By Tabisa Mntengwana
24 February 2009

A BELIEVER in equality, Livingstone Mqotsi became an enemy of the state during the apartheid regime.

He believed every man was equal, a conviction that led to his opposing the Bantu education system when he was a teacher and an executive member of the Cape African Teachers’ Association.

While his career has been varied, Mqotsi has always focused on education and writing – he has worked in several South African schools and universities; in the early years he worked as a publisher for an East London printing press, Ikhwezi Lomso, where he was in charge of the press.

During this time, he also established his right of residence in the city.

Later, Mqotsi began publishing the newspaper, Indaba zaseMonti, or the East London News, a Xhosa/English weekly. Most of the articles lashed out at the injustices suffered by blacks in apartheid South Africa.

He was prosecuted for criminal libel several times, but was acquitted on every case. “This was an unbearable financial drain which was what the police wanted,’ he says.

But the Unity Movement, of which he was a member, came to his rescue and supported him financially.

During the apartheid years, Mqotsi moved around the world, living in countries like Zambia and Botswana, but finally settling in Britain.

While in Zambia, he ran a monthly newsletter, Unity, which dealt with liberation and unity in Africa. “The newsletter was popular with freedom fighters, especially in the camps of the African National Congress and Umkhonto weSizwe,” says Mqotsi. “The leaders would order a huge number of copies every month.”

In Britain, he spent most of his time reading and writing. “I spent most of my time at the British Museum Library since it had a lot of South African newspapers and books written by South Africans.”

Here he read Ikhwezi Lomso, The Guardian, The New Age and The Workers’ Voice.

The publisher became a man of letters, writing two successful books - The House of Bondage and The Mind in Chains.

Published in the United Kingdom in 1990, The House of Bondage explores the dramatic issues of collaboration within the black South African community. The protagonist, Vusumzi, is of royal family and is an authority against international colonialism.

In this book, Mqotsi focuses on the recognition and affirmation of traditional values, which can be maintained by the authority of traditional systems. The novel also portrays the suffering of the peasant population and their will to defeat apartheid.

Commenting on his book, Mqotsi says: “This book was influenced by the many Africans who have kept and reserved their values and principles as Africans even if they are abroad.”

The Mind in Chains is a sequel to his first novel, and explores the idea of people who, after South Africa has gained its freedom, are still living in the dark ages.

“The book explores the ideology of mental slavery and the souls who are not free and are still slaves of the apartheid system.”

He believes his book will help those people living in conditions of mental bondage and slavery to free themselves.

Mqotsi is a son of a peasant farmer from Keiskammahoek. He obtained a bachelor of arts honours degree at the University of South Africa – Unisa - and a master’s degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Mqotsi’s third book, The Study of Ukuthwasa, will be launched at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this year. It is an academic exercise expected to help youngsters and academics understand the dynamics of ukuthwasa, or the calling by the ancestors.

His latest book is based on his 1957 thesis, which shows that long before indigenous knowledge became fashionable in academia, Mqotsi was already documenting Xhosa culture.

“This is a great book for those who are interested in and love Xhosa culture and its people,” he says.

Mqotsi married Nzimazana Gubevu, from Ngqamakhe, in 1950, and the couple had four children. She died in 1998.

During the struggle, Mqotsi was friends with the likes of Chris Hani, who spent more than 10 years at the Mqotsi household, Zola Skweyiya, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “We treated Hani like one of our children; we loved him and took care of him during exile.”

He married again and together with his wife, Iris, Mqotsi does a lot of charity work around Buffalo City. The family has adopted the Ililtha Primary School in Berlin. “The reason we adopted the school, we saw the condition of the school and decided it needs our help,” Iris Mqotsi says.

They live in Baysville; Mqotsi’s children live in Britain. “They are happy there and we speak on the phone all the time,” he explains.

BUFFALO CITY
METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY
A City growing
with you