No explanation can justify misspelling Magwegwe

Magwegwe is seemingly one of the oldest townships in Bulawayo with a population of approximately ten thousand residents. It (Magwegwe) has birthed a lot of other newer townships within its peripherals. By virtue of logic or lack of it, it is utterly unjustifiable to misspell the name for any reason, be it by a dyslexic condition of the sign-writer, neurological disorder, visual impediment or all of them.

Be it as it may be, the process of signwriting entails a plethora of stages of which outlook design and proofreading are the most important before the final product is churned out by whatever orthographic means. Based on this backdrop, it is totally unreasonable and unscrupulous that the sign-board was eventually erected without anyone in the production and value chain noticing. If my geography of Magwegwe central business area serves me well, there is a smorgasbord of spelling checkpoints in the vicinity. Adjacent to the Police station, lies a Library, the municipality housing office, the post office, to mention but a few, all distinctly, candidly and correctly marked.

That the sign-post was ultimately pulled down is neither here nor there, it is another kettle of fish, the real issue here is that the blunder was made in the first place. The misnomer is humiliating, unreconcilable and as such a loud slap on the faces of the esteemed residents. Borrowing from the policing terminology, 'on close cross-examination' we can only arrive on the insinuation that the miscarriage was not solely a product of a laissez faire attitude and or pure foolhardiness but moreover carries an undertone of intentionality. The difference between Magwegwe and 'Magwegewe' is as clear as diamond in sand, not even an imbecile would miss the incongruency.

To the honourable, Assistant Inspector; Ms Nomalanga Msebele, please save us from that very naive apology. One of the most sought for acumen in Police Officers is vigilance, shrewdness, paying attention to detail among other things. Your disingenuous report speaks to a flyblown and heavily contaminated service delivery that characterizes your Police Force. We are strongly aggrieved as residents anent this level of incompetence. All said, one is left wondering what other worser things go wrong in your Police stations and filters through the cracks.

The greatest take away from this whole pandemonium is that these unsolicited philanthropist or business people, whatever name they call themselves by, should go and donate elsewhere where they rightfully belong. No opportunists should walk into Magwegwe haphazardly and trump on our pride.