Audience members were lost in translation from time to time but the appreciation for art trumped any temporary confusion.
A rallying call to hold onto what you can be proud of, and a celebration of South African indigenous languages were central at the inaugural poetry concert – Uphethen’ Esandleni?
The Wits SRC in collaboration with 2019/2020 former SRC member Samantha Mungwe hosted the concert at the Chris Seabrooke Music Hall at Wits University on the evening of Thursday, May 18.
Samantha Mungwe is a two-time Wits Alumni, poet and actress. The concert was inspired by the reaction she received from a recital she posted on YouTube in 2021. Uphethen’ Esandleni? – meaning ‘what do you have in your hand?’ – was the question she was asked in her poem, as she held up a degree scroll in her hand.
A duo of energetic MCs in SRC Legal Officer, Lesego Makinita and Wits student Simon waBatho kept the mood in the room jovial. The first round of individual performances saw rapper Cashflow (stage name) and the singer Mercy illicit much head bobbing and foot tapping from the audience.
Members of uThingo Lwamakhosazana aseWits doing their isiZulu reed dance onstage at the Chris Seabrooke Music Hall at Wits University on the evening of Thursday, May 18, 2023. Photo: Otsile Swaratlhe
Cultural clubs and societies took centre stage after those performances. Khomanani Vatsonga Student Society kicked things off with their traditional Xibelani dance, then followed by uThingo Lwamakhosazana aseWits with their isiZulu reed dance before the Wits Zulu Society closed the group performances with a combination of isiZulu reed dances.
The group rounded off their performance with a rendition of Gqom producer, Dladla Mshunqisi’s hit Upheten’ Esandleni. This was met with much screaming and clapping from the visibly impressed crowd.
The latter part of the programme ushered in the poets, the main act of the night. They walked onto stage in an orderly fashion and sat next to one another. After each recitation, poets ended off with the line “upheten’ esandleni?’ before passing the microphone to the next poet, a symbolic passing of the baton.
Attendee, Njabulo Nxumalo (21) said that she found the concert spectacular. “I think the diversity of it all: the different cultures, the different [use of] language and the mixture of poetry with music [lyrics]…I have to give it a ten out of ten,” Nxumalo said.
Poet of the night and AFDA student, Tiisetso Maeane (21) told Wits Vuvuzela, “[In poetry] the main thing is to be relatable,” and apart from doing the poem in Sesotho, he achieved this by making his poem about abortion. He titled the poem, Pray after death and according to Maeane, “This poem is a resurrection of a baby that was aborted. I am the voice of the baby that was aborted.” This is where he called on to the youth to practise safe sex.
Event organiser and main act, Samantha Mungwe (24) said that she just wanted to create something that would inspire other people and create a platform like this at Wits. “[My aims for this concert were] for students to be inspired, for concerts like these to continue happening and for people to love art.”
FEATURED IMAGE: Members of the Wits Zulu Society dance on stage during their performance. Photo: Otsile Swaratlhe
Six months in, Wits University alumni says riding the airwaves at talk-radio 702 is part of her destiny.
From volunteering at a campus radio station to producing Afternoons with Relebogile Mabotja, airing on weekdays from 13h00 to 15h00, one former Witsie is living out her wildest dreams.
Born and raised in Soweto, Dobsonville, twenty-six-year-old Kgomotso Monyai is a writer, performer, poet, broadcaster, and a Wits Theatre and Performance graduate.
Kgomotso Monyai at Radio 702 station. Photo: Mongezi Ntsebezo/Supplied.
Monyai joined Radio 702 in November 2022 after finishing her Radio Certificate course through the Wits Centre for Journalism radio course during her final year. When she enrolled, her primary goal was to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes and improve her skills.
Her friend Nomusa Khoza says it all began with some manifestation at community radio station, Voice of Wits FM (VoW FM). “I remember when she invited me to a year-end function and took me on tour at the Vow FM studio, and I told her she would sit in those chairs, and she did,” and now she finds herself in a studio producing for a national radio show Khoza says.
