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Mmatshilo Motsei is a community organiser, author, poet and mother of three who was born in Lady Selborne, Tshwane and raised in North West. She started her career as a nurse and midwife then moved on to become a lecturer, social science researcher and psychology graduate. In 2004 she wrote her first book, Hearing Visions Seeing Voices . She has recently published her second book, Kanga and the kangaroo court: Reflections on the rape trial of Jacob Zuma.

What were you like at school?

Clumsy and boisterous! I had more boyfriends than girlfriends.

What did you want to be when you were little?

A dancer.

What makes your blood boil?

Tribalism.

What makes you cringe?

People who can’t laugh at themselves even when they are at their most stupid.

Who is your inspiration and why?

My mother – for being vocal and for speaking her mind, and my father for being centred in his quiet demeanour and for showing me that silence can be golden. When I grow up, I want to be like them.

Do you have any secret ambitions?

Not really. My life is unfolding beautifully and I have everything that I need right now.

What would you like to say to “them” when you get to heaven?

You mean when I die? I don’t have to die first to get to heaven. I speak to “them” all the time.

What’s your least favourite thing about yourself?

Procrastination! I get into endless trouble because of it and I don’t seem to get over it.

What’s your favourite movie and why?

Scent of a Woman – a magnificent and moving performance by Al Pacino.

What are you afraid of?

Flying and snakes.

What is your favourite colour?

Somewhere between red and amber – I am of fire.

How do you spend your Sunday afternoons?

It depends on what part of the country I am in. If I’m home, Sunday afternoons are either me-time or mummy-time.

What would you put in your personal ad?

Se kanyana, se kanyana se morwalo o thata.

Which songs hold special memories for you and tell us what those memories are?

Brenda Fassie’s Life is going on – that woman was my pillar of strength when the going got tough. Susan Baca’s Habian Los Negros is a reminder that any culture multiplied by Africa is equal to African. Moses Taiwa Molelekwa’s Ntatemoholo sends me into a frenzy of a solitary dance in the dark with the full moon peeping through the window, laughing at my lousy choreography. While we are at it… Tuks Senganga is my man!

What do you know for sure about life?

Good and evil does not divide us into separate categories. We all have the capacity to be good or bad. It’s a matter of choice.

How would you define success and have you achieved it?

Success, like freedom, is not a destination but a journey.

What is your next project?

I am moving into publishing – my collection of poetry, Bosom of the Goddess, has been gathering dust on the shelf and it’s now ready for self-publishing. I am also working on publishing my mother’s book Botshe jwa puo, as well as a coffee table book (in collaboration with a photographer) focusing on the deeper meaning of indigenous art forms such as heroic poetry, drumming and dance.

When did you have a good laugh and what made you laugh?

I laugh often. I have three crazy kids and a disguised stand-up comedian for a mother.

What is your definition of hell?

Hell is being forced by someone or something to live a lie.

Name one thing that you would never travel without?

Me, of course! You know what they say, wherever you go, there you are.

If your house burnt down and you could save three things, what would they be?

Assuming that my children won’t be home during the fire, I would save my books and any other art pieces such as paintings and ancient black and white family photographs.

Name your top three books.

Anthem of the decades by Mazisi Kunene, So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba and Omphile Umphi Modise by DPS Monyaise.

If we could make three wishes come true for you, what would they be?

Establish a school that teaches an African child about how beautiful and intelligent s/he is and about what his/her ancestors contributed to world civilisation. I wish I could find a loving home for each and every orphan and I wish I could do something about prisons that are full of black men.

Kanga and the Kangaroo Court: Reflections on the Rape Trial of Jacob Zuma is available at book stores.

Nokuthula Mazibuko

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