By Thabisile Khoza and Mandla Khoza
When Gogo Lozililo Lomitsi Shiba turned 112 on October 10, her family couldn't afford to hold a party for her. So they saved and were able to throw her a bash on Saturday - her first-ever birthday party.
"This is a day I will never forget," she said. "It reminds me of my wedding day 90 years ago."
She attributed her long life to listening to her parents and "fearing almighty God".
"My secret is that I fear the Lord and I respected my parents. That's why the Lord has given me so many days to live on Earth," she said.
Shiba was treated to a party by her children and grandchildren, who flocked to her home in Driekoppies near the Swaziland border.
She has two daughters and two sons, 33 grandchildren, 89 great-grandchildren and 30 great-great grandchildren.
Shiba was born in 1895 and married when she was 22. Her husband died when their youngest child, Maria Matsebula, was three, and Shiba never remarried.
But her children grew up and married and today, her grandchildren are scattered around the country, either working or studying at university.
"We feel blessed to have our mother around," said Matsebula, now 69. "I would be happy to be like her because she has seen her fourth generation of children."
Even though she uses a wheelchair to move around, Shiba can speak and hear clearly, but her eyesight is poor.
Her granddaughter, Mildred Matsebula, who is a teacher at Schulzendal primary school near Driekoppies, said: "We are very happy to fulfil our grandmother's dream to at least celebrate her birthday before she died. It was so much fun because Gogo danced in her wheelchair." - African Eye News Service