GOODBYE TO POWER: PLAY BY ANDREW SESINYI 2010 PUBLISHED

GOODBYE TO POWER

ANDREW SESINYI

MEDIA PALMS

 

ISBN NO: 978-99912-0-966-1


A Play by the author of

LOVE ON THE ROCKS

(Macmillan publication)

RASSIE

(Macmillan publication)



CARJACK

(Longmans publication)

 

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• This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or

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publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in

which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition

being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

• This book may not be re-sold in Botswana below the net price fi xed by the

publisher for the book.

Printed and bound in Botswana by

Printing & Publishing

 

ISBN NO: 978-99912-0-966-1

Published in Botswana

By Media Palms (PTY) Ltd

P.O. Box 1438

Gaborone

This play is a work of fi ction and has no resemblance to actual events.

The play is heavily infl uenced by the author’s love for Shakespearian style of

writing and captures the story in poetic language typically symbolic of formal

Setswana language expressions.

Copyright © 2010 by Andrew Onalenna Sesinyi

 

To my last born Renga, whose confi dence in me,

support for and appreciation of my passion for writing,

evoked the author in me.

 

ANDREW SESINYI

GOODBYE TO POWER

 

[ACT I

ACT I

SCENE I

[In the African country, Botswana, the opposition United People’s Forum

Party has won a landslide victory in the country’s general election. The

party is celebrating. At the luxurious home of the successful candidate,

Pitso Sediri, enter his wife Felicitus Sediri, with Albertina Lomao, her

servant. Sounds of jubilation can be heard in the background. Despite the

obvious all round merriment, Felicitus is troubled by a foreboding sense

of insecurity. In spite of the company, she speaks as if to herself]

Felicitus:

Hopefully when this day dies

It’s remains won’t bring me sighs

I’m fl oating on a fl imsy cloud of hope

Dangling precariously on the destiny rope

Oh dear me, dear me…

My palms are patting each other not in praise

They are hands that await immense tasks to raise

My body and I are evolving the birth of a day

A date with destiny in which I have no say

Oh! How weak the sense of womanhood wraps me…

There is so much brightness yet I can’t see…

I feel dressed in a fl imsy cloak of security

My confi dence is naked, my faculties in disunity

I’ve been fear struck since the break of dawn

The day’s uncertainty broke loose with my fi rst yawn.

Albertina:

MmaPhala!

Look up at the clear blue skies

Can this be a day of sad sighs?

This Mma-Phala is a day of joy

A day as glorious as the birth of your boy

Join in it, Mma-Phala and watch the sunshine dance

This day of victory deserves more than a glance.

7Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

Felicitus:

Yes, Albertina! I receive your soothing message

Yet my vibrating heart does not get the message

But pray remember how deep the oyster buries the pearl

Lest it shine too bright and declare itself ready to sell

Perhaps not knowing it, my brain reserves the merriment

For that great moment when my husband requires the sentiment

Come Albertina my dear, come

Let me take this upheaval for calm.

ACT I

SCENE II

[At the headquarters of the victorious party, President-in-waiting Pitso

Sediri awaits the return of his comrades from their celebrations. Pitso

Sediri paces the fl oor of his third-fl oor offi ce, hands clasped from behind.

He is wearing a blue lounge suit with white stripes. A green scarf, his

party colours, dangles from around his thick neck and broad shoulders.

He is a powerfully built middle aged man, smooth-shaven with pleasant

facial features. There is a scowl on his face as he paces. The impending

responsibilities bring him as much excitement as they give cold feet]

Sediri:

Victory is here and I can hear it

Yet procedure will have me wait

Oh time, please come nigh

Do you walk, run or fl y?

Or ride or sail?

Or post like mail?

At times, time is like a crab

At times making all else drab

Right now it creeps and crawls.

Other times like a ball it rolls

Other times like a snail it slides

Other times like a snake it slithers.

But today, like a boring speaker

Andrew Sesinyi8

 

[ACT I

Or a poorly trained teacher

Time moves in convolutions

Invisible as the earth’s revolutions

It twists and turns so fast

And yet so slow as it fl ickers past

Neither to stimulate nor to send to sleep.

Because if I had that choice I would sleep

and let time motions slip by

So that when I bid sleep goodbye

Waiting time would be up.

For me to face my bitter cup.

[enters Botho Sekopo, Sediri’s right hand man and best friend. He is

followed by party functionaries Ratho Mogwana and Larona Ditshego ]

Sekopo:

Victory maestro, victory!!

Sediri my friend, the people have spoken

Once in our struggle we felt forsaken

Now, like a virtuous woman, arms stretched out

The seat of power stands vacant for your clout

Charge, Sediri, like a bull let loose, charge!

For power like a saddle is there for those that take charge

Crowds of merry individuals, like fertile seeds

Mingle outside and call your name for noble deeds

There are palms to be oiled and palms to serve you

You have mouths to feed, mouths that sing your glory

This my friend is the time to smile, not to be sorry

Come let’s depart for the city square for the crown

I can see that wrinkles of victory have bestowed that frown

And it is my passion to see it expand and abound.

9Goodbye to Power

 

Scene III]

ACT I

SCENE III

[In another part of the city, two street sweepers are talking]

FIRST STREET SWEEPER:

Pity the ruling party is no more this day

Newcomers will be dining at State House today

Revellers will be leaving the town strewn with litter

For us attention if any can only be much later

When groaning tables of food have been demolished

Litres of beverages guzzled, our coffers polished.

SECOND STREET SWEEPER:

You have pity to waste on the predators of the weak

With or without State House the future is bleak

That man who today vacates the State House

Promised us the rough-handed a permanent stake house

Soon he forgot that our sweaty brows gave him home

Nonchalantly he strutted the earth like he made it alone

That curse came crawling to me in obsequious behaviour

crying crocodile tears that I let him be my saviour

Soon he lacked for nothing and lurked in lame fame

That pathetic pawn of vanity vilifi ed our acclaim

I the vexed voter could not now vet his vanity or deeds

It was crawling and crying time for me and my lost seeds

I planted on parched land, sowed on shifty shallow sand

I foolishly fed and groomed the mangy dog that bit my hand.

FIRST STREET SWEEPER:

Dear me mate, your passion would burn dry twigs bright

You speak with the bile of a wronged man full of spite.

Andrew Sesinyi10

 

[ACT I

SECOND STREET SWEEPER:

Indeed I do!

Last year and yester-year I left his door step

Wearily and warily I had waited even as the rain clouds wept

The irony was before the vote his shoes wore out my stoep

Unlike my door that creaked open always, his jumped no hoop

He raised dogs, walls to block my trespasses as they now were

Before the vote my aged apparel cemented the camaradie of lore

Now standing in solitude with shivers of shame, I felt alien

Still I waited, the weight on my weary feet cheering me none.

FIRST STREET SWEEPER:

Did he ever, my friend, open his hut to you?

SECOND STREET SWEEPER:

After countless times he opened his door and silenced the dogs

I greeted as he gritted his teeth not unlike the canine fangs

His body talk told me totally that his time was not my time

I engaged gear in my battered brain and blabbered my crime.

FIRST STREET SWEEPER:

And I’ 11 say I know what crime that was.

SECOND STREET SWEEPER:

Yes! To come to see my celebrated servant of the people

A promise-time right that seemed solid in fact and principle

Mumbling about his

lazy herdboys and maids he shut me out

I remained with mamed pride, me the master without a clout

Had he waited to allow my entangled processes to unwind

Had he allowed the fl imsy coils of my delicate ego to rewind

He would have been told that the tribe was on its way

To bring him wood and freshly laid eggs on his birthday.

11Goodbye to Power

 

Scene IV]

[Both Street Sweepers spit into the gutter and exit]

ACT I

SCENE IV

[Two Members of the United Progressive Front Party are discussing in a

street, on their way to the inauguration venue]

Bong Phofu:

Pula to the winner! Pula to the great victor

This glory is as rare as the tortoise of winter

Goodwill messengers must run around and rouse the people

The greatest triumph is upon us, the rest is simple.

Akae Dibetso:

Well I wouldn’t, though I wish to, simply agree

Even for emancipated slaves it was not enough to be free

Like doves on a pilgrimage fl ight, the landing is crucial

Celebrations and all the joyful praise singing are artifi cial

Ahead of us, reality awaits like a hungry dinosaur

This, my friend, is the beginning of a traumatic dynasty.

Bong Phofu:

Your genius is your worst enemy my beloved friend

For your philosophy precedes happiness no matter how grand

Why is it that even when multitudes break into smiles

Your face remains one with a grimace stretching for miles?

