Why does John prefer Johannesburg?

He finds there is less racial tension. The priests at the mission sit together regardless of color, demonstrating that racial harmony is possible. John is also received kindly and there seems to be more opportunity to do what he wants without judgment.

John claims that he is more free in Johannesburg, for he is no longer subject to the chief and he has his own business. In the village, John says, he was a nobody and had to obey the chief, whom he calls ignorant and a tool of the white man. In Johannesburg, he says, he is free from the chief, although he adds that the church serves a similar function in keeping black South Africans down.