even that Prime Minister Russell Dlamini who was once a Petrol Attendant should be a motivation.

My childhood friend worked in the textile factory, used the money to upgrade his subjects, got employed as a police officer and used his salary to study law, he is now a lawyer.