For once, my friend, rid yourself of this depression

Your overloaded mind and cynical disposition need digression.

Andrew Sesinyi12

 

[ACT I

Akae Dibetso:

You will forgive my reluctance dear colleague

Forgive me for not blindly joining the festive league.

My nature does not permit me to be that free a spirit

Despite the obvious fact that what you say has merit

Perhaps it’s a major fl aw to concentrate too much on reality

All that should happen is for one to join comrades in loyalty

Ignoring the hurdles ahead such as delivery of promises

Deciding instead to bask in glory and enjoy political premises

You would, my friend, have me forget the delivery of goods

And be the typical slow-motion politician of dubious roots

You, my friend, would have me wine and dine gleefully

Forgetting the simpletons who graced my ascent so beautifully

Have you no heart, no soul, no fi nger-pointing conscience?

Must we exploit the people’s idiocy of elastic patience?

I cannot just dorn the shoes that tread the gullible

And conveniently fi nd new defi nitions of what’s valuable.

Bong Phofu:

I would only have you be what you want to be

You did not board this political boat because of me

Deep inside ambition like ambers of coal burns you

Drives the self-righteous streak that defl ects you

You are not talking to me with all those words of virtue

Preaching to your inner self is, my friend, your misfortune

You are a politician, blessed in all the traits of hunger

Hunger for power, thirst for money, longing for things larger

Whilst we face the facts and dance to the tune

You, like a somnumbulist, walk your dreams without a cue.

Akae Dibetso:

I deserve your disabuse my friend, strong as it is

I have infl icted a wound in your integrity, yes

I should remember that I too dwell in a glass house

Throwing stones is at my peril, like a poison-eating mouse

Do let’s make up and proceed to the inauguration

From the podium of power I shall get the invigoration

All this conscience nonsense

Is, my friend, a complete nuisance.

13Goodbye to Power

 

Scene V]

[EXIT]

ACT I

SCENE V

[At the State House, the defeated President, Bob Molao, is sitting alone

in his patio after sending off everyone to spare himself their expressions

of pity. He is a tall, lean man of around 58 years old. Most of his past

political adversaries came second best because of his charismatic features,

complemented by a deep voice the electorate found endearing]

MOLAO:

Here I am, wallowing in the damp, depths of nostalgia and self pity

The silver grey skies hang low, like promises of fool’s gold dampening

whatever streaks of joy dare to surface

I’m caught in the whirlwind of choking emotion

It’s dusk, getting darker, with little promise of dawn.

Power like a prostitute fl irts and fl outs

Hours ago, I had it fi rm in my palm

Like a solid gold currency

Today, it slips through my fi ngers

like the blood of a street fi ghter

[The door opens and his wife Bontle enters]

Ah there you are my fallen First Lady

How beautiful you are though bruised badly

Please accept my apologies for failing you

The ship I scuttled belonged to you too

Oh how heavy the burden of defeat weighs on my heart

Come lend me your bosom, my love, for misery to depart

I have known many joys from your embrace

I should still get some at the end of the race.

[He hugs her]

Andrew Sesinyi14

 

[ACT I

Bontle:

I do not embrace a loser my beloved husband

A loser has the liability of a contraband

I am hugging a doer, an achiever, a lover

Remember how much free air you supplied

Was it not you that ensured democracy is applied?

Come my lover, my friend, come see your deeds

Lest your current mood reduce us into mere weeds

[She drags him to the end of the patio overlooking the city’s commercial

centre. With a dramatic wave of both her arms she refers him to a multi-

storey building]

Cast your eyes beyond the breath of this patio

And see a growth vast and tall

This is a plant of concrete and glass

Eleven layers of it erect and imposing

kissing the clear blue skies

when sunshine reigns...

hugging the dark, fertile clouds

when rains promise...

This is the work of your hands.

Molao:

Oh how I wish your beautiful words worked

How I wish my ego did not feel this wrecked

In this mood I see darkness in the light

My will appears to have lost all its fi ght.

Bontle:

And when you look at that building

What is it that you see imposing?

15Goodbye to Power

 

Scene V]

Molao:

A shortwhile ago there was no building

Trees green and lively stood there then

Grass grew in a carpet of green summer

Too short to touch the skies

Too slim to block the breeze

The trees used to wave and sigh

but this building grew dumb, deaf and blind.

No longer do winters don new uniform

of brown dry grass fading out for new

Now every eye-catch brings the rock-solid mass

Where before trees swayed in the breeze

Now stands transfi xed the opaque beauty.

Bontle:

I’m exasperated by your deep sense of gloom

Suddenly to you, fl owers do not represent a bloom

You do not now see the wood for the trees

Look at that building if you will please

And see it for what it is, for what it stands

It stands for human success, the work of your hands

You promised your people development

With you life for your people saw improvement

That building is part of your legacy

More than that you brought democracy.

You’ve met your people’s demands

You’ve satisfi ed most of their wants.

Molao:

You will always be my cherished wife

Part and parcel of my battle-scarred life

But I see more in that building

I see in it something it’s wielding

Indefatigible human want demands its place

Human standards defi ne its compare to predecessors

The vote is for concrete and glass and size

Just like the vote today discarded me.

In that building the multiplying Adams and Eves

Will dwell with the biblical curse

Andrew Sesinyi16

 

[ACT I

like ants in a colony...

building more

destroying more

till there is no more.

[He slowly lets go of the hand of his wife which he had been holding, and

swiftly disappears into the rest of the house] Bontle remains standing

alone,staring out at the bustling commercial centre. She starts pacing.]

Bontle:

The mother in me has long known the child in him

He is now the little boy no longer heading the team

His ego dwells wrongly in his manhood

Resisting even the potency of my womanhood

I can burst a thousand veins attempting to console

But right now it will be pouring milk in a hole

As a woman, as the source of life, I bid my time

Not many battles can escape a woman in her prime.

[EXIT]

17Goodbye to Power

 

Scene I]

ACT II

SCENE I

[The new President of the Republic of Botswana is to be sworn in a colourful

ceremony in the city centre. A large crowd has gathered in front of a

make-shift stage to witness the occasion. Behind the stage are temporary

dressing rooms for the main players- the incoming president, his wife,

and three of his colleagues; on the other hand, the outgoing president,

spouse, his vice president and two cabinet colleagues. Pitso Sediri is at

pains to suppress his nervousness arising mainly out of his eagerness to

assume the reigns of power. He is with his wife and colleagues in one of

the rooms]

Sediri:

Countrymen, our moment has come

The main burden is to remain calm

We must maintain the correct entry

Decorum to a politician is a sentry

It provides guard and repels critics

This is our show so let’s write the lyrics

My stomach is crawling with spiders

For once my intestines have hairy minders

They silently sap my confi dence

Making beads of sweat give evidence

That the fervent campaigner of yesterday

Wants to lay an egg on his political birthday.

Felicitus:

Stand fi rm and be strong for both of us

To fi ght the nerves you have to discuss

Hold conversation to toughen your nerves

Treat yourself as a president deserves

Should your nerves rattle mine will burst

For my restraint is fl ooded to its worst.

Andrew Sesinyi18

 

[ACT II

Ponalo:

There really is no need for tension

We have complete state power in detention

We’ve waited too long in the corridors of power

We have now seized that evasive political tower

With you leading we will now direct the traffi c

Victory ought not to intimidate, it’s terrifi c.

You slept an ordinary citizen roused by your clock

Tomorrow you will wake up leading the entire fl ock.

Felicitus:

And I will share my bed with a president tonight:

I can even indulge him in a romantic pillow fi ght

The State House will be my place, my palace

You will be majestic with me in your power base

The whole country will be yours, your backyard

There will be no place from which you can be barred

Servants will wait on you day in and day out

There will be seats that only you can mount

You will rarely be alone for too long

To everything and everyone you will belong.

Sediri:

How true your words ring

Although it’s not comfort they bring

Somehow they remind me of my younger days

When we captured young bulls after a chase

Only one had to be the master of the kraal

We would do to others what makes the skin crawl

Swiftly a young bull would lose its honour

It’s entire life would be bullied into a corner

Forgive my ungentlemanly comparison

But your words carry unintended derision

Now I know what we were doing to the bull

We were taking away from it what made it full

Today I gain the power of state but lose mine

My basket of freedoms will be like a disused mine

I am trading in my liberty for the reigns of state

I am being empowered whilst being rendered prostrate.

19Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

Ponalo:

No, no, no, no!

Power gives the go

The right not only to do

But to make others do it too.