Monyai said the certification was necessary to break through some barriers to entry. “As a young broadcaster, you are met with a lot of talks, such as ‘being a broadcaster alone will not sustain you,’ so I needed to refine my craft,” Monyai explains.
Despite having prior knowledge of radio operations from student-run and focused Vow FM, she struggled during her first days at Radio 702.
“[Radio] 702 is full of older people who are mature, and the radio station is more serious and political, it’s different, I felt so lonely at first,” says Monyai.
Thabo Mosima, a former colleague of Monyai, attests to her hard work. “A lot of people don’t know how much work you need to do before doing a radio show and that time she was doing a breakfast show, she was always on time, an hour early before her show all the time,” he says.
He adds, “The love and passion she has for radio got her a radio award for BreakfastShow.” Monyai hopes this is one of many wins as she begins to make a name for herself in the industry.
FEATURED IMAGE: Kgomotso Monyai at the radio station. Photo: Mongezi Ntsebezo/Supplied
Wits TikTok star shares his beliefs on the power of content creation; and the responsibility that comes with it.
BCom Economics Honours student at Wits University, Lebogang Rampedi has garnered success on the social media platform TikTok, with his lifestyle content, since posting his first video in November 2022.
The 24-year-old rising star has only been creating content on social media for a year and four months, but has 83 600 followers on TikTok, with four million likes; and 52 600 subscribers on YouTube.
Rampedi told Wits Vuvuzela that he chose to focus on lifestyle content — that tackles real life issues — because he is a human being that faces some of those challenges himself.
He started producing his content on YouTube, but as TikTok became more popular, Rampedi shifted some of his content there.
News24reported in October 2022 that an estimation of around six million South Africans use TikTok daily and that the diversity and content creation was grabbing global attention.
Seeing this, he explained that on the business side of things, TikTok was the next move and he worked to transform his content to be applicable to the platform.
Lebo Rampedi shooting a video for his YouTube channel featuring Kudzai Mhlanga and Pabalo Maota. Photo: Aphelele Mbokotho
Rampedi understands that his peers spend a lot of their time on social media, and he wants his content to be relatable and have an impact on people’s lives.
“I wanted people to understand that not everyone is okay, we have this perspective that people online are living it big, but I wanted to be one of the first people with a large social presence expressing how sometimes I don’t know how tomorrow is going to go, but still within the effects of making people smile,” said Rampedi on some of his content, which shows some of the harsh realities people are faced with in South Africa.
“TikTok is a relatability app…The impact I was trying to make on TikTok is to have someone watch my video and be like ‘oh why do we all do this?’ And also, everything is bad news these days, so it felt good to make people happy,” he added.
Rampedi started creating content in high school, where he was heavily involved in the writing of plays, directing, and acting. However, putting the content on social media was difficult for him because of the scrutiny that comes with it.
His brother and fellow content creator, Thato Rampedi told to Wits Vuvuzela: “He is someone that is very creative, he is in touch with what makes audiences and viewers react, outside of his comedy, he is aware of what makes someone click on something, respond and engage; and I think he’s talented and unique in that.”
Content creator and friend Gontse Mohlatloe, mostly known as Justdaddyg said that Rampedi is a consistent TikToker, and that he loved his videos because they were relatable – and that outside of him being a content creator, Rampedi is an amazing person overall.
Although his numbers are growing, and people can claim that he is successful, Rampedi feels he still has a long way to go.
“ TikTok is a great platform because anyone can be huge based on their views, but in terms of following and the community that you can build is what I define success…if you can build a community so great that they also push the same narrative into their own lives of making other people laugh , that is what I see as success,” he explained.
In the future, he plans to go into the creation of dramas and short stories.
FEATURED IMAGE: Lifestyle content creator Lebo Rampedi posing for a picture. Photo: Aphelele Mbokotho
Young women artists and entrepreneurs, some still at university, gathered to display their work and celebrate their creativity.
Constitution Hill’s old Women’s Jail held Ode to the Woman, an exhibition and pop-up market on Sunday, May 7 to showcase women artists and business owners.
