NORMALLY, parents teach their offspring good morals.

Parents should encourage their children to concentrate on education so that they secure a better future.

But while it is prudent for parents to ensure good living habits for their offspring, it is surprising that some parents could be in the forefront of encouraging their children to be wrong doers such as being criminals and whores.

A few days back, I was in Lubuto Township in Ndola where I had gone to visit a friend I had not seen in a long time.

Before I set off for Lubuto, I called this friend of mine I will only identify as Chibuye. I tried to call him on the number he gave me some time back, but it was someone else who was responding.

I told the one who was answering that I wanted to talk to the owner of the phone but the person on the other end retorted that he was the owner of the phone.

I wondered whether I wrongly served the number or this phone had been stolen from Chibuye.

Since I was very eager to see this man, I decided to go to Lubuto and in no time I was there.

I found Chibuye with three other people – a woman and two men.

He introduced me to the woman as his aunt and the two men as his grand fathers – being the brothers of his father’s father.

We were in the house chatting when one of the men asked Chibuye where his uncle was since they expected to find him here after he ran away from the village in Central Province where he and his son were found to be cattle and goat rustlers.

“Nga bayama benu balikwi? Twalechetekela ukubasanga kuno pantu tababwelapo kumushi ukufuma apo babutwike ilyo babasangile baleiba ing’ombe ne mbushi. Umwana wabo ena balimwikata,”(Where is your uncle? We expected to find him here because he never came back to the village since he ran away after he was found stealing cattle and goats with his son. His son has since been arrested),” said the man.

Chibuye broke into laughter after the man asked this question.

He looked at the man who posed the question before he commented:”Awe bayama nibakabolala sana teti baleke. Ebasambilishe nomwana wabo John ukwiba,” (My uncle is an incorrigible thief. He is the one who even taught John his son to be a thief),” Chibuye said.

His uncle was an incorrigible thief and he taught his son to be a thief!

This was interesting and I needed to hear more.

Then Chibuye went on to explain that for sure, his uncle had come here after he ran away from the village, but he fled this place when another man who was related to him (Chibuye) from his mother’s side came to visit.

Chibuye narrated that the man who came was a police officer in Central Province where his uncle had come from and he knew him very well.

He said a few minutes after the police officer had come, his

uncle bolted from the house through the lavatory window because he thought the man had come for him.

“When this police officer relative came to visit me, my uncle thought he had come for him because he knew him as a police man from the boma where he had come from. We were seated here just like this when my uncle excused himself and went to the other room.

“I did not realise that until children from the neighbourhood told me that my uncle was seen getting out through the lavatory window with a bag and since the children knew him, they did not raise any alarm,” said Chibuye.

“Abakulu bonse balya ukufumina pa window!” (Such an old man getting out through the window!), exclaimed one of the men.

Chibuye said when he went to the bedroom where his uncle used to sleep, he found that he had hurriedly packed his goods and because he seemed to be panicking, he left some of the clothes.

“I wondered why my uncle had to leave in that fashion until I told my visiting police officer relative that my uncle had disappeared.

He said after explaining this to the police man, the police man told him he knew the man and he suspected he ran away because he thought he had come for him.

“This relative who had come was a police officer at one of the police stations in Central Province. He told me that my uncle and his son John were rustlers and one day they were found in the act. People gave chase to them but they concentrated on John who was young and energetic. When they arrested John, my uncle had a chance to flee,” Chibuye said.

It was after seeing the police officer in this house that Chibuye’s uncle went to the bedroom to pack some of his belongings and went out through the lavatory window because there were burglar bars on the bedroom window.

Chibuye said his uncle had fled to Mufulira where his brother lived.

After listening to this, the woman who had been quiet throughout the conversation added her voice and explained that it was in fact Chibuye’s uncle who encouraged his daughter Joyce to become a whore because he was asking her to go to beer halls to find men to give her money for food and other necessities at home.

“Balemutuma ukuti alefwayako ulupiya lwabunga no munani. Baleti ngoleikala pan’ganda ukashimona kwisa isha mafuta nefyakulya, Efyo Joyce atampile ubuhule,”(He was sending her to look for money for mealie meal and relish. He was telling her that if she just stayed at home, she would not find money for cosmetics and food. That is how Joyce became a whore,)” the woman explained.

The other man also chipped in and explained that he stayed with John but he chased him after he stole from his home.

“I also stayed with John. He stole my clothes and my wife’s clothes and phone. He woke up around 03.00 hours and left, but he was arrested at the bus station where he wanted to board a bus to I don’t know where,” the man explained.

He said when one of the children at home woke up to go and answer the call of nature, he found the front door was open. The child alerted other family members that a thief had broken into the house and when they checked around, they found that John was missing.

“I also discovered that one of my suits and some shirts and trousers were missing. My wife also discovered that some of her dresses and the phone which she put on charge were missing. I guessed that it must have been John who stole these items and I knew he must have been at the bus station to catch a bus.

“When we went to the bus station, we found him. He did not expect us and so we easily nabbed him and took him home after grabbing everything he had stolen. I chased him from my place and that’s how he went home to join his father who is also a thief at that age,” the man said.

Like father like son, I thought.

There are many parents who behave like this instead of being good examples to their offspring.

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