In these sentimental moments

It’s natural to imagine impediments.

Ah, now here comes the usher

Comrade retrieve your stature.

ACT II

SCENE II

[In the other set of rooms, the outgoing presidential delegation is holding

conversation as well]

Molao:

This moment is like attending your wife’s wedding

To a salesman who sold you your bedroom bedding

If it’s democracy why do I feel so betrayed?

Why do I wish this departure had been delayed?

I am like a prime sprinter who raptures a tendon

In the last mile of a well sustained marathon.

Bontle:

You are just being human dear

Defeat is never easy to bear

But for someone with so many victories to wrap

You should be counting the feathers in your cap

Power is a currency, my love, a passing possession

It is as sweet in attainment as it is in desertion

Power my love is not a permanent partner or friend

That’s why it can be an addiction of an unknown brand

Like most loving men you married a friend and partner

For loving nights and fulfi lling days that form a pattern

Andrew Sesinyi20

 

[ACT II

I as that partner are made of fl esh blood and spirit

Power cannot claim these attributes of merit

It is a formless fantasy in which one wallows

When one declares one free of it, one mellows

Take my challenge prince of my heart

You need no State House when I’m your hearth.

Molao:

I’ve always known the source of my strength

That well of countless reserves of wealth

Yet my love I must concede a delayed confession

Power, my dear has a disabling grip of steel

There were times when it brought me to heel

Times when I was its slave acting in compulsion

When manipulating the tool of state brought no revulsion

For during those times I desired it more than life

I held it in such regard I could risk civil strife.

Bontle:

Stop! Stop, my love!

I will not have you risk the wrath of Him above

You are a man of honour and grace, not a criminal

Whatever sins of thought you had they were minimal

I will not have you or anyone insinuate such misdeeds

I’m a woman of substance married to a man of good deeds.

Molao:

Your love and loyalty my dear, are unsurpassed

But I confess my dear that I have trespassed

There was never a need or a right moment for it

No audience other than you would have been fi t

We had programmes of state that needed continuity

Funds were committed in the interests of the community

It was inopportune then to change the crew of state

I was approached in confi dence by concerned patriots

And asked to sanction the actions of trusted compatriots

Actions designed to benefi t the country and the nation

Methods that could be abused by populist passion

I conceded to the secrecy of the operations

And protected the interests of generations.

21Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

Bontle:

Silence my love, I pray, silence!

This is a moment for complete innocence.

I will not hear another word of such creativity

I pray the Lord the ceremony is blessed with brevity

It’s only then that I can fl ee to my real home

To shield from the fear that shivers me to the bone

These walls are pricking ears for words

Your utterances can be provokers of swords

Your years in power made me a widow of state

Now that I’ve got you back I will not tempt fate

By allowing you to pass a prison term on yourself

From now till death I retain you for myself.

Molao:

If you don’t allow this river to fl ow

There will be a fl ood when its banks blow.

Bontle:

Then let this occasion complete its course

Then you can tell me at home in due course

I’m hungry for freedom, love and tenderness

I yearn for a free man full of gentleness

I want a house of my own means and privacy

A house totally unlike a loot of piracy

Look at me my love, look at me...

I’m a woman in her prime but going past it

As to time to spare I refuse to spare a bit

If there were irregularities in your service

And you no longer have the need to deceive

Then my beloved husband, let sleeping dogs lie...

For truly rather than lose you I’d rather die...

Andrew Sesinyi22

 

[ACT II

Molao:

You mean you are not angry at my dishonesty?

That you would trade silence for marital harmony?

But I would know that it is all a facade

That our life would be a lie or a fallacy?

Bontle:

Life is a lie, a fraud, a facade and a fallacy

All grouped in one vicious circle of fantasy

No man or woman has ever lived a straight course

Every human approved deviation is called a cause

I’m prepared to accept the imperfections of life

Remember I’m not a court of law but a loving wife.

Molao:

For years this guilt has weighed my heart

Like a giant boulder on a rickety cart

You cannot imagine the sense of relief

that I revel in with pleasant disbelief

Bontle, I hope I deserve your deep affection

Despite all you said, I shall strive for perfection

May I now savour the sweetness of your lips

For I can feel passion even at the fi nger tips.

[They kiss]

Bontle:

Your kiss was as perfect as a complete circle

If my knees are not trembling, it’s a miracle

Come now my love for here comes the usher

Freedom awaits us like a forlorn lover.

[Exit]

23Goodbye to Power

 

Scene III]

ACT II

SCENE III

[Enter the Street Sweepers]

First Street Sweeper:

Let’s craftily move our brooms towards the pavilion

For us too to witness the making of a chameleon

These chapped worker’s hands deserve the reprieve

Whilst we watch tomorrow’s monster glow before grief

His makers will be screaming their tongues out

Just as they did years ago for the outgoing lout.

Second Street Sweeper:

You would think we would learn from our misfortunes

These smooth tongued bandits deserve more misfortunes

Taking advantage of our credulity soon after the vote

We the gullible electorate render ourselves a drifting boat

To be boarded when necessity demands and discarded at will

From our coffers they take the gold leaving only the bill

As the precious stones are pilfered, so is our strength

Till like dogs baying the moon we retain only our breath

Allowing the politicians to rip out our entrails

The nation left a derailed locomotive hurtling off the rails.

First Street Sweeper:

The out-going group leaves behind rampant corruption

They are the imbeciles who planted the seeds of disruption

Yet they would turn around and defame the indolent youth

Finding fault and describing every youngster as uncouth

It is the offspring of the low class that reaps most blame

For though our fi lthy hands are good enough for the ballot

Our loins are to base to produce nothing better than a harlot

Yet when they call ceremony and ask to come and gawk

Like idiotic chickens we expose ourselves to the hawk

We gather around them like fl ies around a long-kept rot

The fools we are, our ears prick for semblances of sense

As the net lot churn out new decibels of utter nonsense.

Andrew Sesinyi24

 

[ACT II

Second Street Sweeper:

I can hear passion rising in you like rumbles of thunder

If you don’t pull the reigns on it soon you will blunder

You might even charge at the orchestrated idiocy before us

And plunge your bitterness into their pretentious consonance

Forgetting in that moment of anger your weakness and impotence

Come then my colleague of dust, dirt, and dauntless duty

Come let’s swallow our pride and accept were are this petty.

If you think positive enough your clothes will feel new

Let’s join the festivities, my friend, our joys are too few.

[EXIT]

ACT II

SCENE IV

[At the presidential inauguration, Pitso Sediri has just been sworn-in with

much adulation from the crowd. Against the background of ululations,

Sediri approaches the podium and gives his maiden speech]

Sediri:

Bagaetsho (countrymen)!

This is a moment of your choice

On which you all are entitled to rejoice

I have tread the hot paths of political life

Traversed a network of impediments sharp as a knife

And braved the turbulent storms of public attention

All because I knew your welfare needed urgent mention.

[In subdued tones]

25Goodbye to Power

 

Scene IV]

First Street Sweeper:

How brave the tongue of a polished liar wags

Like the wagging tail of a puppy dog it hangs

Insulting to the core, the very essence of reason

Listen to how the man ignores the full stops

For which at our primary they lashed our buttocks.

Second Street Sweeper

[in a whisper]:

Shhhh! Grant him audience despite his indignity

If we spoke like him we would be accused of insanity

The man may as well wear these clothes of mine

Compared to the fi lth of his words they’re just fi ne.

Sediri:

Countrymen, compatriots, comrades, colleagues and friends

Destiny has thrown us together like folded hands

From this moment onwards we declare ourselves one

And as one whole we shall toil until real victory is won

That victory is our conquest of poverty, disease and crime

A victory as real as the clicking clock that tells the time

Proud as any citizen of this territory of a proud nation

I take the baton of leadership on this memorable occasion

To you, one and all, I humbly request for a grand following

Join me to the place where milk and honey are fl owing

Like a good shepherd painstakingly tending his sheep

For my fl ock, I shall persevere and know little sleep

Tonight we feast to celebrate the dawn of a new republic

Rejoice with your new leaders and true friends of the public.

