A few years ago while I was teaching computer programming there was a young lady in my class. To protect the very guilty lets call her Thoko K. Now Thoko K had not paid up her fees so my boos and I decided on a Wednesday to tell her not to come to class until she had settled her bill. The next morning Thoko K and her dad turned up. Mr K told my boss and I that he had a few pressing commitments including a sick mother-in-law. To be specific he said “apongozi anga akudwala ndipo mosakayikakonse amwalira lero. Nde ndiyenera kukonzanso za maliro nde chonde chonde musamuthamangitse Thoko” (My mother-in-law is sick and by all means she will die today. So I will have to take care of all funeral expenses so please don’t bar Thoko from attending classes). I should say I was shocked and shaken. I very nearly gave him my hand so he could read my palm and tell me of my fate too!
Anyway that Thursday passed without incident. Friday came and went and Thoko was in class the whole day. Come Monday morning, Thoko came to class as jovial as ever. No sign whatsoever her grandma ‘had died recently’. It was only after lunch that Thoko got a message her grandma had finally succumbed to death.
Am not sure if Mr K was just very bad at predicting death or whether he had a great disliking of his mother-in-law, it was just quite chilling the way he put it!
