Litnet

I was born on 5 May 1965 and grew up in Moletjie Village in Limpopo, but have been living in Pretoria since the early eighties. I matriculated from Mokgorokgoro Secondary School in 1984. In 1985 and 1986, I followed secretarial and traffic police courses at Lyceum College and Seshego Management College, respectively, before finding a job at the Security Division of the City Council of Pretoria. I studied in the evenings and over weekends, and my hard work and perseverance paid off when I obtained my BA in Criminology from UNISA in 1999.

After the various local municipalities had amalgamated in 2000, I proceeded to work at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, where I served in various capacities in the security, traffic, municipal courts and land invasion units.

In 2009, I was very happy to be given the opportunity to do a Sepedi translation of Babalela by Martie Preller (published by Lapa).

In 2010, I completed the Supervisory Development Programme at the Durban University of Technology, and in 2011, I obtained a Certificate in Presentation Skills in the Workplace from the University of Pretoria.

I have always had a passion for storytelling and creative writing, and have published books that have been prescribed for schools, among them Ke Namane ya Morago (a novel, published in 1990 by Via Africa) and A re Sogeng Thari (a grammar for grades five and six, published in 2012 by Maskew Miller).

Since 2015, I have been a shop steward for the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU), and in this capacity I travel all over the city and its environs.

My short story Mphenyašilo (The bully) was adapted for the stage and performed at the Pretoria State Theatre in March 2023.

Bullies always seek to harm or intimidate those they perceive as vulnerable, always creating conflict, whether it’s humans, animals or other species. There is a norm of one belittling the other based on (for humans) materialistic possessions, wealth, careers, etc, and (for animals) the food chain. Mphenyašilo seeks to address the subject of bullying and poses possible solutions to the ongoing problem.

https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1525504258

In my free time, I like interacting with my children and grandchildren as well as my parents, who still live in Limpopo and are in their eighties. We love to meet up and tell stories of times long past. I also love sport and support the soccer teams Orlando Pirates and Liverpool. Watching my favourite TV channel, National Geographic Wild, often presents ideas for animated stories.