[Applause at the end of which there is an announcement that the out-

going president will make a statement]

Andrew Sesinyi26

 

[ACT II

Molao:

Today, I hand over the instruments of state

To a president whose moment begins on this date

I wish him sound sailing and good luck

For the ship of state is like Noah’s Ark

Many a person and animals have come on board

But only one Noah destiny can afford

True to the word it’s lonely at the top

Because once the victory train comes to a stop

The length and breadth of the country emerges

In dense apparitions of fl eeting, shadowy images

Still I enjoyed my term, my time and state responsibilities

Although defeated, life still holds exciting possibilities

One source of excitement will be my new role of spectator

For once when trouble brews I shall not be the initiator

Another source will be the chance to impart experience

My political camp will not hoard knowledge for expedience

I thank the nation for the chance and honour to serve

I console my colleagues in the loss we deemed not to deserve

I thank the out-going First Lady, my wife, my friend

Who was a cushion in bad times, and as need be, a fi rebrand

So in this dusk of my glory, take these state apparatus

Wear them with pride and honour to serve as noble operators.

[The Street Sweepers converse in subdued tones]

First Street Sweeper:

After all that, what did you make of it mate?

That it’s the next bum’s turn to rob the state?

Second Street Sweeper:

That, my friend is a load of vociferous nothing

But hear the roar that greets it as if something

Oh how gullible is the rubble called the low classes

After this hullabaloo the elite separate from the masses

Most of the simpletons will have only tonight’s feast

Before returning to the dingy hopelessness of their homes

Where like street urchins they will lick dirty fi ngers

And drab in attire, curl like stray dogs beside dying fi res.

27Goodbye to Power

 

Scene IV]

First Street Sweeper:

Now the venom of anger fl ows in your veins

Feel the passion that nearly scrambled my brains

We may not be book-wise but we are street-wise

We clean where humans tread and see their worst dirt

A snake sheds to be clean, but a man is good as his shirt

Come my friend, the crowd is spilling to the pots

Nearer the cooking pots will be dirt of all sorts

If we can clean their streets we can clean their plates

A survivor eats even from the bowls of those he hates.

[EXIT]

Andrew Sesinyi28

 

[ACT III

ACT III

SCENE I

[It has been 12 months since the new president was sworn in. The time

is 8’oclock in the evening. At the State House, the First Lady Felicitus is

awaiting the usual late arrival of her husband, the president. It has been

a fascinating but trying time in the State House.

Felicitus has just returned from an evening with the country’s society

queens. Although alone in the spacious lounge, she is still resplendent in

a long black evening gown]

Felicitus:

My time in the lime light has been most fulfi lling

Yet with it a void has developed that is most chilling

The crowds do not see me, but they see through me

My persona gone, I am but my husband’s object d’art

What a travesty it is that I should play this part

I wanted his pedestal to raise me to lofty heights

But now as his glory grows so diminishes my own rights

Even the depth of my womanhood has been dealt a dent

For even his nostrils no longer catch my expensive scent

Our bedroom is another offi ce of president with a bed

A bed upon which I had hoped his offi ce day would end

To have his manly warmth extinguish my passion fi res

But now to my husband who is president my love tires

I want to be strong to resist the want for attention

I’m troubled by moods of despair in the face of rejection

There are those treacherous thoughts that fl ood my head

Burning sensations that remind me that I’m not dead

Rushes of blood and chest heaves at the sight of men

A crushing powerlessness and weakness which comes then

I have not known the touch of a man in a whole year

These burning fl ames are too intense for me to bear

I fear that in no time at all the worst might happen

With all those sinewy guards how can my appetite dampen?

[There is a knock at the door, and Pitso Sediri enters. He kisses Felicitus

lightly on the cheek and proceeds to a chair in which he sinks wearily.]

29Goodbye to Power

 

Scene I]

Felicitus:

I can see fatigue written boldly on your face

These strains will hurt unless you slow the pace

For now the fi re of ambition burns fi ery bright

Later your body will demand rest as a right

You can manage the magnitude of that rest now dear

Rather than wait to deal with every mortal’s worst fear

My preference dear husband is for our long life

But the strain reduces yours and denies you your wife

I still have in this body life’s rejuvenating elixir

It takes just a little attention to get that relaxer.

Sediri:

I know my work reduces the attention span you deserve

If I could I would give you every minute I can reserve

But duties of state, my beloved,beckon me always

Yet you know that I will love you for the rest of my days.

Felicitus:

The rest of your days may be all that I will get

For with this killing work that could be my best bet

Desist from this killing schedule and smell the fl owers

Stop, listen, and observe a world that is not just powers

You are human, you are a man, a husband with a spouse

Politics should not do to you what a trap does to a mouse

Look at you now all spent, fi nished and completely defl ated

You should know that rampant stress and death are related.

Sediri:

[yawning with half closed eyes]

Felicitus, you pledged to stand by my side through it all

Of my dreams you said I should rise and respond to the call

What is this second tongue you now employ to lash me

You love me my wife, but a First Lady you also wanted to be

I’ve got the power that I wanted and it gives me pleasure

You have the empire of state so take it for good measure.

Andrew Sesinyi30

 

[ACT III

Felicitus:

If power gives you pleasure how come you are so drained?

If that is pleasure you feel why do you look so strained?

For good measure, I would want you and the State House

Because without you this may as well be just a haunted house

Don’t you understand Pitso, my husband, that I love you?

That you are my man and I am your woman who yearns for you?

[Felicitus pauses in her speech as she realises that Sediri has fallen

asleep in his chair, snoring gently]

May the power of virtue guard against all temptations

I beseech the glorious heavens to erase all contemplations

How I wish I was oblivious to these fi ery bodily desires

It is at moments like these that my resistance retires

Leaving me feeling betrayed by myself and frustrated

Frustrated that desire for power had my husband castrated.

[EXIT]

ACT III

SCENE II

[At the residence of the former president, Molao is discussing with

former Vice President Bob Tshilo. They are unhappy about the running of

the country’s affairs. The new rulers have started dismissing from work

senior civil servants, labelling them puppets of the previous government.

Molao and Tshilo are soon joined by the commander of the national army

Rex Phefo, who is also under threat of expulsion. The three men are

discussing under the cover of darkness because it is late in the night.]

31Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

Molao:

If power corrupts, for some it does so too swiftly

Just yesterday the milk of governance fl owed sweetly

Vultures have descended with beaks of greed and malice

Suddenly the country itches like a body infested with lice.

Tshilo:

Democracy is a luxury few demagogues can afford

Our people are too basic in their reasons to be in accord

[There is a knock at the door and Rex Phefo comes in. He is not in

uniform]

Ah! Here comes the commander fresh from the fi eld

Perhaps things are fi ne for the General to yield

What news do you bring that will soothe our hearts?

Are our people still too petrifi ed to leave their yards?

Phefo:

Mr President! Ah, forgive my practiced tongue Sir

It takes a while to change the disk of what to say

I have no news of comfort other than shocking fi gures

The sense of premonitions among our people still lingers

More and more public servants have been shown the door

Each one made to walk the streets like a lonely whore

Rumours are circulating that the axe is still falling

By dawn Sediri’s gun will bark sending more heads rolling

Like scavengers, their supporters are running amok

Everyone raising a dissenting voice comes under attack

Some shops were looted and houses ransacked by mobs

Who claim to have been robbed of their taxes and jobs

Every door step smells the scent of impending pillage

Fear and uncertainty hangs over every town and village

No command has been made, no orders issued for control

Like guard dogs locked in kennels my men cannot patrol

In sharp contrast ministerial houses spew loud music

The dignity of the dwellings slipping, all is prosaic

Government vehicles are seen at odd times at odd places

Andrew Sesinyi32

 

[ACT III

Crowded celebrations are made for ever changing faces

This Sir, is the news that I have that won’t soothe

Good news is now as hard to get as an extracted tooth.

Molao:

Thank you General for the comprehensive appraisal

We regard your report as professional and apolitical

We ourselves are witness to the country’s woes

There is unmistakable misery and pain where ever one goes

But our hands are tied because we submitted to democracy

Though one may argue that we sold the country to autocracy

We have lost the machinery of state, the power of offi ce

The only means of intervention, talking, will not suffi ce.

Phefo:

Allow me Sir, to depart from the normal military norm

I’ve enjoyed fair play and free speech since I was born

I’ve known no other country but this one since my childhood

But today as I speak, I can’t even recognise my own neighbourhood

Even as a soldier I feel fear stalking me like a predator

I’m viewed by hard faces claiming powers of the Creator

My new principals wear the cloaks of the infalliable

They strut the fl oors of state unabashed, unmalleable

Our people’s faces were soft, gentle and radiant

Hardening from insecurity their faces now look ancient.

Tshilo:

General, without doubt you paint a touching picture

But what is it that we can do in the immediate future?

Phefo:

You can be patriots and seize the challenge posed

Act now whilst potent solutions can stil1 be proposed

By vacating offi ce you did not surrender your rights

Eminent citizens have the responsibility for redress

When the rights of their compatriots’ are violated

Such citizens would know the effects of actions belated.

33Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

Tshilo:

We hear you General but also fear your words

Your phrases are good enough to draw swords

Is it your submission then that we raise an uprising?

Calling for the overthrow of a government just arisen?

Phefo:

I’m not asking you to commit crimes against the state

My request is that you have the means to infl uence fate

Such means include your eminence, your trusted honour

Each of us the concerned parties would be but a donor

If you ask the people to rise and demand justice back

You will not be guilty of stabbing anybody’s back.

Tshilo:

General, the electorate has just made their choice?

Where then do we get the clout to change that voice?

Shall we not open ourselves to ridicule and abuse?

Shall we not become a convenient target to accuse?

Phefo:

Sir, voters vote with their hearts and not their heads

Your adversaries have exceeded their political overheads

Besides, the life of a political emotion is very short

Hardly does it live beyond the duration of a ballot slot

Host voters are quick to regret the vote they have cast

Because, with due respect, the honeymoon does not last

The clout comes from the infi rmities of the new government

Ridicule and abuse do not succeed where there is empowerement

Accusers become the accused, the ousted become the trusted

No Sir, the time for intervention is as ripe as a melon

A tide that only rises for opportunity once in a billion.

Andrew Sesinyi34

 

[ACT III

Molao:

General, you use words like effi cient weapons in a battle

It’s offensive but true that voters are at times like cattle

For them to willingly enter your kraal the time must be ripe

If you just crack the whip you are bound to provoke spite

My colleague has ably served as the devil’s advocate

Checking political throat for obstacles that can suffocate

I’m convinced that your thoughts are worth our investigation

Some of our programmes as a party may require relegation

Whilst all our energies are geared towards this enterprise

We need to know though if we can count on your institution

Should it be necessary to meet with unpopular retribution.

Phefo:

You do know Sir, that the army defends this nation

We shall stand for what becomes the nation’s delegation

Our expectation is that where a nation is in distress

A constitutional government would call a ballot redress

If that does not arise then the government is in violation

All organs of state must help instil constitutional devotion.

Molao:

I hear you General and I shall revert to you soon

Allow my colleague and I to retreat to our cocoon

There are onerous decisions to make and plans to draw

We must move in haste lest the enemy’s horns grow

Goodnight General, or rather good morning

Be as tight-lipped as a widow in mourning.

[EXIT]

35Goodbye to Power

 

Scene III]

ACT III

SCENE III

[It is around 3 o’clock in the morning. Sediri is out of the city on a

country-wide tour. Felicitus woke up from a troubled sleep and is now

walking along the long corridor of the presidential suite. She cuts out

quite a good looking fi gure in her long but fl imsy nightdress and walking

barefoot.]

Felicitus:

Sleep and good rest elude me as surely as matters of love

If this internal turmoil persists I doubt if I will survive

The dawn of day is beginning to weigh on me too heavily

Tears like rivers and streams in fl ood begin to fl ow readily

I wanted power and status not realising what they came with

Common belief that these are a source of happiness is a myth

I am surrounded in my state chores by women of substance

Women who talk and laugh fondly of their husbands’ absence

Showing what they miss, what they want and what is coming

My wait for mine is as remote as the biblical second coming

[A door opens and a guard comes into view]

Ah there you are Leano my trusted protector and companion

Even so early in the morning you resemble a boxing champion

Did I disturb your sensitive ears with my incessant soliloquy?

Oh, your dark features hide your blush to see me in my nightie.

Leano:

Forgive me Madam for my intrusion

But the sound warranted my inspection.

Felicitus:

Oh how well you express yourself my loyal guardian

If it’s inspection you must do go on my kinsman

And please stop casting your eyes elsewhere but at me

I’m a person of little protocol and that’s how I like to be.

Andrew Sesinyi36

 

[ACT III

Leano:

Really Madam, there is nothing to inspect

I will now withdraw with due respect.

Felicitus:

Leano, Leano, Leano, where is your gallantry?

Are my features and my feminity so elementary?

That despite my attire you would see nothing?

A gentleman should fi nd this moment touching

Afterall, you are young, robust and sensitive

You would miss little even if you were pensive

Tell me my gallant young man that I’m attractive

I am a woman to whom compliment is constructive.

Leano:

Madam is there something wrong?

Sleep Madam, the night is not long

When you wake up you should feel well

If you need anything just ring the bell.

Felicitus:

Nothing is wrong with me my charming prince

Nothing but a woman’s body with prickly pins

I know behind that mask of duty lies a stud

A man of vigour who eats well and works hard

There must be a valve for all that energy

An escape route for the trapped seeds of biology

Oh how weak my knees grow with bursting desire

Hold me Leano or I shall surely die of denial.

Leano:

Madam please...

37Goodbye to Power

 

Scene IV]

Felicitus:

Hush... just a touch of your strong hands

I can’t wait until your very ultimate lands

Hush for I can feel your hardness already

That tells me that you’ve always been ready

I always saw the desire in your averted eyes

That vision fi lled my nights with restless sighs

Let me lead you to a room of our very own

A place where we shall feel truly alone

Because the master’s bedroom would intimidate

When the thing we want most is to be madly intimate.

[Groaning with mild protestations, Leano is led into a guest bedroom.]

ACT III

SCENE IV

[It is early evening at the State House the President, Pitso Sediri, Kemo

Ponalo the Vice President and Botho Sekopo, Sediri’s trusted friend and

Minister of Defence and Public Service are holding consultations]

Sekopo:

Public service appointments and redeployments are in progress

Public opinion is such that the momentum should not regress

Deserving people are soon to assume permanent secretary posts

We are visitors to power with the nation our vital hosts

There are isolated murmurs of discontent soon to dissipate

These changes are daring but ones that most people anticipate

The worrisome areas are in the sensitive security positions

Still we must instil confi dence by taking fi rm decisions

So far we trust the Commissioner of Police to be loyal

It is the Commander of the Army whose allegiance is dual

My secret agents have just returned from their reconnaissance

They report that Molao and Phefo appear to be in consonance

Meetings are reported at which the Commander is invited

These nocturnal meetings are a powder keg that can be ignited.

Andrew Sesinyi38

 

[ACT III

Ponalo:

For years we have stated the partiality of these people

As a former teacher I know that the subject decides the pupil

If we don’t put our own people in these key positions

We will have failed to correctly assess our people’s emotions.

Sediri:

If the Defence and Public Service Minister recommends

I shall regard such recommendations as national demands

We must be much more decisive than our predecessors

The least fertile ground is one tilled by successors.

[The door opens and Felicitus comes breezing in. She is wearing a simple

dress which reveals a well kept fi gure. Everyone turns to observe her

animated face]

Felicitus:

Ah the Men in my life chewing business as always

The total of your lives is converted into national days

Where would we be the pleasure chasers and deep sleepers

Had it not been for the devotion of you, our keepers

My dear husband, please allow me this cheek kiss.

[She kisses him]

These men with waiting wives should know what they miss

I must hurry out to follow my First Lady programme

Every item of my work brings a loss of a kilogramme

Giving me the wholesome sense of woman in every essence

But I should not gush in this distinguished presence

I’m gone!

So long!

[Exit Felicitus]

39Goodbye to Power

 

Scene IV]

Sediri:

Of late she is in the best of moods

At fi rst she was lost in the woods

Her new role depressed her in its demands

My guess is now she enjoys giving commands.

Sekopo:

Well lucky is the man with a toned wife

These aggressive feminists ruin family 1ife

It is your fi rm, resolute kind that works

Even a dog that rarely bites frequently barks

Women want and respect a man who takes charge

Otherwise their domestic territory becomes large.

Sediri:

Whatever it was I did I agree it worked

Some of her sudden tantrums had me shocked

She wanted a man as in husband and father

She got that plus the role of national mother

A woman in her shoes is the envy of all

Her world and life are as wholesome as a ball

Since I don’t have to issue a domestic ordinance

Let us return to the business of governance.

[EXIT]

Andrew Sesinyi40

 

[ACT III

ACT III

SCENE V

[In a Government guesthouse room, Felicitus is entertaining her lover

Leano]

Felicitus:

These moments together are more precious than gold

You don’t know how a woman’s desires can be so bold

Especially when her husband is oblivious to her wares

You my capable lover have treaded where no one dares

And dampened fi res that threatened a confl agration

By cheating on my husband I’ve saved him degradation

I was virtually a social missile ready to explode

Your well-equipped arrival saved him the rubble load.

