THANDWEFIKA ‘PREPARES FOR SADC’

By | August 21, 2016

MBABANE – Thandwefika Dlamini, a charismatic man with disability, has embarked on a window-shopping fling, apparently in preparation for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit this week.
He has visited the most expensive shops in the capital city and goes around telling shop owners, assistants and onlookers that he has been sponsored by prominent people in society to prepare for the summit.
He has already chosen clothing items worth more than E12 000, which he says he will wear during the high-level international meeting.    
He claims to have been given an opportunity by ‘BakaNgwane’ (royalty) to make a presentation at the summit, on behalf of people with disabilities.
Dlamini was found at the elegant Menz Club store at the Corporate Place building and Century Fashions at the Swazi Plaza in Mbabane where he had gone to pick out several outfits that he would be wearing during the summit.
He said he wanted to buy the finest Viyella suit worth about E3 000 and a Carducci formal men’s suit worth E2 900 plus two pairs of Calvano formal shoes worth E2 900 each.
He said although he was quite fond of formal clothing, his favourite brand were Samson overalls worth about E499.
However, Dlamini did not want to state the exact amount he had been given by the unidentified esteemed sponsor or even show proof of it, citing that he did not want to antagonise the relationship he had with his sponsor.
Dlamini said he was unemployed and he relied on gifts from good Samaritans, who sometimes showered him with expensive clothing.
The combined cost of the clothes that he was found picking out from the two boutiques was E12 199. He had not paid when he left the shops, which he visited on Monday and Tuesday.
Dlamini also claims to have been getting a lot of attention especially from the ladies, which he said was as a result of the submissions he made during the recent Sibaya.
“Mine mfana wenkhosi senginetihlwele. Nangifika bosisi bavele bajabule batsi nangu lobhuti bekatsi ‘Shem’ eSibayeni.”
This means: ‘These days I am very popular with the ladies. When they see me, they say there is the guy who said ‘shame’ when he made his presentation at Sibaya’. Sibaya was the People’s Summit convened by His Majesty the King a week ago.
He said at the SADC forum, he would make a presentation, to the effect that disabled people were not being treated with the love and care they deserved.
This was strange because he seemed to suggest that he had been sponsored by royalty but would attend the meeting to criticise government.
Sibongile Mdluli, Programme Officer for the 36th SADC Summit, said they were not aware that anyone by the name of Thandwefika would be making a presentation.