If you were a thug, it was important to excel in everything
you had to know how to hustle, play dice and be able to fight
People were afraid of playing dice because of the killings in the dice games
Fights were often sparked when an individual kept on having a winning streak in the dice games
the loser might say, you can't take my hard-earned money just like that, just by rolling dices
others accepted the loss and some couldn’t take a loss
Whilst a winner is still busy rolling the dice
a loser will take a step back and stand behind the winner then pull out a knife, and stab the winner on the back of the head
and walk away leaving the victim to die right there on the playing board
it was very rare for the assailants to be arrested for that
police didn’t care if a black person killed another black person, it was acceptable
Overall it was hectic back then,
it’s better nowadays because the youth of today understands that in a dice game you stand a chance of losing
Back in those days, people who use to play dice were hustlers
Car thieves would sell a stolen car to make some cash and go on to shoot dice with that money
It wasn’t because they liked a dice game, but they were chasing after money
Thieves after selling a stolen car or car parts, would pay the bills and with the remainder, they went to shoot dice
they were the type of people who believed that as a person or as a man you had to hustle at all times
Sometimes when a kid is sent to shop
the child would be mugged by dice gamblers who shot dice by the shops
The loser would often mugg kids and use that money to gamble with it in a dice game
a kid would go and tell their father if he came, these guys were not afraid to stab him
There were some individuals who travelled just for a dice game
A person would go to Mjavela’s place in White City, which is the biggest gambling place in Soweto,
At Mjavela’s place, people would bet with their cars or houses the stake usually start at R500
In my view, Mjavela was the number one knox-man
there might be a famous knox-man in a particular township where his operations are based
the same thing applies to a thug, he is only known in the township where he lives
outside he’s a nobody you can even slap him
but in his township, people from the area would tell you not to mess with him if you don’t want to invite trouble
With Mjavela’s case, I say he is a number 1 knox-man because, he is known in the whole township of Soweto
he is not only known in White City but all over, I'm from Zola township, but I know him
and that should tell you this guy is big and I believe he’s a number one knox-man in South Africa
He deserves to have a casino because Mjavela has been around for years
Mjavela is an oldman, a grandfather his entire life he has been shooting dice
When people give others directions to White City township
they use Mjavela’s place as a landmark for directions, taxi drivers and owners know him well
as I have said he just needs a formal casino
Mjavela’s place has been standing for years, people died there
some got rich there, others lost their houses and money in front of that guy, but he is still standing, he’s still the Mjavela of old days
A Knox man is like a casino owner, for example
if you arrive with R200 at a game that charges R250
the knox-man would give you R50 so that you can participate and possibly lose that R200
Back in the days when we had no electricity, it would be the knox-man’s responsibility to buy a candle
so that the dice game would continue
Gamblers pay rent to the knox-man
there is a guideline that says “three down” which means after three consecutive wins, you pay a rental fee
so a knox-man rules the proceedings of the game
For example, if gamblers are uncertain about the dice’s position
they ask knox-man’s judgement whether it is a loss or win, he also supplies the board and dices
There is a way of handling dices, you must shake them then roll them on the gambling board
some would cheat and hold the dices with the corners and the knox-man would tell them to shake the dices
If a gambler cheats by holding the dices by the corners and roll them, others would complain
others would complain to the knox-man to rectify the situation
if the knox-man doesn’t intervene, they would rectify it on their own with a pocket knife
So anything that has to do with money, it is very sensitive
I would refer to a knox-man as a provisional game-owner on that particular day
because you could be a knox-man today but tomorrow someone else might be a knox- man
depending on who arrived first at a gambling spot on that particular day, you would identify a knox-man with a tin beside him
in short a knox-man is a person who is running the dice game on that day