By Dr Siphiwo Mahala
Professor Keorapetse Kgositsile opened his acceptance speech with the recital of his clan names when he was honoured with a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy degree by Unisa in 2012.
Speaking in his Setswana language, Kgositsile described himself as a tiny particle, like a grain of mealie meal in a complex lineage. He evoked his bloodline and thus took the audience through the family tree and the history of his people.
He went on to say, “That is just a little taste of who I am, in a language that is, perhaps arguably to some, a major aspect of my living heritage; the aspect that makes me multiple.”
Kgositsile’s invocation of his lineage is a demonstration that heritage is not something far removed from our daily lives. It is who we are. We do not become who we are on certain occasions.
This is a principle that drove Kgositsile throughout his life and career. It is not surprising that in 1982, he was one of the founding members of the ANC’s Department of Arts and Culture in exile, serving as the deputy to Barbara Masekela and reporting to then president Oliver Tambo.
As I reflect on what would have been his 82nd birthday month, also commemorated as Heritage Month in South Africa, Kgositsile’s words carry a much deeper meaning. They represent what he stood for. Those among us who were fortunate enough to have lived and laughed with him, those who were touched by the generosity of his spirit, would testify that Kgositsile was a treasure trove and a fountain of knowledge.
Late Professor Mbulelo Mzamane once described him as a very short man who is never short of words.
Any conversation with Kgositsile was a lesson in history, politics, philosophy and literature all at the same time.
He was a cultural and political activist who devoted his life to the liberation Struggle. Born in 1938 in a village called Dithakong outside Mafikeng, Kgositsile joined the ANC in the 1950s and was one of the first young activists it instructed to skip the country as the political situation became more volatile.
He lived part of his 30 years of exile in Botswana, the US, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, among other countries. It was in America that he gained international repute as a poet and cultural activist.
He was one of the most influential figures in bridging the cultural gap between Africans from the continent and African-Americans. He had interactions with world famous poets and activists like Amiri Baraka, Pablo Neruda and Aimé Césaire.
The revolutionary group of performing poets, The Last Poets, was named after one of his poems.
Although he went to America in 1962 to study, it was inevitable for Kgositsile to be directly involved in politics, as New York was at the cusp of cultural ferment and raging political resistance. This is where he had interactions with black revolutionaries like Malcolm X.
It was also during this period that Kgositsile penned the historic speech that would be delivered by Miriam Makeba at the UN General Assembly in 1963. The speech would bring the attention of the world to the plight of the oppressed in South Africa, and shortly thereafter the UN declared apartheid as a crime against humanity.
Although he lived in exile for almost three decades, Kgositsile remained true to his roots.
A 1968 video recently surfaced on social media where Kgositsile, during his exile days in the US, is being interviewed by Maya Angelou and recites poetry in Setswana.
His biographer, Dr Uhuru Phalafala, cites an article Kgositsile published in Staffrider magazine in 1991, after he was hosted by the Congress of South African Writers.
Here Kgositsile says: “My people, I went away, yes. But I never left. Even if I had wanted to ‘leave’, my language would not have allowed it; my memories and our collective memory would not have allowed it; my concerns, my daily preoccupations, would not have allowed it.”
Kgositsile demonstrates that a lot of our heritage is in our languages. To him, language is not just a means of communication, but also a repository of a people’s history, culture and values. When the ANC instructed him to relocate from Tanzania to the neighbouring Botswana in 1982, Kgositsile was hired by the University of Botswana to teach English literature.
Upon realising that he was fully conversant with Setswana literature, and having been taught by famous Setswana author DPS Monyaise, the head of the African Languages Department asked him to teach Setswana literature as well.
At the time, Botswana as the frontline state was quite vulnerable to infiltration by the apartheid security forces.
Kgositsile narrowly escaped numerous assassination attempts, including a raid in which one of his closest comrades, artist Thami Mnyele, was killed.
A raconteur of note, Kgositsile often told the story of how his then wife, Baleka Mbete, heavy with child, had to jump over fences to escape the raid that claimed the lives of several ANC exiles and their Botswana companions.
In the democratic South Africa, he served as the special adviser to three consecutive Ministers of Arts and Culture including Pallo Jordan.
Despite his glittering profile, a long history of involvement in the liberation Struggle and closeness to power, Kgositsile remained humble.
It is unfortunate his humility also meant lack of recognition in his home country. For a long time, he was celebrated in America more than in South Africa. Ngugi wa Thiong’o once watched in awe as Kgositsile was accosted by admiring fans in the US, something that seldom happened in his ancestral land.
In his tribute to his dear friend, Ngugi wrote: “Brother Kgositsile was a Pan-Africanist true and true. Africa and the black experience of life all over the world were always in his mind and his spoken words. Even today, in the USA, he is still revered as one of the leading members of the Black Arts Movement of the Sixties alongside the late Amiri Baraka, and the still living Sister Sonia Sanchez.”
The first major recognition Kgositsile got from his home country was when in 2006, the South African Literary Awards awarded him the status of National Poet laureate. This was followed by the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, awarded to him by president Thabo Mbeki in 2006. In 2012, Unisa awarded him an honorary doctorate.
On receiving the degree, Kgositsile remarked: “I accept this degree with humility. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the council and the rest of the leadership of Unisa for making me feel that this occasion is a major reception to finally welcome me home from decades of exile.”
Kgositsile had an enormous body of work transcending several decades. Some of his books include Spirits Unchained (1969), My Name is Africa (1971), Places and Bloodstains (1975) and To the Bitter End. His last poetry collection, Homesoil in My Blood, was published by Xarra Books in 2017.
Kgositsile passed away on January 3, 2018 at the age of 79.
His life story is chronicled by the incisive pen of young academic Phalafala, who had intensive interviews with Kgositsile.
To remember Kgositsile is to remember the tiny particles of mealie meal, which once put together can fill up the sack of our heritage.
Mahala is an author who worked closely with Kgositsile for over a decade.
Sunday Independent