The next morning when Mr Chauke arrived at the palace, he saw that all the community leaders were there to serve as the cabinet, which made him the accused. He didn’t arrive on time; Mr Chauke was an entire three hours late, much to the annoyance of the chief.

“Chauke! What time were you supposed to have been here?” the chief demanded.

Without any apologies or excuses, Mr Chauke grabbed a chair and threw himself down to sit. The discussion began but everyone was so dumbfounded by Mr Chauke’s childish attitude. He was asked more than four questions, which he failed to answer. This proved him guilty of fraud and committing the same crime for more than twice within the same month.

He was ordered to give Peter his reward or leave the village. Mr Chauke saw no other solution except to do as he was ordered to. He knew that his reputation with the rest of his community was tarnished but thought this act would salvage his reputation, even for just a bit.

A few months after the incident and judgement had passed there was still not a drop of rain falling. It was mid-winter and all farmers and villages were looking forward to the rainy season. Still, it didn’t seem like the middle of winter because the sun was still beating down on their village more often than not.

To make it worse, the great chief of Poland, Weshu, was ill. It didn’t seem like he was going to outlive winter. During this time Mr Chauke thought about who the next chief was going to be. Weshu didn’t have any sons; he only had ten daughters, which left him without an heir.

Meetings were called every day to discuss the chieftaincy after chief Weshu died. One of the elders had suggested that John’s son be made the next chief because he was a servant who had served Weshu for more than two decades. John’s son knew all the rules and regulations of being chief and he was loyal to his people and all those around him. It was settled that evening that John’s son would become the next chief but chief Weshu would only be informed the next morning about who his predecessor was going to be.

News travelled fast in the Poland village. The next day at the shebeen everyone had been talking about who would succeed the king and how ill the king was. They were already worried about the state of their kingdom, John more than most because he was aware that his eldest son was about to become the chief of Poland.

Peter walked over to John and congratulated him on his son being elected to be the next chief of Poland village. John gave Peter his thanks and told him how honoured he and his family were for their son being chosen to be the next chief. After the exchange Peter went back to his work.

Early the next morning, the cabinet spokesperson was on his way to the palace to confirm with the chief and hear his opinions. Luckily, as he entered everyone was present. The chief was told what the elders had decided. Chief Weshu knew that if he passed the kingdom to John’s son everything was going to be a mess because his family knew nothing about leadership. The chief suggested that the elders and the community have a debate about John’s son being given chieftaincy that afternoon.

At 16:45 p.m. all the cabinet members were all present, including the chief. The spokesperson introduced the agenda and so began the debate. During the debate another opinion was raised. The community members argued that if John’s son, a mere villager could be chosen as chief then anyone of their sons could be chosen as well. There were conversations being held simultaneously as the community members discussed the matter among themselves.

The chief didn’t have much to say to that therefore he stayed quiet watching the community members debate. Finally he spoke and told them that in situations like the one they were facing, that favouritism was prohibited. All he could do was meet all the members nominated for chieftaincy and vet them himself to know who he was going to choose as his predecessor.

John however didn’t agree with the chief and the rest of his community members. He believed that his son was the best person to be chief Weshu’s predecessor. John was furious at the thought that his community challenged his son becoming the next chief.

The next couple of days were tough in Poland village. Community members argued and fought amongst themselves for one of their sons to be chosen as the next chief. Chief Weshu stayed confined in the palace due to his ailing state. Things had changed in Poland, but for Gloria, business was booming. Her shebeen, the only shebeen/tavern in the village was constantly filled with community members coming in to discuss their grievances and arguments over a couple of drinks.

All the sons that were brought forward to be assessed and vetted for the position of Poland village’s chief were interviewed consecutively. Chief Weshu found that although they were all different individuals, they all shared similar characteristics, which made it even more difficult for him to choose one of them to succeed him. He finally settled on Wendi, the spokesperson’s son. Wendi was the only one out of the bunch that seemed to have promise, the best qualities and characteristics to be a better chief than Weshu was.

Wendi was granted the kingdom of Poland and made chief. The only thing left was to do an official ceremony to introduce him to his ancestors. The ceremony date was confirmed and the preparations were soon being made.

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Tell us: What do you think are the best qualities for a chief?