MANTSHOLO RESIDENTS UNEASY OVER STRANGER LIVING IN TENT

MBABANE – There is a stranger in the tent. Residents of Mantsholo have questioned the presence of a mysterious man in the area, who lives alone in a tent.
The unknown man is said to be living a very strange life in that it is unknown how he earns a living.

He is said to have arrived in the area in August in the company of one of the elders of the Mnisi clan.
This was during revivals, which had been organised by the Mantsholo clan, and were held in the tent for a week.

According to residents, when the revivals came to an end, the elder, who resides outside the country, left the man behind and returned to his own country.
This, the residents claim, was revealed to them by the stranger. He is further said to have told them that the clan elder gave him only E100 when he left and promised to return.
He has still not returned.

The man has been living in the tent since then, doing all his household chores inside, including cooking.
Residents are not happy that the man has been living in the area without having been officially introduced to them by clan leaders.
There are fears that the man could end up engaging in criminal activities within the area as he appears to be struggling with making ends meet.

Others fear that the man could even die inside the tent without having informed anyone where he is from.
One resident said he asked the man a few weeks ago where he hailed from, but he did not give a clear answer save to say he came into the area with the elder clan member.
When reporters from this newspaper visited the Matsholo area yesterday afternoon, the man was not found inside the tent.

It was, however, obvious that he was still living inside the tent because a blanket, makeshift pots and black shoes were found.
It also seems that he uses a cardboard as a bed because there is no sleeping mattress or proper bed inside. There are also pieces of wood that he uses to make a fire for cooking and keeping himself warm inside the white tent. The tent itself was partly blown by the recent winds.

It is not known what the man eats as he is said to be broke.
“When I questioned him about how he buys food because he has no money, he told me he makes a ‘plan’ but did not elaborate on this particular plan.  I also asked him why he was not going back home, he said he did not have bus fare,” said one of the residents.     

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