Auguston, some interesting stories you shared from your time at Moroka Swallows in last week's edition of Soccer Laduma. Judging from that alone, we can tell that you have played with some of the most interesting characters to have graced the local game. What more do you have for us?
There was a time when I went to training with a snake. All of the guys at training ran away that day, ha, ha, ha.
Wait, wait, wait! Let's rewind a bit. Do you mean a real or a fake snake?
A real snake. I was crazy. It was a corn snake. Lyle (Lakay) was sharing a flat with me, so he had become used to it, but the other guys at training said I was crazy for bringing the snake. It's a pet, so you can take it out and play with it. It does not have poison.
Ha, ha, ha. Okay, tell us, what happened that day?
I took the snake from a cage. That day, we had an afternoon training session and I decided to get there early so that everyone would have to pass by me when they entered the gate. When they got close to the gate, they ran in quickly so that they didn't have to get close to the snake, ha, ha, ha. They did not want to pass by me. I did not go in with the snake, I only had it with me by the parking lot, ha, ha, ha.
Thankfully for them! We can imagine how everyone was so freaked out. Their blood pressure must have gone up a bit that day because of this pet you had brought to training. Can you remember who was scared the most that day?
It was Thembalethu Moses, our goalkeeper. His reaction was so funny, and you can imagine in his IsiXhosa accent…
But aren't goalkeepers supposed to be the bravest of the lot? Ha, ha, ha. It must have been a priceless moment for you and the rest of the guys as he stood there trembling. Keep going…
Patrick Tignyemb was another character at (Bloemfontein) Celtic. That guy always looked upset when he got to training, so Ruzaigh Gamildien would always bother him. We used to try to always get under his skin and that's why he was always fighting us. But at the end of the day, we would be laughing together, and he would be telling us stories, like how they used to eat monkeys in Cameroon, but it was all jokes. Patrick was a good character, but in the morning, he was someone you didn't want to speak to, especially when we came to training the next day after a loss. You didn't want to mess with him, trust me!
Good old Patrick Tignyemb! You must ask Max Tshabalala about him, ha, ha, ha… but that's a story for another day. Let's just say he was real.
Yeah, Patrick would swear at you. He was always with the bosses. He would report you if you didn't listen, ha, ha, ha. But he is a legend at Celtic. He always used to come in traditional clothing and we would be like, "Pat, why are you always wearing dresses to training?" Then he would say, "Shut up, you are a small boy. You don't know nothing." There are a whole lot of characters that I played with.
You mentioned Gamildien as well, saying he usually got under Tignyemb's skin…
That guy used to get under everyone's skin. He was such a character. He was always taking photos and he would disturb you when you were showering. You can ask any of the other guys. To this day, he is still full of nonsense. I see him posting about the guys at Royal AM.
So, what does he do with the photos that he takes?
He keeps some of them for memories and he posts some of them on his (social media) timeline, especially the videos. Whenever we are together, he will take out his phone and go onto his iCloud and show us memorable photos of us when we were younger, like when we were in the mall and stuff like that. He is a guy who keeps a lot of memories, but he tends to p**s people off because not everyone likes what he does, ha, ha, ha.
We can imagine. Some people like their privacy. Was Gamildien the type to take some embarrassing photos or videos sometimes?
Yes, he was, but the good thing is that he just keeps those ones as memories. He does not share them on any social media platforms.
Good. Okay, that should give people reason to relax because at least he won't be posting their embarrassing moments for all to see.
Another funny guy at Celtic was (Itumeleng) Duiker. He was the singing guy. Sometimes he would sing funny songs and make everybody laugh. His character off the field was something else. He liked making jokes, but he was a good guy. I like him a lot. The ladies' man, ha, ha.
Did he at least sing well?
Yes, he was a very good singer, ha, ha, ha.
Maybe that's why the ladies loved him so much, ha, ha, ha. Thank you so much for your time this week, Auguston. We look forward to hearing what you have in store for us in next week's edition. Keep them coming, we're loving these!
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
Nickname: Gusty
Marital status: Married to Yandré Leonard
Car: VW VeloCiti
Boots: Puma
Favourite TV programme: Power
Favourite food: Pap lamb chops and tomato gravy
Facebook or Twitter: None
Siyagobhoza or interviews: Interviews
Favourite footballer: Lionel Messi
Favourite celebrity: Trevor Noah
By Tshepang Mailwane
