MANY men are afraid to bath in cold water because they fear it will harm their 4-5s.

But 101-year-old madala Lumnkile Heleni believes cold baths are the reason he has lived so long!

Madala, from Motherwell NU10 in Port Elizabeth, and his wife Bekiwe (95), were honoured by mayor Danny Jordaan on Thursday to celebrate the Day of the Elderly.

Madala Lumnkile told Daily Sun: “When I graduated from initiation school at the age of 32, the elders told me to bath in the river.

“The water was icy because it was winter and since then, I’ve always bathed in cold water because it makes me feel fresh.”

Madala said his healthy diet also helped him to live so long.

“I don’t know what diabetes or high blood pressure is. I’ve only been to the doctor twice in my life for back pain. I only get sick if I wash with warm water, which makes me feel weak and tired,” he said.

“I grew up on a farm near Grahamstown and worked there. I still have my own garden and eat traditional food and vegetables.”

Gogo Bekiwe said: “We have been happily married for 66 years now. We only eat samp, umphokoqo and a little bit of meat.

“We only use salt for taste. We don’t like food with cooking oil or too much sugar.”

She added that the father of six, mkhulu of 15 and great-grandfather of 16 was still a tiger in bed.

Lumnkile added: “The cold water makes my 4-5 very strong. It never fails and in my house there is always peace.”

Jordaan said: “We encourage people to take care of our senior citizens because it’s an important element of building a caring society.”