By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Nomathemba Primrose Ndebele is a strictly no nonsense type of woman who knows exactly where her boundaries are.
And, as Gem Nation News discovered, she plays by her own rules.
The 33-year-old exudes the kind of confidence you sense immediately cannot be dislodged.
She knows exactly who she is and what she wants.
“I don’t respond to negativity that is number one.
“And with regards to same sex marriage I believe that they are some of the loving and kindest people because I do have friends who are like that.
“But what I can confess to is that I don’t have confusion over who I am and what I want so my being with them doesn’t influence me in any way,” she said.
Nomathemba became a mother at the age 16 when she was still in secondary school.
“I was having an affair with my school teacher and at the promo (school leavers’ party) I got pregnant with my first child Thembi (16).
“We were so much in love that even as young as I was he wanted to take me.
“At the time I was still living with my grandmother in the rural Maphisa village in Matopo,” she explained.
But her take on child marriage is quite fascinating if not astounding.
“We’re Africans and we have our own culture. If our culture says a child should get married at whatever age we should practice that because at the end of the day we shouldn’t be influenced by other cultures,” she said.
Following her unwanted pregnancy which she calls a ‘big mistake’, Nomathemba did not stop there.
In fact, she made sure she hid the baby bump from the prying eyes of family members especially her mother —- Lindiwe Ngwenya, the Army General with whom she was now staying with after moving to Harare.
After giving birth to her baby, she continued as if nothing happened and completed her A Levels.
But for some reason school wasn’t working for her and as a teen mom, she quickly left and got her first job at Edgars Stores where she worked as a cashier.
While there she got wind of job opportunities with Daniel Shumba’s Tele Access, a mobile company which at the time had lucrative offers.
“I applied for a position at Tele Access even though I was least qualified. That must have worked in my favour because most applicants had degrees in this and that field.
“So I really took the interviewers by surprise because I insisted that I was he right person for the job and I got it,” she said.
However, legal battles that dogged Tele Access made her change focus so she left to join Kings Haven Lodge as a receptionist.
“It was there that I found love again (name withheld) and had my second born — Dylan who is now 13. I was in charge of guest services.
“The relationship didn’t last because of cultural differences and other things,” she revealed.
She has been a single mom raising her children and hasn’t given up on love.
“Yes, I’m very much able to love. I’m not married not because I can’t get a man, NO!
“I’ve goals that I want to achieve. I don’t want somebody to come into my life and disturb what I have built so far,” she said.
She explained when pressed further on her goals: “I want to grow my business, understand myself and educate my children. I would never encourage anyone to be single or leave their marriages.
“But when that happens we reconsider though I believe the advantages of being in marriage far outweigh the disadvantages of not being in marriage (if there are any advantages at all),”
She says money does not compensate companionship.
“My goals are not monetary it’s just finding me as a person. For your own information, I’m a in a relationship right now. It’s been five years of dating this guy and like any other affair it has its ups and downs.
“But the one thing I wouldn’t do is to date a married guy that I don’t do.”
Nomathemba has worked for Mrs Ngwenya, the director of Trends Women shop in Harare in the last 10 years.
It was there that she horned the skills of buying and selling clothes. Luckily for her she’s got that eye for fashion.
As fate would have it, Nomathemba is now the owner of Posh, located at the plush Joina City Mall.
Recently, the branded store marked its first year anniversary and what a celebration it was for her customers.
She went all the way to treat her loyal customers to some champagne and snacks.
“I don’t dress up but I know what other people should wear. I can’t afford the clothes that I sell in this shop.
“These are high end clothes meant for big spenders, well-heeled and those who earn big.
“Whenever you hear a woman saying they don’t have clothes what they mean is that they don’t have anything new to wear,” she said.
Posh has within a short period become the centre of attraction for trendy women and go-getters.
Moreover, there is something deeply reassuring about Nomathemba implacable calmness — the kind of quality that invites others to confide in her and turn to her when in pain or confusion.
But are there any brand ambassadors for her shop as yet.
“We tried to have a couple of brand ambassadors but then we realised that in Zimbabwe, people don’t believe in themselves and hence are not loyal,” she said.
But in this day and level of competition loyalty is everything.
“I don’t think there is so much competition because I have selective seeing and selective hearing.
“We focus on our brand which is Posh and that’s where it starts and ends.
“What the other person is doing is none of our business,” she said.
She said they embraced competition such that when they see copycats they know they are doing it well.
But Nomathemba has learnt to use both edges of the sword.
While she is seen by some as a ‘motor mouthed’ character on social media platforms especially Facebook, on the contrary she says it’s all part of her strategy.
“It doesn’t bother me much and I know I have enemies like any other person.
“For me, social media is a business tool that works for celebrities in the first world. To them its business and that is how I do it,” she said.
However, she is ever grateful of the support she got from Judgment Yard, whom she said made her what she is today.
“I’m humbled that people all over the world now know me and across the Limpopo in South Africa it feels like home.
“As you know I love music and I’m a big fan of Vybz Kartel because he sings about emancipation and liberation of the mind. Yes, at times he uses foul language but that’s all part of his creative process,” she said.
Not even the thought of misconceptions fazes her, though she acknowledges that some people view her in different light.
“People say I am a whore.
“They say I’m an attention seeker and that the business is not mine.
“That I’m fronting for somebody.
“They say I’m big and ugly but like I said I don’t respond to negative energy,” she said as a parting shot.
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