Mo-china gamblers angry at cops
Residents protest against the police for stopping Mo-china.
Angry Fah-fee or Mo-china gamblers from Mamelodi West Section 5 marched to the Mamelodi West police station on Monday, accusing the police of harassing the Mo-china vehicle they make a living with.
They complained that the police stopped and harassed the Fah-fee vehicle and demand bribe money.
Lerato Maseko, one of the gamblers said: “We are all aware that Mo-china is an illegal gambling bet, but everyone knows that it had been running for many years and many people are making a living with it.”
Mo-china started in the early 1950’s and is commonplace in townships such as Mamelodi, Soshanguve and Tembisa.
“What the police are doing is illegal because they don’t arrest Mo-china runners but instead they are taking bribe money from them. The police must stop harassing Mo-china,” said Maseko.
“Many people are making a living with Mo-china and the money from Mo-china can put food on the table and helps us to pay our children’s school fees.”
Mamelodi police spokesperson, Johannes Maheso said: “We had a meeting with the gamblers and explained to them what they were doing was illegal.”
The police could turn a blind eye when they saw Mo-china gambling taking place.
“We have to do our job and arrest Mo-china gamblers,” said Maheso.
The gamblers said their parents played Mo-china for many years and some of them went to school with the money made in this fashion.
Maheso warned that the fine for illegal gambling was R1 500.
Fa-fee, also known to the community as Mo-china, is a form of betting played mainly by black South Africa women, particularly those living in townships.
It is composed of numbers from 1 to 36 and each number has a name or character. The draw takes place twice a day i.e. morning and afternoon. For every draw only one number is chosen.
Mo-china participants choose the number they want to gamble on by interpreting their dreams.
The numbers are as follows with their meanings:
1 = king
2 = money
3 = big water
4 = dead man
5 = tiger
6 = cow
7 = con-man
8 = pig
9 = moon
10 = eggs
11 = car
12 = dead woman
13 = big fish
14 = old woman
15 = prostitute
16 = pigeons
17 = white woman
18 = small change
19 = young girls
20 = cat
21 = elephant
22 = ship
23 = horse
24 = mouth
25 = big house
26 = bees
27 = dog
28 = small fish/herring
29 = little water
30 = priest
31 = fire
32 = big change/gold money
33 = young boys
34 = Sh#t
35 = Whole/katpan
36 = Big Gun/lobster
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