Junaid Denston

By Tshepiso Mahlatsi

You’d think with part of his family in the army, a young man, Junaid Denston, sitting in front of me would at least resemble an enormous creature, but instead a feeble person who shyly hides his chipped tooth with his equally small hands as he speaks. You can’t help but be amused when he describes how a night out of innocent partying led him to end up in a hospital with an open wound on his head with a chipped tooth – a possible indication of why he didn’t end up in the army himself.

For someone that hasn’t considered Journalism as a first choice, Denston seems to know about which reporters to look out for if one wants to follow that path of storytelling. He himself wants to be on the same level as the South African Broadcasting Corporation [SABC] ambassador named Sherwin Bryce-Pease, who is a New York correspondent for the SABC, because he is a fellow Eastern-Caper. As one delves deeper trying to find out where his passion really lies, the naivety of a childish person trying to change the world immediately makes one adore his positive outlook on the world but also fear for him.

One Friday night and the whole of that weekend, Denston bombards one’s phone with concerns of school work. As you keep telling him to calm down, the calls and messages intensify showing you that he means business until one is forced to give in, “I want more than anything, to make myself proud. I am the first person in my family to go to University and I don’t want to mess that up”, he says. Having two younger sisters, and parents that live in two different cities because of the scarcity of work means he sees himself as the hope of his family and wants to set a different example to his sisters that is different from what he thought he ought to become after he finished high school.

His maturity fades when he starts talking about what he likes doing when he isn’t working and going out clubbing was one such past time up until recently when he lost his tooth, almost unsure of his vows, he nervously laughs that he’ll never set foot in a club again and will instead focus more on playing cricket and maybe even going back to church where he used to be in a choir, before I could even ask, he says that he can’t really sing and that one shouldn’t expect him to. He says this sternly almost making me overlook his small frame and kind demeanour, for the first time I look at him like the army guy that he was destined to be and not the sweet guy I have come to know.

Junaid doesn’t want to divulge much about his love life, other than the fact that he might be “vibing” with someone. He quickly changes the subject to the love that he has for his parents and that the only thing that would keep him from traveling the world, again like Bryce-Pease, is because his parents wouldn’t approve. The softness of his voice and lack of eye contact makes one wonder if there is more to this but again he nervously laughs and moves on to another topic, also about one of his favorite people in the world, his aunt who is a correctional services constable, and almost excitedly before wrapping up and unwarranted, he mentions that his aunt is married to a woman.

Inconspicuous of a character, when you just see him he has so much to offer as soon as he opens his mouth, Denston will be known sooner than anyone anticipates. That bridge which is his confidence and self-doubt are a hinderance but not from a lack of trying.