The family that has found solace in plants

GALE NGAKANE
Correspondent | Friday August 27, 2010 00:00

But for Sergeants Sonny and Leka Mbisana, a married couple who are police officers in Francistown, they must have taken a leaf from a verse by American poet, Clinton Scollard who once said, 'to heal mine moods, give me God's virgin woods.'

Theirs is a hectic job indeed given the fact that crime has reached phenomenal proportions these days, especially in a place like Francistown, which the Director General of the Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS), Isaac Kgosi recently described as a breeding ground of criminal activities.

Kgosi was briefing Francistown councillors about the mandate of the spy agency at the council chambers Tuesday where he revealed that Francistown was the epicenter of unscrupulous business dealings.

Sonny is based at the Northern Division while his wife is at Central police station. During weekdays they only get to see each other after 4.30pm when they knock off.

One would expect them to be so tired that they can hardly take part in any household chores.

But not the Mbisanas who have turned their home in Minestone location, opposite Francistown College of Education (FCE), into a little green haven with a variety of trees and plants.

So, at the end of the day, they immerse themselves in their garden among roses of different kinds, crotons, palm trees, juventas and many more and hence soothe their moods.

It is a well-held belief in the Mbisana household that no matter how tired you are, once you sit among the plants, the tiredness simply vanishes and you become refreshed by the scent of the plants.

An appointment with the couple is not an easy thing, especially in the middle of the week as they are at work. They only have one hour for lunch, but Mmegi managed to pin Sonny down on Monday during the lunch hour.

Half an hour later, Leka parked the police van by the gate, intent on putting in a word.  Apparently, the couple definitely works like two fashionable Police (trademark) chronometers.

Sonny had earlier extolled the beauty of trees and plants and how therapeutic they are, that a family that loves trees never engages in unnecessary arguments.

We were sitting on the veranda of the house overlooking the street when Leka arrived.  She like her husband, made a similar remark on the effect of trees.

She said she loves plants because of their therapeutic values, that even when tired from work, once they start working in the garden, the tiredness simply vanishes.

It was only in January this year that the father and mother of three originally from Tutume, were transferred from Selebi-Phikwe and allocated a Botswana Housing corporation (BHC) house in the location.

When they first moved into the house, it had only two towering Mophane trees by the gate and a rubbish dump at the far corner of the fence at the back.

But Sonny and Leka have transformed the place and today passers-by never fail to stop and look in awe at the greenery that characterises their home.

The couple has vowed that wherever they are transferred they are going to plant trees because in the words of Sonny: 'We just love the soil and plants.  We have an addiction for them.

A day does not pass without us trying to put a plant in the soil.  When we were transferred from Selebi-Phikwe, our senior wanted to know what we were gong to do with the plants and trees that we had planted, and we simply said let them be enjoyed by the person who is coming to occupy the house.'

In Francistown, their superiors have been to their place and were impressed by what they saw.

'As officers we are always encouraged to make a garden in our homes and this is what we are doing,' said Sonny.When they were in Selebi-Phikwe, the couple had turned their home into another Garden of Eden and fellow police officers were so impressed they too followed suit.

Leka told Mmegi they inspired other police officers to plant trees in their homes such that up to 75 percent of the homes had been planted by the time they were transferred to Francistown.

Sonny was transferred to Selebi-Phikwe around 1994 where he found Leka and the two were soon drawn to each other by their mutual love for plants and trees.

By the time they married in 2000 and moved in together, it was not only the desire to start a family but also the fact that they shared a common love for plants.

'In our home there is never an argument and I believe this has to do with our mutual love for plants.  When we are home our conversation and activities centre around plants.

'My husband does not need to even spend time outside the home because plants keep him busy in the home,' said Leka.

The pair has also instilled the love of plants in their three offspring.  Their eldest son, who is in Standard 7, was still at school when Mmegi visited, but the parents said he too takes part in watering the plants.

Their other two children a boy and a girl, were enjoying their vacation in Tutume at their parents' home, which is also teeming with vegetation.

Leka said they are never short of fruit at home as they have mangoes, bananas, oranges and other fruit in the yard.

Asked if they sell their plants, the couple said as their employer, the Botswana Police, accommodates them they have to abide by the rules, hence they do not sell the plants.

But Sonny acknowledged that people do stop by and sometimes ask for a plant they admire and they do not mind giving it to them.

The first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Kenyan Wangari Maathai said it was 'little things citizens do. That's what makes the difference.  My little thing is planting trees.'

The Mbisana family is definitely in agreement with such an inspiring statement.