Publisher's Synopsis
It's the run-up to the national elections in this 'non-party' state in the Southern Africa region. All adult citizens in good standing are afforded the five-yearly chance to contest the elections on their personal merits.At the chiefdom of ka Dvonga, the latent issue seized upon by most aspirants is the long-standing feud between the ruling branch of the Baka Dvonga dynasty at Enyonini, and the 'cousin' presuming branch at Esweni. Only the perennially parched, rugged bed of Mamangafa divides the chiefdom into east (Enyonini) and west (Esweni), as the river meanders southerly.Nehemiah Dvonga, the extant, ageing, overseer of Esweni, latterly succumbs to pressure from the pro-secession element there to purport to renounce the ages-old suzerainty of Enyonini over the province. When the comparatively young, recently enthroned monarch of the chiefdom finally stymies the rebellion 'across the river', Nehemiah dies of a stroke, no less inspired by the shock at the perfidy of someone in his own court; a culturally disgraced chieftain. Meantime, Velaphi lives on ... he alone to realize fruit from the unrealized rebellion.
