My Fellow South Africans: Norman Luvo Mjuleka and Rito Mzondwa Tshabalala

My Fellow South Africans: Norman Luvo Mjuleka on guitar, and Rito Mzondwa Tshabalala on trumpet. Photographed by Timothy Bernard (African News Agency/ANA)

My Fellow South Africans: Norman Luvo Mjuleka on guitar, and Rito Mzondwa Tshabalala on trumpet. Photographed by Timothy Bernard (African News Agency/ANA)

Published May 9, 2022

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They make music at taxi ranks in Joburg; their sweet, melodic sounds and harmonies filtering through the noise of the throngs of people waiting to make their ways home in gridlocked traffic, the final smile before the torment.

Norman Luvo Mjuleka on guitar, and Rito Mzondwa Tshabalala on trumpet, lost their jobs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and local lockdown.

They learnt about each other’s love for music in the yard of a home they were renting space in, while living in Alexandra, a massive township in Joburg. They rented back rooms in a property in the sprawling suburb.

Mjuleka always wanted to become a doctor but those dreams faded when family pressure became his reality too.

Mzondwa always wanted to work in the IT field but music overtook that dream as finances to study were not available.

‘Life goes on’

“We advise all 15 year olds to pursue what they are most capable of and to work hard at it.

“We both love the city of Joburg as we came from different parts of the continent and found joy here.

“Sadly Covid took it away.

“There’s the freedom of moving around doing our music and getting money for it … We love music and we like working together.

My Fellow South Africans: Norman Mjuleka and Rito Tshabalala feel Joburg is their home now. Photographed by Timothy Bernard (African News Agency/ANA)

“Life goes on.

“We have been together for just a few months and feel this is our new home.

“We find Joburg different to home,” the pair refer to their birth countries of Malawi and Botswana respectively, “but we came here to make a living.

“Nothing wrong with this city.”

* My Fellow South Africans is an editorial campaign powered by IOL which aims to build a more inclusive society by introducing South Africans to each other.