KENNEDY MAKARA
(PART 4)
Welcome back for the last time, Kenny. Let’s talk about this Silas guy, your team driver back in your Bloemfontein Celtic days. Seems like he was some character…
Ha, ha, ha, although I had to fight him a lot, like flattening the car’s tyres, we ended up being good friends with him. May his soul rest in peace.
Wasn’t he your secret muti man as well?
Silas was the one who was always bringing muti to us, ha, ha, ha. Sometimes when you were in the kombi, you would be given something to smear there because from the hotel we would sometimes already be kitted out and going straight to the dressing room. He would make sure to bring some muti to your room and then if you were coming out, you just had to take a little bit of that muti and smear it. He was a muti management man, making sure that everyone was using muti, ha, ha, ha. Ja, no, Silas was an expert in muti. You know, as an African and somebody of African beliefs, I had no problem le nna (as well) doing that because when you are in Rome, it’s a question of doing what the Romans do. If you believed in God, we all believed in God. You know the players, they would gather before the match, hug each other and pray, but in the dressing room something happened there, ha, ha, ha.
There’s different schools of thought, at least judging by those we’ve interview in the past, on whether these rituals produced the desired effect where it mattered most, on the pitch.
You know, in most cases, if anything is used properly… Remember muti is also spiritual. If you believed in it, it worked. There were games that I don’t know how we won them. We would try to score, but there would be just no opportunity to score. That would be the first 45 minutes. Second 45 minutes, Silas would do his magic, give us some things. We would go there and then it would be an avalanche of goals, goals would be happening. So, ja, muti did work, ha, ha, ha. Muti works, my brother, muti works.
Now, we know you’ve always been very close to Thapelo Liau, the former midfielder who also turned out for Orlando Pirates. You gotta tell us a funny Liau story, as we know that gentleman has a funny side to him, ha, ha, ha.
Thapelo Liau, as a human being, is a very wonderful person, a talented footballer we had. People don’t know that this guy is very much principled. There were times when… I remember before one game, when the team going to camp was announced by Styles (Phumo), his name wasn’t there. He asked the coach two times to repeat the list, and we all laughed because you don’t mess with coaches like that, especially in those days. Plus, we did our things also when we were away, uyabona (you see), ha, ha, ha. I remember we beat (Mamelodi) Sundowns. My brother, rona we were fit, camping or no camping. We were in camp… I think it was in Hatfield at that time. We had to sneak out of the hotel, but the very same Silas was there at the entrance of the door when we got back. So, we had to climb the stairs there because there was this emergency exit outside. Ha, ha, ha, now, you know what we did?
All ears!
We had to call Silas, and it was Thapelo’s idea, to say, “Let’s call Silas and tell him that the team’s kombi has caught fire at the parking lot downstairs.” Man, as soon as the guy received that call, he left everything he was doing and quickly ran to the scene of the supposed crime. That, in a nutshell, is how we made our way in. The emergency exit there, I think we were there on the 11th floor, so it was a risk, my brother, ha, ha, ha. We could have fallen and died. But Thapelo came with that idea of calling Silas, and we changed our voices. We were like, “Ah, Celtic’s bus is burning! Who’s the driver?” Ha, ha, ha. He left the duties at the entrance and charged there, and we sneaked back in. Ey, Thapelo was intelligent, man, and he still is a wonderful person. I’m with him in the businesses, the supply and the everything, (as well as) in the soccer legends (activities). We also do games, together with him, with the municipalities if they have a drive. Let’s say HIV drive or Health Month or what-what, then we would organise the legends for a fee and then we will be getting our management fee. So, I’m still very much with him and joined by Molefi Ntsoelengoe as well, and Themba Kondile.
That’s great to hear. Former footballers still going strong and hustling. in Rastafarian language, ha, ha, ha. That guy! Ntate Molemela used to like him. I know this one will get me into trouble, but I need to say it for all it’s worth… Eish, Themba was a thief, my brother.
Ha, ha, ha, what!?
Remember when we were travelling, we would go to these one-stop garages, and Themba would steal chocolates. Remember we were not getting enough and we were still children from different backgrounds. He was clever because he could position himself right behind Ntate Molemela. I remember, I think we were at one garage in Bethlehem when they were saying, “This Rasta boy stole chocolates!” Needless to say, Ntate Molemela was not impressed with the person who was making this allegation. Guess what? When we got to the room, the man had chocolates all over in his trousers and everywhere, ha, ha, ha. Hey, Themba was a thief maan. He’s still one of our friends with Liau and Ntsoelengoe. We are still one unit together with Lebohang Kukame.
Eish, one can just imagine kind of young man was. He needed to everywhere he He also gave new meaning me go grab a chocolate”, ha…
what Themba be man-marked went. to “let ha, ha, Ja, no, he was a character. We used to call him Taribo West because he was fit. In Bloemfontein, when you are fit, they call you Levanga, meaning giant. So, Themba was loved by Ntate Molemela because Ntate Molemela used to believe in huge players. That is why he would get players from up there in Africa. So, he loved Themba very much, but little did he know that “this Themba of yours is a thief, Ntate Molemela”, ha, ha, ha. But we were still young, my brother, because we enjoyed those chocolates.
Ha, ha, ha, we didn’t expect that last part coming. Talk about teamwork. Oh, before
we forget, in the Fun Facts, we asked you about the craziest request you received from a fan, and you promised you’d share the story late. We guess now’s the time.
My brother, that one might put me in trouble with my wife you know, ha, ha, ha. But then I was once ‘kidnapped’ by a fan in Cape Town after a game and this fan did not want me to go back home. I don’t know how she followed me, but she said she saw me on TV. We would camp in Woodstock, and I remember I was from dinner. She had booked (accommodation) there also. She ‘kidnapped’ me, I did what I was not supposed to do as a player when I was in camp. But then I saw that no, no, no, this person is crazy, ha, ha, ha. She wanted me to stay in Cape Town, and everything. I said I had a wife, I was lying because at that time I was still young. She said, “I’m going to give your wife money.” I don’t know why. But that is the request that I found very crazy at that time.
Eish, ja, hey, one of those deals where you couldn’t put your signature on the dotted line.
Hayi, no, I saw that it’s a raw deal. And she was loaded, I understand, so… ha, ha, ha. I was like no, no, no, this is a raw deal. I wouldn’t have had my kids and this wonderful family that I have now had I fallen for that deal. Thank God I didn’t adhere to that request, ha, ha, ha.
Our imagination ran wild when you mentioned “raw” deal there, but Soccer Laduma is a family publication, so we’re going to have to end it on that note. Thanks a lot for your time. It’s been good, but you also raised some serious issues regarding South African football and player welfare that we will be bringing you back very soon to talk more about these issues. Our readers must just watch this space. No, thanks very much to you, my brother, for remembering that we’re still here. Anytime.