Leano:

Madam, our nights have been full of reward

Your well chosen words are a welcome award

But I am fearful of these perilous chances

Every meeting, danger like a wicked witch dances

I’m a policeman and I know the net of trouble

My life is under threat of bursting like a bubble

You madam, have lived your life to the fu11

You can afford to harvest without being careful

I am just a dot on the surface of this world

I can be erased or thrown where the paper is hurled.

Felicitus:

For as long as you satisfy my starved desires

Danger like a wasted, moribund servant retires

You will be as cushioned as healthy kidneys

Your wishes will make many bow their knees.

41Goodbye to Power

 

Scene V]

Leano:

But Madam I do have a girlfriend that I love.

Felicitus:

What’s a girl compared to dreams come true?

My sailor, I offer you a ship and a crew

With the ocean your world to sail and explore

A girl is just a pleasure that soon turns a bore.

Leano:

My girl, Madam, cannot be a bore

I love and cherish her to the core.

Felicitus:

I would not want to charge you with being ungrateful

Although you use words after pleasure that are hateful

A lover in company does not talk of love for others

Your choice of words at a time like this bothers.

Leano:

Madam, I did not ask for our union

I always knew I had a companion.

Felicitus:

Don’t think I’ve been unaware of your spying eyes

I caught you looking at exposed parts times

You were not the innocent, starry eyed policeman

You were a stalking, peeping, lustful young man

Where was your girl when you gawked at my windows?

As you lay with her, you yearned for me from your pillows.

Leano:

I had no idea Madam that I showed all that.

Andrew Sesinyi42

 

[ACT III

Felicitus:

You did my naive little lover, you did

It matters that despite all danger, you did

It’s an honour for a man to show desire

It’s the aphrodisiac all men require

When you look at a woman in that fashion

Her whole body experiences a violent session

As your eyes meet, your lips open as if to speak

But no words escape but the radiance of heat

Ah...I feel I have roused you to perfection again

Come my lover, my guard, take me to the mountain...

[EXIT]

43Goodbye to Power

 

Scene I]

ACT IV

SCENE I

[There have been widespread riots in the aftermath of forced retirements

of senior civil servant. In the capital city, soldiers are reported to have

refused to leave the barracks for their usual chores following the arrest of

their commander. The commander was arrested shortly after his meeting

with Molao. The opening scene is a street in the city centre.]

First Street Sweeper:

Common sense tells me we should not be here

The songs of the rioting crowds sound quiet near.

Second Street Sweeper:

What have we got to be afraid of

Being nothing you are better off

Let’s just mind our own sweeping

It’s the guilty who do the weeping.

First Street Sweeper:

That’s the only advantage in being low

Wherever public opinion goes you follow

You even forget your natural gift of initiative

It’s taken for granted that you can’t be creative

There goes the crowd again this time much louder

That should give Sediri a good chip on his shoulder.

Second Street Sweeper:

I smell fi re which makes me worry

My opinion should not make us less wary

Perhaps you were right we should move

We shall return when tempers improve.

Andrew Sesinyi44

 

[ACT IV

First Street Sweeper:

It may be a little late to move mate

See how the crowd arrives full of hate

We could join in their rather merry song

I haven’t had any excitement for so long.

Second Street: Sweeper:

Doesn’t dirt excite you enough my friend

Your work deals with fi lth in every brand.

First Street Sweeper:

I suppose you consider yourself better scum

Shut up and sing, the revolution has come

I doubt if any abused bones can do their dance

This is the famous South African toyi-toyi trance.

Second Street Sweeper:

Somehow your street uniform is not for this

Your knees look like they want to kiss

How our children would laugh were they here

We should ensure that this they never get to hear

I feel so stupid doing these foreign antics

Especially that you look like an injured mantis.

First Street Sweeper:

What a conceited fellow you really are

Despite that your schooling did not go far.

45Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

Second Street Sweeper:

I’m beginning to enjoy this pandemonium

Protest can be such soothing medium

Hey, hey! Hey, hey!

Thiba kafa, hey, hey!

Tsena ka fa, hey, hey!

Tshaba fana, hey, hey!

Tshasa fana, hey, hey!

Hey, hey! Hey, hey!

First Street Sweeper:

You have been infected by the idiocy of the crowd

With your chicken legs you would make a clown proud

Hey, hey! Hey, hey!

Tshasa fana, hey, hey!

Tshaba fana, hey, hey!

[The street sweepers exit with a chanting crowd]

ACT IV

SCENE II

[In Molao’s house, a domestic squabble is ongoing. Bontle has discovered

Molao’s involvement in the unrest and she does not approve of it]

Bontle:

With these upheavals you risk not just your life

You put on stake your reputation and the like

Your involvement shows an obsession with power

Criminality and disrepute await around the corner

What is it with you men that conjures children in you?

The drive to meddle in this mess is not a patriotic cue

It is a selfi sh, vitriolic course of wanton ambition

Totally unrelated to the well-being of the nation

Andrew Sesinyi46

 

[ACT IV

You meet surreptitiously after dark with boyish simplicity

Obliviously brainwashing yourselves into seditious complicity

There is no nation to serve in your impulsive actions

Your party has now become a union of power hungry factions

I love you, respect you and hold you in great esteem

But these are treacherous pursuits you can never redeem

If you remain immersed in this reckless power chase

Even my love, respect and honour will lose their base

Turn around now before the tide sweeps you under

Delve into the rich mind I know and admit this blunder

Please permit me to release you from this addiction

Allow my reason and intuition to rid you of this affl iction.

Molao:

Your words sting like billions of angry bees

They are phrases of goodwill, love and peace

I’m not driven in this endeavour by aggrandizement

I had accepted my new station with great adjustment

But I see plunder and destruction poised at my country

I can see the resources of this country turned into bounty

My dear wife, I don’t have the heart to look away

Neither do I have the feet fast enough to run away.

Bontle:

I would not ask you my husband to cringe like a coward

I would not derail you from fi ghting something untoward

I do not have the wickedness to sabotage a noble ambition

But I do have the tenacity to detract you from this mission.

Molao:

What about the trampling on of the rights of citizens?

What about the many under threat of languishing in prisons?

What about the strikes, the unrest, the demonstrations?

Would you have me regard these as peaceful remonstrations?

47Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

Bontle:

No dear husband, I would not ask you to be apathetic

Yes, my dear husband I expect you to be sympathetic

But your actions must be proportional to the errors

There is no honour in being just another voice in the chorus

A man of honour as you awaits a judicious time to speak

A citizen of your esteem does not let words just leak

To do that you have to allow actions and episodes to ripen

Take charge of your actions and don’t let them just happen

Any action you take now will rescue the government

A tailor checks all the seams before submitting a garment

The government is likely to be paralyzed by mass action

Such impasse would dictate no less than an early election

Which I do hope my dear husband would not wish to contest

Because they are many in your party to take the test.

Molao:

I hear you my wife and I understand very well

Allow me to depart for I have your concept to sell

I have to reckon with the weight of my colleagues

Otherwise they will suspect me of having other leagues.

Bontle:

But do remember where their success is appended

They should respect you with out being offended

Without you their actions would warrant to naught

Controllers of destiny lead with action after thought

Go now my husband and I wish you only success

My heart will not grant any alternative access.

[EXIT]

Andrew Sesinyi48

 

[ACT IV

ACT IV

SCENE III

[A scene at the Guest House. Felicitus has just had one of her increasingly

frequent sessions with her lover]

Felicitus:

I’m drained of stress and replenished with bliss

For years I was restless because this was amiss

Now I’ve got it my life is full and meaningful

My husband made my wants feel dirty and sinful

Promise me my good man that I won’t be deserted

That this chapter of life is permanently inserted.

Leano:

I would if I could but that is not the case

My troubled heart has been torn apart for days

Images of my girl fl ick before me like pages

It’s as if I have been away from her for ages

I do enjoy the spicy secret of our romance

Even the fear of discovery has no dominance

It’s the yearning for her that hurts

a tearing loneliness beyond words.

Felicitus:

You do have a way with words, but words like daggers

The choice of cutting words as precise as jabbers

You must be thinking little of me to be so bold

Or tired of my pleasures to be so cold.

Leano:

I must tell the truth if it weighs too heavily

No hurt intended but our affair taxes severely.

49Goodbye to Power

 

Scene III]

Felicitus:

What would you want us to decide on then

That is, short of letting you out of my den.

Leano:

If you really love me you should.

Felicitus:

I should really love you?

Leano:

No, you should let me out of your den

After all our parting is a matter of when.

Felicitus:

You are an ungrateful little pipsqueak

Why, you are conceited, cheap and weak

I have given your life material meaning

Your life-time plans have started yielding.

