Durban - Celebrity chef and entrepreneur Mathabo Kunene is a dynamic woman of peace and passion, and her 100-year-old home in Lambert Road, Morningside, not only encompasses her vision for her country and the world, but is a sanctuary for her soul.
Head of the Mazisi Kunene Foundation, and widow of the freedom fighter, literary icon and poet Professor Mazisi Kunene, the 76-year-old bought her home in 2013 after moving from her Glenwood, house which was transformed into the Mazisi Kunene Museum.
Kunene has always had a fondness for hospitality, from her days growing up in a township, throughout her travels and periods of exile and her dream was to one day have a home that exuded this warmth.
“When we lived in England, I loved all the old estates and homes. They make you feel so warm and welcome and, to me, feel like places you could live forever. A family friend had a beautiful home in Surrey and all I could think of for years was the smell of that incredible wood…”
When searching for her new home, Kunene knew what she was looking for, but was not sure where to find it. “I went to Durban North and Zimbali but everything felt so new. None of it had that aged feel. Then one day I called my real estate agent and told her I wanted to have a look in Morningside. We looked at a few homes but this one in Lambert Road caught my attention.”
Kunene described the kitchen as “awesome” and said it was typical of the old homes on the Berea, with high ceilings and chandeliers in every room, including the bathroom.
“I loved the feel of it.”
However, Kunene wanted to put her personal touch on her home, so did some renovating, including bringing in her own wood and spending her days at auctions. Some of her buys included Royal Albert teacups, even if they were chipped. She also hired someone to do the garden.
“I wanted flowers that bloomed all year around. The garden is always well-manicured and looked after… (It) is one of my favourite places. I like to sit there and look at the house. I still laugh at the cock on the roof that turns in the wind.”
In addition to being her home, Kunene said she had wanted to create a place for “anyone to walk through” and had informed the housekeepers in the area they were always welcome to gather there for meetings or to just socialise. She said this was important because unless people of all backgrounds were given the same places to gather, they would each gather on their own, which created division.
“We even have students from the rural areas that we bus in. We tell them they need to stay in school, to dream big, and to work hard.”
Kunene is a renowned chef and was appointed to cook for Nelson Mandela’s wedding to Graça Machel. This love for food, particularly what she calls African-fusion cooking, is why her kitchen is one of her favourite places in her home.
“Everything in my home is part of my fantasy. I worked so hard for the liberation and now I can finally live like this. I have no live-in helpers as they work office hours, from 8am until 4pm. Then they can go home and raise their own families. Besides, I like to be alone.
“I live alone and enjoy the quiet. I am more out in the community than at home but, when I am here, I like to sit in the garden during the day and watch the school children going past and the many people out and about. But come 4.30pm, it becomes deadly quiet and I love that.”
Kunene paid tribute to the designers and builders of her house, who she said “did a marvellous job”.
It is obvious this is Kunene’s forever home, with its English-African styled décor and her heart in every part of it. “This is definitely it. I will not go to a retirement home… this is a place for my grandchildren to visit and spend time with me. I have arrived at my destination after 21 years in exile and I have peace and satisfaction. But I do not find this peace in isolation, but in the brotherhood of people in community.”
Bonny Fourie, Independent HOME