When Rain Clouds Gather

The narrator opens by briefly sketching out the character of Chief Sekoto, a charming man whose three main pleasures in life are food, cars, and women. His womanizing is a source of some notoriety: in fact, he has a mansion for his concubines that is separate from his family mansion, and once caused a scandal when he stayed there for an extended period of time. In the present, however, Chief Sekoto is outside his main house, listening to cases brought by the villagers under his control. He sees Matenge arrive but, having no desire to deal with his troublesome brother, decides to draw out the case that is before him for as long as possible.

Sekoto’s present case has been brought by the villagers of Bodibeng, who have leveled accusations of witchcraft against an old woman who resides among them, Mma-Baloi. They blame her for the sudden deaths of various young children and for the even more surprising death of a young woman who visited Mma-Baloi. Sekoto brings in a doctor to testify, and it is revealed that the children had died from pneumonia and that the young woman had died from an infection that followed an abortion. Sekoto levels a penalty against the villagers and orders them to buy clothing to keep their children warm and free of pneumonia.