Through South Africa to Botswana - Chapter 8

I knew that my journey to America would not be an easy one, but I had to go. I left for South Africa. I jumped the fence and entered the country at Oshoek. I asked for a lift to Johannesburg. It was a long way to Johannesburg, a distance I had never travelled before. It was very late when I arrived at Johannesburg train station. I asked for the train to Mafikeng. The station was very busy. It was the first time I had experienced such a busy place.

I boarded the train to Mafikeng late that evening. The coach I was in was rather empty. I sat next to a lady and wanted to speak to her, but I couldn’t speak her language. The train arrived in Mafikeng at three in the morning. I started asking for directions to Botswana. People couldn’t understand what I was asking, but felt sorry for me. They directed me to a train, that would take me straight to the Botswana border.

We were about to reach the border when someone warned me about the South African police who were looking for those without Identification Documents. I was very alert, and when the train arrived at the border a white policemen entered.

I saw them and decided to exit through the window. The train had stopped. People warned me not to board the train again because the police would arrest me. They told me to walk along the railway line for no one would search for me there.

I took a long walk – the people had lied to me about it being a short distance. I walked until I came to a road which lead to Gaborone. I was already in Botswana.

I hitched a lift from a passing truck on its way to Gaborone. I paid the few Rand to get to Gaborone, for I had no Pulas at that stage. From Gaborone I travelled to Francistown where I crossed the border into South Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe.

I jumped the border to North Rhodesia, now Zambia, from South Rhodesia. This time the police in South Rhodesia did not get hold of me. While I was in Zambia I went straight to the office of the UNIP political party, where I met Mr. Gray Zulu. He was the spokesperson of the party, and the one who helped me to get the correct documents to cross the border to Tanzania.

The day I crossed the border to Tanzania I was accompanied by a white male and a South African lady. The white man was a refugee from South Africa. The lady was following her ANC colleagues into exile. Therefore, we went straight to the border between Zambia and Tanzania. I was the first one to present the documents which the UNIP Party had organised for me. The lady had no documents and when they asked whether I was with her, I agreed and they gave her permission to cross. The white man remained behind and was arrested, for his picture had been published in the newspaper.