THE people of Vuwani were gathered in a tent, waiting for President Jacob Zuma to address them.
Suddenly ululations erupted and the crowd opened up a path as if the president had arrived. But it wasn’t Zuma at all! Local man Patrick Malaudzi (40) – otherwise known as BMW – had stolen the show!
Patrick earned the nickname BMW because of his ability to walk far and fast.
Locals say Patrick walks as far as 32km to Thohoyandou without resting. On Sunday he made quite an entrance when he walked into the tent as quickly as always.
Women ululated and men whistled and even the event’s loud music was turned off as BMW arrived, with people forming a guard of honour for him.
BMW, dressed in a white suit, told the People’s Paper that walking fast had made his name for him.
“I started walking like this to exercise but then I started having fun with it, as I found lots of people applauding me and even kids following me. Being energetic is healthy. A healthy person shouldn’t walk slowly like a tortoise or a chameleon.”
BMW said he chose to come to the gathering wearing a white suit because he wanted to steal the show.
Azwihangwisi Ndou (44) said that she grew up in the same village as BMW and that he was quite normal.
“He is an entertainer and we love him. When he’s around there is never a dull moment,” said Ndou.