The event was organised by the community called Among the Lillies, who are frequent hosts to creative happenings in Johannesburg. On the choice of location for the exhibition, Sandile Pooe the technical manager, said that the old women’s jail was “culturally, historically and artistically” appropriate for an event which brings together a creative community of African women.
One such exhibiting artist was Wits’ own Zukhanye Ndlaleni, a fourth-year fine arts student, chosen by curator Penina Chalumbira for her collection of paintings of a character she calls “Blue”.
Ndlaleni told Wits Vuvuzela that her art is inspired by her own personal experiences of mental illness. This collection in particular deals with “derealisation and depersonalisation.She uses the colour blue “to situate different spaces” and for the Constitution Hill display, she chose “dreamscape”.
She evokes the idea of healing through symbols of tea and pillows featured alongside the character. Writing on the event’s social media page, Ndlaleni said, “When individuals encounter my work, I want them to get a sense that they are not alone, that we are all navigating this space together … We all have a little Blue in us, but to different degrees.”
Being a part of this event was an honour for Ndlaleni who said she was thrilled to be exhibiting alongside artists she had followed on social media for a long time, “It’s flattering to be considered on par with them.”
One of Kaebetswe Seema’s collages hangs on the walls of the Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill on Sunday, May 7, 2023 while visitors to the exhibition admire the art. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Also featured at the exhibition were Tshegofatso Tlatsi, a recent graduate of the University of Johannesburg, for large-scaldrawings and paintings exploring her “personal experiences as a black female existing”, and Kaebetswe Seema, a University of Pretoria fourth-year fine arts student for her work using collage and mixed media to explore identity.
Pooe emphasised the value of collaboration in organising the affair. Collaboration was definitely the word of the day in an exhibition combining market stalls, visual artwork as well as musical performances by women DJs. The market stalls surrounding the art featured young women entrepreneurs and their products, such as Refilwe Modise, co-owner of the Enjoyment Co. Her small business is based in Linden, Johannesburg and produces environmentally friendly scented candles. Modise said she was happy to be involved in Ode to the Woman. “I’m hoping people will see us and know what we do [by the end of the day].”
FEATURED IMAGE: Zukhanye Ndlaleni’s oil painting, The Green Teacup is displayed at the Women’s Jail on Constitution Hill on Sunday, May 7, 2023. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Graduates are accompanied by family and friends to celebrate their academic achievements.
Wits University awarded hundreds of qualifications to students from various fields of study during its annual Autumn graduation, between April 17 and April 26, at the Wits Great Hall. Wits Vuvuzela journalists, Ayanda Mgwenya and Rethabile Mafisa were there to capture some of the special moments.
Wits Vuvuzela reporter, Ndumiso Nkosi before the April 2023 autumn graduation ceremony. Photo: Rethabile Mafisa
BA graduate Tlhologelo Makaleng with his parents Mrs and Mr Makaleng
BA General Andile Mukari with his friend Bradley Mathonsi
Wits BA graduate Tiny Mapodile
BA General graduate Simnikiwe Kelembe is alongside her family on the Great Hall steps
Tlou Cleopas Monyepao receives his graduation belt April, 24 2023. Photo: Rethabile Mafisa
Wits choir performing at the April 2023 autumn graduation. Photo: Rethabile Mafisa
Limani Bantu Phalo Mangaliso graduated with a double major in Politics and Law; along side her are her iconic fashion designer parents Thando and Vanya Mangaliso of Sun Goddess SA
BA General graduate Simnikiwe Kelembe feeling proud of her achievement as a Wits graduate
BA General graduate Kushal Sithul with his dad and mom
Majored in Politics and Media Studies is Ramela Modise is standing between
BA double major graduate in Psychology and History Damola Adenigba stands alongside her father Abbey Adenigba
FEATURED IMAGE:Wits graduates leaving the Great Hall after the graduation ceremony Photo: Rethabile Mafisa
The beginning might not have been convincing, but Activate Wits delivered on a fun night for all nonetheless.
