! Chief Matenge is the brother of a chief name Sekoto. Being younger gave his older bother the title of Paramount Chief and all the power that goes with being a paramount Chief. Chief Sekoto and his bother are very different in character. Matenge is the a nuisance to his older bother and inc tried to kill him so Sekoto banished him to the village of Golema Mmidi and that is where he settled and makes the live of the village people hell. Chief Matenge is a divorced man who was left by his wife who also took their kids with her. He has no friends except for one man who is as cruel and sneaky as he is called Joas Tsepe. He thinks he is superior to everyone yet is internally battling an inferiority complex. He battles that by imposing his power over the poor defenseless village residents.
There are distinct differences between Matenge and his brother where one can say they are total opposites. Chief Sekoto is widely popular , generous and charming and his brother is vindictive, disliked, unpopular and sour. Sekoto believes in progress while his brother holds the village people back with his devious ways. The village of Golema Mmidi was a place full of people who were running away from one thing or another ;people who needed a fresh start. The village was full of broken souls who just wanted to progress in life after losing it all. They are open to new ideas as they have been strengthened by adversity. Chief Matenge didn’t believe in progress and makes the lives of the village people a living hell. The village people had very little yet Matenge had a mansion and a fancy car and shared nothing not even with his servants. He seemed out of place as the village residents were very poor.
The Essay on CHief Matenge’s Character Sketch
... becomes apparent that Chief Matenge’s brother, Paramount Chief Sekoto does not like his own brother, as the statement “nothing upset Chief Sekoto more than a ... using the name co-operative to enslave the people? That was what Chief Matenge had told them” (Head 1987:35). The ... projects that are supposed to push development in the village. Matenge is said to have particularly sabotaged Gilbert Balfour ...
His battle for power with his brother is an example of bad leadership as one in power should concentrate on the betterment of his people and not a fruitless power struggle. He believes in the old way of life and didn’t welcome change which was natural and inevitable. Matenge has very poor judgement of people and he mistakes Makhaya as a weak man and since he is the newest addition to the village he wants to get rid of him for all he concerns himself with is making people’s lives a hell on earth. His hatred even gives him high blood pressure and during his stay in hospital the village people get a break and a chance to do something progressive that benefits them as poor people. Upon his return to the village after his illness ,Matenge arrives to a transformed Golema Mmidi. There is so much progress but the first thing that comes to his mind is how to retard and undermine it.
