People of Skies

About the Book

Hyperinflation, massive unemployment and chronic fuel shortages, which make black market petrol the most valuable commodity in the land, should be enough to kill Zimbabwe’s government stone dead. However, its redoubtable president, Robert Mugabe, is not so easily daunted, especially since he has the police, the army, and the fearsome Green Bombers, national service men and women, at his disposal. Ndlovu, a menial worker in a funeral parlour, is an ordinary man with an extraordinary plan who discovers how to make the moribund economy and death work for him. His motley crew of cohorts and hangers-on help him ‘borrow’ bodies from his work, so they can impersonate bereaved relatives unable to afford the services of undertakers who are transporting their deceased loved ones to remote rural homes. As ‘do-it-yourself undertakers’, this entitles them to as much petrol as they need, which they sell on the black market. Ndlovu’s scheme never runs smoothly, especially since he enlists the support of ‘mad’ Archie, resident lunatic and notorious dissident. Inevitably, Ndlovu and his gang fall foul of the state security apparatus, and they are victimised by a particularly powerful member of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) who wants in on their scheme. It is only a matter of time before political turmoil and the absurdity of the everyday life catches up with them.

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