May their souls rest in peace

In a relatively short space of time South Africa lost two of its most valuable human assets. As a country did we not lose Eskia Mphahlele and now, more recently on the 9th of November 2008 Mama Africa Miriam Makeba? Was it not John Donne who said "Death be not Proud". Indeed Death may not have a thing to be proud of for having robbed us of such intellect in Mphahlele and such voice in Makeba but that does not make it any easier for us. Mphahlele was a well educated man and highly influential in the realm of African Literature.

For his intellect and his contribution to African Literature he won many prestigious awards from almost all walks of life and was appointed as the first black professor at the University of Witwatersrand. His untimely death came at the time when South Africa was thirsty for knowledge, when African scholarship in general was at war with itself needing new ideas and knowledge to transcend the deep divisions left by colonialism and apartheid. KwabakwaMphahlele sithi akwehli olungehliyo. Eningizimu Africa nase Africa yonke namaphethelo sithi ngempela ukufa kulinuku. Leliqhawe liyibekile induku ebandla ngalokho siyohlala njalo sikhumbula imisebenzi yalo emihle njengengcith'buchopho.

On the 9th of November 2008 South Africa awoke to the news of the death of Mama Africa in Italy. She was performing at a concert geared towards raising funds for the fight against mafias and lawlessness in Italy. Since she retired from the stage in the early 2000s Makeba dedicated her life to giving back to society and such concerts to raise funds were amongst the many activities high on her agenda. Indeed she was a selfless human being. She was a goodwill ambassador to many organisations in her life time.

Makeba was instrumental in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. In the late 1950s she appeared in a moving show titled 'Come Back Africa' and further appeared before the United Nations (UN) so to plead with the United Nations of the world to boycott South Africa and make it difficult for the apartheid government to function. As custom the apartheid regime responded in harshest of ways by suspending her passport causing her to miss the burial and the funeral of her mother.

Makeba after all those experiences and set backs grew into an icon. In 1966 she won a gramy award with Belafonte. In all her endevours she was optimistic and convinced that it was only a matter of time before democracy came in South Africa. She was correct as democracy did come in 1994. But who will ever forget her role in Mbongeni Ngema's Sarafina. Makeba did a lot for South Africa and for this reason we bow our heads in honour of such a selfless person. South Africa is what it is now because of the contributions made by people like Mphahlele and Makeba.

UBPA mourns the loss of such inspirational people. Singathini bandla lekwethu, umhlaba kawunoni vezi kofa izinsizwa nezintombi kusale izibongo. Wena muntu omusha wanamuhla sizokukhumbula ngani? 2008 what a year. May their souls rest in peace.

Thulani Nkosi
Chairperson and Co-head of the Education Cluster at UBPA, 2008