Amina Abdulrahman Mbamba, a resident in Michinzani for 35 years, wipes her eye on a visit to her neighbour’s apartment. Amina was offered a Michinzani abode, when their family’s original home was knocked down to make way for the flats. One of the common criticisms of the alien techniques and concepts of monumental socialist architecture of the East Germans, was that it was contradictory to the communal spirit of the N’gambo. The apartments were considered by some grossly out of character with local customs, especially the vital neighborliness, or ‘ujirani’.