Thami Mtshali, a chemical engineer and an entrepreneur par excellence, is no more. He pounced unexpectedly and by the time the discussion ended he had dazzled you with no less than four connected and significant ideas.
I have known him for just two and half years and this started a journey of infinite revelations from this onion bulb.
With a gentle peel of a leaf of onion at a time comes an explosion of fresh aroma that blasts nasal cavities open, pierces the retina into teary eyes and transforms the eyes to instantly see clearly, leaves the palate drooling saliva and relieves the ears of the broken sticks that cause deafness.
All this focused attention was directed at preparing the brain and the heart to be mission receptive and solution ready.
He blasted into my space uninvited at 13:51pm on April 12, 2021 with a demand that I undertake a randomised experimental design aimed at understanding the immune boosting capabilities of Galela.
He had also enrolled Leonhard Mehlber, a Harvard professor of neurology. This signature innovation created to cure his own ulcer condition five years before Covid-19 broke, had just silently entered the space as the virus decimated populations.
I declined randomised experimental design, because of the complexities of execution especially under conditions of lockdown.
But Mtshali insisted on that first call that a no was not an answer. I ultimately offered a tracer study based on the Galela delivery database.
His mission was to understand why and how Galela works. It can only be through humility and curiosity, the core attributes of science and true scientists, that anyone invites and opens his secrets into anyone’s space for help.
The Mtshali I knew was just such a scientist. Within seven hours of intermittent discussions, I got convinced that Galela was what my wife needed, having been in and out of hospital night and day for over a year and counting. Within an hour that evening, Galela was delivered at my doorstep and my wife took it and had a good night’s rest and the profuse sweating had subsided.
The next day we had a zoom meeting with Mtshali and Mehlber. I recall vividly how Mehlber made a stern statement of science when Mtshali said some called Galela a miracle cure.
Mehlber said, “No Thami, everything in science must be explainable. We may not know all now, but we will discover in time.”
Shortly after I had designed the study and off with the Monkey Survey I went. Mtshali granted me an invaluable opportunity of connecting directly with those infected and affected by Covid-19.
I called hundreds of people covering all the waves up to June of 2021 with analysed results up to November 2021.
And Mtshali was committed to saving lives. Many I interviewed would say they did not have money to purchase it, to which Mtshali would say, “You can only pay when you are alive. Let us make sure you are alive.”
The results in the tracer study across waves shows that an intake of four drops of Galela in the morning and in the evening got people away from the verge of sure death.
Mtshali ensured that he delivered Galela fast and followed through to the last mile. Galela was hand delivered at the door within an hour for more than 60% of the time. Mtshali understood that life mattered and the last mile was crucial at all material time.
There is a lot one can write about this giant. I discovered in one of our daily discussions that his mother told him about a man who was cured by his grandfather – a medicine man of note. Long after his grandfather had passed on, the person who was cured delivered the payment to his grandmother. I realised how the commitment to paying when you are alive as a commitment to life came about.
With his passing, I can only reflect on how lucky I was to have attracted and interacted with this energy. He commandeered.
I had become reluctant to go to the BPI Awards to Women of Substance. Mtshali called and said, “Ntate. We meet at the awards.” I hurriedly got myself ready and off I drove to Joburg from Pretoria. His last breath has saddened so many of us.
When a call came through on Tuesday from Nhlanhla Dladla, a business partner of Mtshali, I did not know what to expect from his subdued voice. He said, “Thami has left us, I am at his flat. Please let all know.” Again, it was Mtshali commandeering, only this time it was through Nhlanhla. MHSRIP (May his soul rest in peace).
Dr Pali Lehohla is the director of the Economic Modelling Academy, a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a Research Associate at Oxford University, a board member of Institute for Economic Justice at Wits and a distinguished Alumni of the University of Ghana. He is the former Statistician-General of South Africa.
* The link of the webinar where the study results presented is:
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