I cannot start this column today without paying homage to one of the greatest human beings that ever walked this earth – Tata Madiba.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a towering giant, the true embodiment of humility, forgiveness and love.
Many of us feared that this day would inevitably come and that sooner or later we would have to let go. We do not realize that generations from now, we will become the natural historians of our time because we witnessed and experienced some of the most important chapters in our history.
We are the ones who will recount the heyday of the struggle and the culmination of the end of apartheid in both Namibia and South Africa, just like our ancestors talked about the atrocities of the colonial war, the forced removal of our people from the Ou Lokasie.
Now that I have that out of the way – etoo, must our neighbours really put us in such deep skandes on the most historic day on the world map with the memorial service of Madiba?
Of all the embarrassing things that happened on that day like booing their own president, breaking into Bishop Desmond Tutu’s house while the latter was attending the ceremony, the nyakati sign language interpreter stole the show.
Neatly dressed, this man stood in front of the whole wide world to interpret what world leaders were saying about our beloved Madiba.
He looked like he knew what he was doing, but this is some of what he apparently translated to the masses of hearing impaired people around the world: “Freshly chopped tomatoes, put in hot oil for about fifteen minutes, add some chicken, fafafafa, run run run, run away, oh ho, aiya ya ya, put on boiling water, turn it off, put a lid on, help, I need somebody, help, just anybody.”
Mukuru ua kaparua! (Oh my God!). I can only imagine the shock and frustration on the faces of those poor individuals who must have been wondering if it was not only their ears deceiving them, but their eyes too.
Then to add insult to injury, he apparently blamed the fake interpretation on having a schizophrenic episode. Titse!
But let’s not be too quick to blame and stone him. I am sure Madiba has already forgiven him.
Maybe he was really seeing a paradise filled with goodies, because it doesn’t make sense how his interpretations were so off target.
Or the guy could have simply been too excited about the grandest moment in his career as a fake interpreter that he didn’t take breakfast and his imagination took the better of him.
Television shows must be pushing each other out of the way to grab the hongor interpreter who took cooking shows to another level.
It could have been worse. Imagine a stadium full of world leaders of whom some behave like they are /gamares as they can’t stand the sight of each other. Imagine if the interpreter said “today we make kaboom in this stadium.”
This guy could have said some seriously inflammatory things that could have had some disastrous reactions.
Let’s just be content that what we could deduce from the signing was just funny and incoherent. I am sure South African comedians like Trevor Noah will have a field day with this – “that’s the material I have been looking for dude.”
But I hope Thamsanqa Jantjie will not be sent to another function until he stops hallucinating and hearing voices again. Hamba khale Tata Madiba!
Sorry Ngo!
magreth@newera.com.na- Sorry Ngo!
BY Magreth Nunuhe