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[Page 2] The Hairdresser of Harare Uncorrected proof Not for resale [Page 3] The Hairdresser of Harare Tendai Huchu FREIGHT BOOKS [Page 4] First published by Weaver Press, Zimbabwe 2010 This edition first published in the UK, March 2013 Freight Books 49-53 Virginia Street Glasgow, G1 1TS www.freightbooks.co.uk Copyright © Tendai Huchu 2013 The moral right of Tendai Huchu to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without either prior permission in writing from the publisher or by licence, permitting restricted copying. In the United Kingdom such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. All the characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental A CIP catalogue reference for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-908754-11-0 eISBN 978-1-908754-18-9 Typeset by Freight in Plantin Printed and bound by Bell and Bain, Glasgow [Page 5] Tendai Huchu was born in Bindura, Zimbabwe. He has a great love for literature, and currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. www.tendaihuchu.com [Page 6] Contents One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Ninteen Twenty Twenty One [Page 7] Twenty Two Twenty Three Twenty Four Twenty Five Twenty Six Twenty Seven Twenty Eight Twenty Nine Thirty Thirty One Thirty Two Thirty Three Thirty Four Thirty Five Thirty Six Thirty Seven Thirty Eight Thirty Nine Fourty [Page 8] One I knew there was something not quite right about Dumi the very first time I ever laid eyes on him. The problem was, I just couldn’t tell what it was. Thank God for that. There was a time when I was reputed to be the best hairdresser in Harare, which meant the best in the whole country. Amai Ndoro was the fussiest customer to ever grace a salon and she would not let any ordinary kiya-kiya touch her hair. Having sampled all the salons in Harare — and rejected them all — she settled on ours. The fussiest customer was also the largest motor mouth and gossip-monger. Once she was our client, we never needed to advertise again, as long as we kept her happy. That was my job and why Mrs Khumalo paid me the highest wage. Khumalo Hair and Beauty Treatment Salon was in the Avenues, a short walking distance from the city centre. We did hair but never any beauty treatments. In any case I doubt any of us knew how to. There was a rusty metal sign painted white with black lettering on the front gate that pointed to our establishment. The rust, accumulated over several rainy seasons, had eaten away so much of the sign that