The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu (55 page)
Read The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu Online
Authors: Michael Stanley
I
n our first book,
A Carrion Death
, we introduced Detective Kubu, and he struck
a chord with readers. We’ve been delighted by all the support he’s
received both in reviews and in personal communications. We’d like
to thank everyone for their interest, comments, and enthusiasm.
Among the first Kubu supporters were our wonderful agent Marly
Rusoff and her partner Michael Radulescu. We thank them for that
and much more. Marly introduced Kubu to Claire Wachtel, Senior Vice
President and Executive Editor at HarperCollins, who bought this
book as well as
A Carrion Death
. We are very grateful for
her strong guidance, which has greatly improved our books. Our
thanks also go to Heather Drucker, our publicist, and to Evie
Righter for her meticulous copyediting. Indeed, we are grateful for
all the support and encouragement from the team at
HarperCollins.
As with our first book, many people have provided input and
suggestions. While the curiosity of a new writing partnership might
have motivated the help they gave on the first book, we are
delighted that they have been willing to extend their support as
enthusiastically and unselfishly to a second.
The job of focusing the setting for Jackalberry Camp fell to
Peter Comley and Salome Meyer. They hosted us at their wonderful
property near Kasane, and then spent a week driving us around
northern Botswana making sure that we understood the environment of
the Chobe and Linyanti Rivers. We thank them for the benefit of
their encyclopedic knowledge of Botswana, formed in a lifetime of
living and working there, and for their wonderful company.
We particularly want to thank Thebeyame Tsimako, Commissioner of
Police in Botswana, for taking time from his demanding schedule to
give us comments and advice, and for helping with our requests. We
also want to thank Superintendent Ntaya Tshepho and others at the
Kasane Police Station for showing us around and answering questions
about policing the area. They have important work to do, but
managed to find time to satisfy a couple of inquisitive
writers.
Despite the efforts of all these talented and generous people,
and the breadth of their knowledge and experience, the book may
still contain errors. A writing partnership is wonderful for many
reasons. Among them is that we each have the other to blame!
♦
Michael Sears
Stanley Trollip
∨
The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu
∧
| Amarula | South African liqueur flavored with marula fruit. |
| Bafana Bafana | South Africa’s national soccer team. Literally ‘The Boys, the Boys.” |
| bakkie | South African slang for a pickup truck. |
| Balswana | Plural adjective or noun. “The people of Botswana are known as Batswana.” See Motswana. |
| biltong | Meat dried with salt, pepper, coriander and other spices. Similar to beef jerky (but much tastier!). |
| bobotie | South African Malay dish based on lightly curried ground lamb. |
| braai⁄braaivleis | South African term for a barbecue. |
| Bushmen | A race small in size and number, many of whom live in the Kalahari area. They refer to themselves as the San people (see Khoisan). In Botswana they are sometimes referred to as the Basarwa. Debswana Diamond mining joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government. |
| donga | A dry river course, usually with steep sides. |
| dumela | Setswana for ‘hello’ or ‘good day.” |
| gemsbok | Afrikaans name for the oryx ( Oryx gazella ). Large antelope with spearlike horns. Prefers arid habitat. |
| Khoisan | Name by which the lighter-skinned indigenous peoples of southern Africa, the Khoi (Hottentots) and San (Bushmen), are known. These people dominated the subcontinent for millennia before the appearance of the Nguni and other black peoples. |
| koppie | Afrikaans for ‘small hill.” |
| kubu | Setswana for ‘hippopotamus.” |
| Landy | Term of affection for a Land Rover. |
| lechwe | Type of water-loving antelope ( Kobus leche ) common in the wetter areas of Botswana, |
| lobola | Bride price (originally in cattle) paid to the bride’s parents in African tradition. Sometimes used to set up the newly married couple. |
| marula | Sderocarya birrea . Large African tree, member of the mango family, with tasty greenish-yellow fruit |
| mokoro | Watercraft commonly made by hollowing out the trunk of a sausage tree ( Kigelia pinnata ). Also made from other trees. It is propelled by a long pole held by some one standing on the back. |
| mielie | Corn. |
| Mma | Respectful term in Setswana used when addressing a woman. For example, “Dumela, Mma Bengu’ means ‘Hello, Mrs. Bengu.” |
| Motswana | Singular adjective or noun. “That man from Botswana is a Motswana.” See Batswana. |
| Muti | Any sort of medicine or potion. The term usually refers to medicines prepared by traditional healers or witch doctors. |
| pap | Smooth maize meal porridge, often eaten with the fingers and dipped into a meat or vegetable stew. |
| pappa le nama | Pap and meat. |
| potjie | A three-legged metal pot used to make stews over an open fire |
| pula | Currency of Botswana. Pula means ‘rain’ in Setswana. 100 thebes = 1 pula. |
| quelea | Small seed-eating bird ( Quelea quelea ). Can occur in huge flocks that in flight resemble clouds of smoke. |
| rand | Currency of South Africa. 100 cents = 1 rand |
| riempie | Leather strands that are interlaced to make chair seats. |
| rooibos | Red herbal tea made from a plant native to southern Africa (Aspalathus linearis). |
| Rra | Respectful term in Setswana used when addressing a man. For example, “Dumela, Rra Bengu’ means ‘Hello, Mr. Bengu.” |
| rusk | A kind of hard cakelike sweetened biscuit. |
| San | Bushmen people. See Bushmen and Khoisan. |
| Setswana | Language of the Tswana peoples. |
| Steelworks | Drink made from cola tonic, ginger beer, soda water, and bitters. |
| thebe | Smallest denomination of Botswanan currency (see pula). 100 thebes = 1 pula. |
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