He now heads the cooking staff at Mzimba Secondary School. He offered Africanews.com an opportunity for an interview to share his career, family, farming, and political views during the school’s alumni gathering.

He says he quit his primary education in Class 7 and has never looked back. His time was spent herding cattle and the best and strongest of the herd boys got the families and communities favours. He even was seen as a suitable young man for any beautiful girl. Lazy boys are the ones that went to school!

AfricaNews: For how long have you been a cook?

Mandhlopa: I started my career at Nkhata-Bay Secondary School in 1991 and only moved here in 1994. Based in Nkhata-Bay lakeshore District, the school is a Catholic Mission one.

AfricaNews: What were you doing before becoming a cook?

Mandhlopa: We are basically farmers at our home village. Tobacco is our main cash crop and we do maize, groundnuts and other crops for self-sustenance. Trouble is my family and I are not going to produce more tobacco as was the previous year. The price is bad at the market.

AfricaNews: How about your new career, when did you get to be a cook and a head cook for that matter?

Mandhlopa: I do not remember exactly when. But I remember it was 30 of us that underwent interviews here at Mzimba School and I was the only one who was taken. I enjoy the relationship with the students here. As head cook, I think it was somewhere around 1999 and I must be seven years as head cook now.

AfricaNews: Your work here, you say you enjoy the students, any redeemable events?

Mandhlopa: Yes I do, though sometimes things go bad. I remember one day some students were so drunk from the neighboring villages and grabbed one of the cooks by the throat. He refused to give them more cooked dry fish. Lucky enough I managed to rescue him and the students were disciplined by the administration. Otherwise all is well.

AfricaNews: How many groups of students have you seen come and go?

Mandhlopa: A lot. This group that will graduate soonest this year will be my 18th just at this school.

AfricaNews: Awesome. Any other challenges?

Mandhlopa: Of course. There are six cooks here, three fulltime and three part-time. We lack soap, cooks uniform and we have very old pots that use firewood and electricity here. Some have holes and the electric ones are no longer operation save for one. We are no longer given scarves and hats as well challenging on cleanliness and hygiene in the kitchen.

We also have not been paid on time since government changed its pay system. I do not like the way they put money in your account and expect you to get it from the bank. I am still not paid my February 2011 salary.

Imagine I have to pay rentals and buy household requirements.

AfricaNews: Are you married?

Mandhlopa: Of course yes. I have two wives and I stay with one here and the older one is back at the village doing the tobacco fields. This poses a challenge at my church – Lutheran Church as they say polygamy is against church law.

AfricaNews: So how do you cope with the two lifestyles?

Mandhlopa: Easy. We have a silent rule – Uchwara (beer), wafazi (women), and inyama (meat). These are the three most important things for any true Ngoni. I am Ngoni and therefore practicing my culture. I have two girls by the younger wife and five other children by my older wife. Seven children altogether.

AfricaNews: Where are these children?

Mandhlopa: One son was married in 1985 and now stays in South Africa but his wife is back at the village helping with field work. I also have two daughters married off, one who quit school in secondary school Form 4 and at Jenda with her husband. Am yet to visit the family to confirm this marriage.

AfricaNews: Back to your tobacco farming. Do you make a lot of money?

Mandhlopa: Unfortunately not any more. When we sell the maize we also have to buy food for tenants most of who come from the southern and central regions of the country. I used to make between MK30, 000 and MK40, 000 per tobacco bale but now we are only realizing between MK10, 000 and MK20, 000.

Fertilizer prices have also forced us to reduce production in number of bales. The newly constructed Mzuzu Auction Floors are also yet to open for us to have our leaf sold. The fertilizer prices are also prohibitive.

AfricaNews: What do you think about the political landscape?

Mandhlopa: Politics? I have never been interested. I voted for (incumbent) Bingu wa Mutharika but am very disappointed now. We are all disappointed in my family and in our community. Though the subsidy programme helped produce more maize, the prices that government buys from small time farmers like us will surely lose him our vote.

AfricaNews: What about your Member of Parliament, is he not helping?

Mandhlopa: You mean Honorable Billy Kaunda? The one who wrestled power from Honorable Harry Mkandawire? Well, it just the youth that are crazy about his music which made him win as you know, the youth are in major numbers here other than parents who are just two or one per household. He represents Mpherembe West.

AfricaNews: Does he not help in any way?

Mandhlopa: Just last February we had flash floods when Chisamu River that empties into Lake Kazuni spilt out forcing people out of their homes and destroying fields. Kaunda came and promised to help the displaced but has not up to now.

However, we are not angry about the river flooding. It helps us nourish our diet as we also do fishing in the lake.

AfricaNews: Any Ngoni sentences or words you can teach me for now?

Mandhlopa: Oh yes. ‘Vonke vi kahle’ means ‘All is well’. ‘Iwizo lako ngiwe wane?’ meaning ‘What is your name?’, and ‘Iwizo lami ngimi Mandhlopa’ meaning ‘My name is Mandhlopa’.

As I drove away from the school, I went with the knowledge that students are not only made by teachers and the school administration, but their livelihood in school is strengthened by the men and women that brave the scorching strong heat in the kitchen and fill their bellies for each day’s lessons.

Moffat Mandhlopa deserves recognition for helping mould great sons and daughters of Malawi who are contributing to Malawi and the global community as doctors, lawyers, soldiers, journalists, publicists, and lecturers, among many other careers of choice.