No disappearing act for this master magician

JUST when you think he’s been put into a large box and dipped into the water, the great Hlaudini bobs up again with his shackles undone. This time at Mandoza’s funeral. Typical of the consummate egoist, he once again takes up a convenient platform to perform an act of egoism.

Instead of doing his sought-after disappearing act, he ensures that he is ever present, never far from a photo opportunity. As usual, it’s the SABC cameras at the funeral that are recording the tricks of this master magician.

Of course, his immortal patter becomes part of the news broadcasts that night, courtesy of his own SABC. The captain of the enterprise had ordered: “Make it so!”

So once again, we have to see the magician, blood-shot eyes and all, telling his captured audience how great he is. He boasts that he left the SABC once, but came back even stronger.

He is basically telling the people no handcuffs will hold him down. He may not have a matric certificate but he is very clever, he tells us.

We have seen his tricks before. He once made his R1 million salary change to a R2m salary with the wave of a wand. He could make other senior staff members disappear overnight.

And he can hypnotise his bosses into thinking he is irreplaceable. Brackendowns, Alberton