Leano:

Madam I never asked for those gifts

You paid me for taking night shifts

You thanked me for making you happy

I gave so much I often felt empty

You forget Madam that I too am human

We have shared the joys of man and woman

Why then do you make me feel this cheap?

As if I was a discarded rag from a heap?

Felicitus:

First time today that I’m seeing your anger

Anger makes a woman experience more hunger

Accept my apologies if I spoke out of turn

This feminine tongue often goes out of tune

Andrew Sesinyi50

 

[ACT IV

Come now and love me as deeply as you can

Upon all my foul words I impose a ban.

Leano:

The answer to all our problems, Madam, is sex

If I decline then a series of threats is next

Believe it or not Madam, I too have pride

I want out of this affair even if I have to hide.

Felicitus:

I’m shocked by the extent of your temperament

Our differences need not be that paramount

Please take charge of your emotions my knight

You know my temper fl ares out of my plight

You’ve rescued me from insurmountable distress

Do not undo your work by imposing this stress.

Leano:

How fl exible your tongue becomes Madam

In one breath you can sweet talk and condemn

But I mean it when I demand my release

This has been a long traumatic lease

I know I risk the wrath of a First Lady

But like any gigolo, I’m weary of being handy.

Felicitus:

You are not my gigolo but a true lover

When I was cold you provided me with cover

If you forgive me, you shall be nicely rewarded

Just say you forgive and your wishes will be awarded.

51Goodbye to Power

 

Scene III]

Leano:

That’s your answer to everything

Money to you conquers anything

But I’m awake now and kicking

I’m not going back to being a weakling

This relationship Madam is to me dead

It is now, as I gleefully rise from this bed

[Leano dresses quickly and leaves Felicitus half sitting on the bed, one

hand holding a sheet against her chest whilst the other theatrically waves

at him to return]

Felicitus:



[To herself]

Sunlight has drifted out of my life with the breeze

Cold dejection hits my heart, saps energy from my knees

How could I have caused the evaporation of that fantasy

How did this fl ippant tongue cut short my ecstasy

Middle-aged as I am I should have counted my blessings

Instead of fl aunting them as a mannequin does her dresses

My pride torn, ego dented and looks fading, I’m rejected

The smell of his virile body lingers and can’t be ejected.



[There is a knock at the door]

Who’s there? Perhaps he’s here! Come in.

[A young waiter enters with a tray loaded with beverages]

Waiter:

I thought, Madam, I would refresh your refrigerator.

Andrew Sesinyi52

 

[ACT IV

Felicitus:

Do so my good man for your timing is right

Please pour me a stiff brandy to make me bright

And do join me my dear fellow

Whilst the drink makes me mellow

You caught me at a moment when I was down

Hence my face is still wearing a frown.

Waiter:



Madam I cannot accept your offer

It is not proper.

Felicitus:

Twice today, young man, my orders are disobeyed.

Waiter:

No Madam, I do not disobey

I shall do as you say.

[The waiter serves a few rounds of drinks]

Felicitus:

Drink heals even gaping wounds my dear fellow

Even bright lights have now turned romantic yellow

Come nearer my friend and relax my pillow

It helps my aching back to lie low

[Felicitus grabs the waiter and starts fondling him]

Ah I’ve got you my cautious drinking mate

Let me sample your wares you young primate

Good, your responses are yielding swiftly

That’s the relief my ego requires quickly.

[EXIT]

53Goodbye to Power

 

Scene IV]

ACT IV

SCENE IV

[At the State House Felicitus enters the main lounge to fi nd Sediri, Ponalo

and Sekopo in a discussion. She is completely inebriated. Felicitus walks

towards the men unsteadily, and with eyes slightly out of focus peers at

them]

Felicitus:

There you are the three state stooges

How about some music and a few boogie-woogies

My day has been action-packed and splendid

So active a day I can’t risk being too candid

Oh come on gentlemen do not regard me with pity

You yourselves are not men of absolute piety

You sit there with expressions that are placid

But I know your manners, your thoughts are rancid

You sit there ignoring all but your politics

But you, gentlemen, you are nothing but lunatics.

Sediri:

That’s enough Felicitus, please go to your room.



Felicitus:

He barks at me as if I’m nothing but an animal

The level of his attitude towards me is abysmal

I’m leaving gentlemen, I won’t cause you more worry

Let me leave your deep composure without a fl urry

May I though have my husband briefl y for something personal

Privacy with the man I love has become a little seasonal.

[Sediri stands up and accompanies his wife upstairs to their suite]

Andrew Sesinyi54

 

[ACT IV

Sediri:

Felicitus, what is the meaning of this wanton disgrace?

I have showered you as my wife with nothing but praise

Felicitus:

That is your problem my dear, living for others

Whilst you leave your loved one where dust gathers

You have been engrossed for so long in your power chase

In that pursuit you have left some of us out of pace.

Sediri:

Your clothes are soiled and smell evil

Has the First Lady found solace with the devil?

Felicitus:

I have been sampling the pleasures of life I presume

After months of celibacy I thought life should resume.

Sediri:

What are you saying, woman?

Felicitus:

I am saying my man that your honour is decimated

I have sought comfort elsewhere and feel emancipated

Yes Mr President, your woman is now out of bondage

I am using the state privileges to my great advantage

Today I have known the pleasures of two capable men

I have imbibed alcoholic drinks not one, not two but ten.

55Goodbye to Power

 

Scene IV]

Sediri:

After all I did for you, how could you do this to me?

Felicitus:

If I had done something to you I would be full of glee

It’s because I did nothing to you that I started to fl ee

I started to run and search and demanded a mirror

Something to reassure me that I’m not a creation error

Yes, my husband, I’ve been indulging in promiscuity

Married to your power that seemed to irresistible an opportunity

Yes, my husband, your wife has known another man’s wares

I’ve been blissfully buried in the arms of someone who cares.

Sediri:

[striking her]

You slut, you harlot, you ungrateful trollop!

Despite your celebrity you deserve a wallop

In fact it is with death that you must negotiate

Your moral fi lth is what our society should regurgitate

I gave you everything and you brought me disgrace

Right now, my body recoils at the thought of your embrace

It’s a pity that despite my immense power of state

Your life is one existence I am unable to take

Where love brewed, hatred is now growing

Where respect blossomed, contempt is fl owing.

[ Moving out of the bedroom]

Let me tear my eyes from your despicable sight

And command my faculties to think with all might

Of ways and means to terminate this unholy union

Which I now see as marriage founded on a blind opinion.

[EXIT SEDIRI]

Andrew Sesinyi56

 

[ACT IV

Felicitus:

The bang of the door as he left was so fi erce

The sound of it felt as if it would my heart pierce

As the fumes of my alcoholic reinforcement abate

Fear deeper than a bottomless pit illuminates my fate

My integrity is fl oating on disintegrating waves

My mind is too numb to recall any prayer that saves

These lips that taunted have lost their dexterity

My ego is too hollow to retain any item of security

I shall know no sleep tonight unless I take a tablet

I need it to stop feeling like a wind-blown pamphlet

Here on this once enhancing dressing table is the pill

I shall take one, no, two, a few more to make my heart still

How different the water tastes after the alcohol sensation

Nevertheless, the pills will be suffi cient compensation.

Now let me lie on the abundant comfort on this couch

Very soon sleep will descend on me with a soothing touch

Oh what a sea of comfort with no sailor to navigate

But I must cherish these moments alone to meditate

Despite the envelope of fog the brandy has devised

The sense of all-round rejection will have me demised...

[With a soft sigh Felicitus falls into a deep slumber from which she will

never awake]

ACT V

SCENE I

[It is ten days since Felicitus died. She was buried three days ago. At

the State House a distressed Sediri is having a moment to himself, but

not for too long...]

Sediri:

The barbed words I directed at her

Still stab me too much to bear

It’s not her death I meant to call

It was sense I wished her to recall

Oh merciless fate, why impose this fi nale?

I’m now like a radar-less ship, without a signal.

57Goodbye to Power

 

Scene I]

[Enter an agitated Sekopo]

Sekopo:

Mr President the police are in revolt

Even the national fl ags are not aloft

Beserk mobs are running amok looting

Drunken motorists rouse the crowds with hooting

Marchers are singing abusive songs about your name

Not much of this, Mr President, spells fame.

Sediri:

Sekopo, I have a grief larger than itself

A concern so intense I reserve it to myself

Please run the affairs of state on my behalf

I shall give you all the powers you need to have

Allow me to mourn the loss of my departed spouse

With no immediate burdens of this wretched State House.

