By Mzwandile Bhefile
NOT even hurtful remarks by some of the residents, overflowing sewage drains and violence can chase this mlungu away ekasi.
Imre Kandiko (79) and his girlfriend Fikina Dlanga (52) are the talk of the town in KwaNobuhle kasi in Uitenhage.
Imre is a retired motor mechanic, spray painter and scrapyard owner.
He has fathered four kids and has 11 grandchildren. All of them are in Russia.
He told the DK news: “I’ve been living in this township for the past eight years, since I divorced my wife.
“I used to visit some friends here and I fell in love with Fikina and township life.
“I noticed everything is cheaper here than in town, where you pay top prices for everything.
“Before we were living in a shack. Now we have moved into an RDP house with a tiled roof for free.”
Imre said his love for the kasi has cost him friends and family.
“After I came to the kasi, people here welcomed me with warm hands. They treated me with respect and accepted me.
“But relatives and friends cut ties with me. They said the kasi was too dangerous and they wouldn’t visit me.
“That hurt me, but my love for Fikina keeps me here in the kasi.”
Fikina said: “It was love at first sight. I feel like I’m dating a black person.
“He loves samp, umphokoqo and imifino. Thugs don’t mess with him because he is a tough man – he would hunt them down,” she said.
“He finds people here very supportive, he fixes their cars and also creates jobs for them. And he is a caring man.
“But some of the people here don’t like him. They say he belongs in town because he can afford the town lifestyle – but he is going nowhere.
“This kasi is where our home is and we will spend our lives here.”
Neighbour Thobela Jonas (47) said: “Everyone loves him.
“It is only the drunkards that sometimes shout at him and say white people belong in town.”
Daily Kasi News 