FAREWELL BA JOSEPH SIMBEYE.
By Cletus Mwinga
In the middle of Kanyama, Joseph Simbeye manufactured the most reliable vaults,safes and cash boxes which safeguarded most banking services in Zambia.
He also constructed strong rooms onsite most Financial Institutions.
Disguised as a Bar,Restaurant and Lodge, Joseph Simbeye run the most sophisticated Bank Safety Manufacturing Company in Zambia in the middle of Kanyama Compound and I used his Lodge to accommodate the Artisanal Miners that visited Lusaka.
Joseph Simbeye was upgrading to manufacturing of ATM’s and together we researched on how that could be done,and also taking into account the vulnerability of the current ATM’s in view of the South African experiences.
That made Joseph Simbeye innovate further and find a way of safeguarding CIT vehicles and he was about to break out into the market with his latest innovations.
Then he got electrocuted yesterday?
Well,Joseph Simbeye was a triple character, when he opened his Lusaka West Kalundu bar,renting the same premises from Charmaine’s family, Joseph Simbeye would discipline drunk patrons with his hippo shambok.
Joseph Simbeye would drive into COMESA to order his stock of beers and other bar related drinks and load his cargo behind an open Isuzu 250KB van,and leave it unattended to in the middle of town,no one – no one – no one – dared to steal from his vehicle, despite the exposed ware behind.
Up to this day,I don’t understand how Joseph Simbeye commanded huge respect in the streets of Lusaka,no cadre messed with Joseph Simbeye, even the dreaded PF cadres respected and feared Joseph Simbeye.
So one morning, I’m picking up my Artisanal miners from his Lodge,I find them looking haggard and confused?
Apparently the Artisanal miners had broken the standard rule when booked at Simbeye’s Lodge,”don’t come in after 21hrs and drink from within his Lodge after 21hrs”,the Artisanal miners in numbers went to sample the night clubs around Kanyama instead reported past midnight and Joseph Simbeye was the Guard on Duty that day and he discharged his pistol on top the heads of the Artisanal miners as they climbed his gate,all recorded on his CCTV.
I reviewed the CCTV footage to understand the impact and trauma around the Artisanal miners.
That’s how I stopped booking Simbeye’s Lodge for the Artisanal miners.
Well I didn’t know his educational background neither did I want to ask him,Joseph Simbeye was the definition of a short fuse,he would flare up any time,I kept my line to my research on reinforcements around ATM’s and CIT Vehicles and he would explain how to achieve that in practical terms with actual demonstrations.
But those huge electrical cables around his Operations were of concern to me.
THE COFFIN ON A BUS.
So we ordered a Safety Box to store Guns and other valuables,it was not ready when I was preparing to leave for one of our formalisation camps, and Joseph Simbeye promised to send the Safety Box the way he understood best.
He padded the safe box like a coffin wrapped with black plastic and put it on a Public Bus, paid for all the back seats to accommodate the same.
I drove from my formalisation camp to pick the safe box,and not even the Bus crew were willing to lift my cargo off the bus,had to hire extra help.
Delivered the safe to one Chief’s Palace and the Chief thought I had come to express a direct confrontation with him over hidden powers and the Chief bolted,abandoning the Palace for me,I called out,asking the Chief to come back,explaining that it was the Safe box for the guns plus other sensitive materials that we were expecting from Lusaka.
The Chief returned from his forced 100m race but to date,he suspects I’m capable of offsetting his power base.
Came back to explain how the Safe scared the Chief,we cried into laughter with Joseph Simbeye and exactly his intentions of packing the safe box like that.
Farewell Joseph Simbeye, a larger than life figure.