Sekopo:

Mr. President, the army will not leave the barracks

Some are even lolling nonchalantly in the parks.

Sediri:

You, my friend, are the Minister of Defence

Defend the country against mass offence

Please do not worry me with the details

Do whatever you can, whatever it entails

But do leave me alone with my grief

I shall summon cabinet later for a brief.

[Two soldiers enter unannounced]

Andrew Sesinyi58

 

[ACT V

First Soldier:

I’m commanded to place you under arrest

I have orders to shoot if I’m pressed.

Sediri:

Whose unlawful command is that soldier

That has this corrosive taste of ginger

I’m the commander-in-chief

I give commands and not receive.

First Soldier:

General Rex Phefo gave the command.

Sediri:

General Phefo is my offi cer and subordinate

Return to your post without being obstinate

This is a house of state not a village bus

I shall seize this matter with your boss.

Second Soldier:

[Pointing a gun at Sediri}

We have no orders to negotiate these matters

Your immediate arrest is all that matters

Move this instant!

Or know our intent!

Sediri:

Somehow this rape of democracy

By these zombies of mediocracy

Soothes my wounds like a sedative

It’s like the arrival of a relative.

[BOTH SEDIRI AND SEKOPO EXIT AT GUNPOINT]

59Goodbye to Power

 

Scene II]

ACT V

SCENE II

[Rex Phefo has paid an unusual visit to Molao’s house. Initially, Molao

had called him over for a brief, but as things turn out, Rex Phefo wants

to call the shots]

Molao:

General, you have seized the state apparatus

You have removed the constitutional operators

Law and order appears to return to the land

Surely, power must now return to the right hand.

Phefo:

Sir, my plan is for a transitional authority

An authority that will be headed by the military

Civilians, with due respect, have proven inept

We have designs on how the peace should be kept.

Molao:

My goodness General, that would be a coup

Nobody would pursue your cause but a fool.

Phefo:

Well Sir, you are party to that cause

You will address the nation on the next course.

Andrew Sesinyi60

 

[ACT V

Molao:

But General, we thought your intentions were patriotic

That you intervened to defuse a situation that was chaotic.

Phefo:

You Sir, would have wanted to take the military for a ride

To make us a shield behind which you and colleagues would hide

Our actions, Mr Ex President, were patriotic enough

But your thwarted ambitions are indeed a great laugh

Your word as former President carries weight

We shall require of you to address the nation at eight

Inform them of our good intentions and purposes

We shall give you a list of all that the army proposes

I now return to the barracks with confi dence

Knowing that you’ll do your part without incidence.

[EXIT PHEFO]

Molao:

This is the monster of our national creation

We can destroy it with a national reaction

Somehow his actions have jolted me to reality

I see him as a beast prone to acts of cruelty

My own desire for power has rightly evaporated

The right cause is as my wife eloquent]y elaborated

Tonight I shall give the nation a proper address

It will be the General’s self-infl icted undress

I feel relief at unloading the burden of ambition

In its place is a distinct patriotic vision.

[EXIT]

61Goodbye to Power

 

Scene III]

ACT V

SCENE III

[The scene is at the national radio station. Preferring to stay in the

background and make Molao their civilian spokesman, the army is nowhere

near the broadcast house. Molao had been given a list of announcements

to make but with an allowance for him to use his political know-how

to prepare a soft landing for a military government. Molao uses his

allowance in a different way]

Molao:

Countrymen, we are embraced by the forces of evil

Our beloved country is in the shadows of the devil

My task now amidst all danger is to ask you to rise

To make you stand fi rm against this impending vice

Our own people have invaded our pride in democracy

An elected government has been unseated in its infancy

The Offi ce of the Head of State of this country is defi led

An elected president of this nation has been jailed

Fellowmen, Africa is fraught with self seeking frauds

They will come to you in deceptive apparitions of friends

This nation has been visited by the rabid African monstrosity

I urge you to meet it head-on with all your available ferocity

I want your children and the children of your children

To live, cherish and enjoy democracy without hindrance

I have no aspiration to further offi ce of state

I have had my share of the national cake

All I want is to live in a free country of free inhabitants

Those that deny us this liberty turn us into combatants

With the elected government unseated

You the nation can have it reinstated

Our children, your children, brothers and sisters in the army

We urge you not to be a killer poison in the national tummy

I have made this statement in defi ance

The army wanted my support and silence

I urge all countrymen to show resilience

Stand up and defeat the scourge of tyranny

With a united voice you can deter the enemy

Your enemy is anyone and everyone self imposed

Make this the fastest record for a dictatorship deposed.

Andrew Sesinyi62

 

[ACT V

[As Molao fi nishes his statement, loud cheers are heard from a distance,

cars start hooting, whistles are blown and there are sounds of guns and

general upheaval]



ACT V

SCENE IV

First Street Sweeper:

There was burning, looting and rioting against Sediri

Now there is burning, looting and rioting for Sediri

What mirages the mind of an African plays on his mind

If you think, for all their sight, they were all blind.

Second Street Sweeper:

I must admit Molao does come out the hero afterall

His speech was appealing and patriotic overall

It’s Molao who has driven the wedge between the soldiers

General Phefo has bundled a load too heavy for his shoulders

Sediri has been released and returned to State House

The greedy Phefo has fl ed broke as a church mouse.

First Street Sweeper:

So for whom did we do all that foolish act?

Was it a seisure of crowd mood or reaction to fact?

Second Street Sweeper:

Sometimes mate it’s not necessary to be sensible

If everyone was idiotic who were we to be responsible?

There is more mayhem mate, let’s follow the leader

Afterall, a popular uprising is a politician’s teacher.

[EXIT}

63Goodbye to Power

 

Scene V]

ACT V

SCENE V

[There is a disturbing scene in front of Molao’s house]

Molao:

General Phefo I didn’t expect you here after all this

They told me that you and some of your men were amiss.

Phefo:

I have come to congratulate you for your bravado

With a gift to blow your head like an avocado.

[Phefo produces a gun and points it at Molao]

Molao:

I did all that I did despite all the dangers

Have triggered tempers and roused more angers

Yours is no signifi cant addition I should bother about

You General are a coward, a phony and a miserable lout

You and your gun strike no fear in my principled heart

Because a man of your integrity is like an abandoned hut.

Bontle:

[Rushing out of the house and grabbing Phefo’s extended hand holding

the gun]

No! Don’t shoot

[A shot rings out and Molao lies sprawling on the ground. A truck full of

soldiers screeches to a hault nearby and groups of soldiers spill out. Phefo

turns to fl ee but he is cut down by a volley of shots from the soldiers.

Bontle sobs hysterically, clutching the listless body of her husband]

Andrew Sesinyi64

 

[ACT V

Bontle:

What irony, what paradox, to visit our household

Just when I had extracted you from the power fold

You had just learnt the meaning of life

I had just begun to feel like your wife

Now destiny has mercilessly wrenched you from me

How do I bid goodbye when I don’t want you to leave me?

How can I ask the heavens to receive you when I need you?

How can I share you with death when I want you too?

[EXIT]

ACT V

SCENE VI

[Sediri has been reinstated by loyal soldiers. The scene is a graveyard

where Molao is being laid to rest. Sediri is attending the funeral and has

requested to make a statement]

Sediri:

History will tell that today a true human died

If I’d ever said I loved him I’d have lied

But right at this moment he is my superior

Many men pitted against him are too inferior

He executed a somersault to rescue his country

He died from the hands of one full of effronteri

Justice has not been done despite Phefo’s death

It will only be done when Molao’s death becomes our birth

This country can proudly claim Africa’s fi rst

That a politician spurned power for his country’s best

I take off my hat to him to render him everlasting honour

Most politicians can only hope for a record without dishonor

I hope to ensure that this country grants opportunity

For the young to ascribe to honour not actions of impunity.

65Goodbye to Power

 

Scene VI]

First Street Sweeper:

Now he’s got me crying

Especially that he’s not lying.

Second Street Sweeper:

If you raise your eyes

You’ll see tears not lies

There’s general misery all round

Condolences are abound

Yet there is with it peaceful consonance

His death has cleansed all insolence.

First Street Sweeper:

Your words are rich and healing

That’s what we all need after the killings

May God grant us no more mischief

And let us enjoy the general relief.

[EXIT]

Andrew Sesinyi66

 

67Goodbye to Power

 

CLOSE CURTAIN

Andrew Sesinyi
A MEDIA PALMS PUBLICATION 2010
ISBN  NO: 978-99912-0-966-1