Attendants of the Games Night singing along to the song being played during Karaoke, as the lyrics came up on the computer screen. Photo: Otsile Swaratlhe
The Activate Wits society decorated the former SRC offices with rainbow flags, awaiting students’ arrival at their first event for 2023, a games night at the DJ Du Plessis building on West Campus.
Activate Wits is a diverse all-inclusive student society dedicated to protecting the rights of LGBTQIA+ students at Wits University.
Activate Wits chairperson, Justin Yawe (20) asked everyone to join them in a circle of trust – forming a circle while holding hands – for “a proper welcome to the Activate family,” and brief introductions by attendees. This proved a tall order for the 100 strong crowd, so not all got the opportunity.
With the formalities out of the way, the music started pumping and games like chess, table soccer, and 30 seconds were played. Less competitive attendees took to dancing and singing along to those behind the microphone at the karaoke station.
Anouk Klijnstra (19), who is not a member of Activate Wits and was attending the event hosted by the student society for the first time told Wits Vuvuzela, “I am enjoying the community. I feel at home, happy and in a safe space.”
Itumeleng Moalusi (21) an Activate Wits member said: “I like how everyone is just happy and [Games Night] is a vibe. Did you see the dance moves that [other attendees] were doing!?” she exclaimed.
Activate Wits events officer and organizer of the Games Night, a third-year student Noma Sibanda (20) called the night a success. “Our aim as this year’s committee is to grow and further our family and the relations we have. Tomorrow these people are going to be able to greet and talk to each other on campus because they met each other here tonight.”
In the coming months, “More talks [around queerness], the pride march and regular smaller events like [Games night],” are in store for Activate Wits members.
FEATURED IMAGE: A member of Activate Wits, Itumeleng Moalusi (21) at the Games Night posing in front of the LGBTQIA+ rainbow flag. Photo: Otsile Swaratlhe
It’s been just over one month since the first thrift store became a new tenant at The Matrix at Wits University’s main campus.
Ali Monama poses in his shop during an interview with Wits Vuvuzela. Photo: Sbongile Molambo
On March 1, 2023 Zaza Clothing – located on the first floor of The Matrix, across Fade Barber and Salon – opened its doors, after a nearly two-year delay.
Owner Ali Monama (31) says when he started out his business back in 2016, he used to ride around town on a bicycle, selling thrift items from a basket – and now he has his own brick-and-mortar store.
According to Karen du Plessis, the Operations Manager for Commercial Services at Wits, “Zaza Clothing is the first of its kind at the Matrix.”
Despite business being slow over the first month, Monama says it has been a fun experience meeting new people and interacting with different personalities.
From afar and through the windows, it looks like a laundromat but when one gets closer, the vintage clothing and gothic accessories come into focus.
All clothing items at Zaza Clothing are R100, while accessories range from R50 to R150 per item. Monama says this price range is tailored to his customers, who are mostly students on a tight budget.
Monama initially wanted to open in 2021 but was held back by pandemic-related delays and long procurement procedures. “It felt great to finally be able to trade after going through so many trials and tribulations,” he says.
Dan Kabongo (21), a fourth-year film and television student has already made a few purchases and considers himself a regular.
He says thrifting in the Johannesburg CBD can be dangerous and out of reach, so this location is ideal. “The ideal places “that people usually thrift at are far away and are not really places I’m comfortable going [to],” says Kabongo.
Thrifting is a shopping experience that allows buyers to find unique and interesting items at a discounted price, Zaza Clothing aims to do just that.
FEATURED IMAGE:A customer browsing through the racks at Zaza Clothing. Photo: Sbongile Molambo
Award-winning ‘Kgosigadi’ is grateful for the four-year nurturing she got at the Wits radio station.
VowFM presenter Boipelo Hlapane has joined the recently launched North-West-based commercial radio station, YouFM. Hlapane, also known as Kgosigadi, will co-host a breakfast show, starting on Monday, April 3.
YouFM made the announcement on their Twitter page on Friday, March 24, along with that of other additions to the station’s team.
Hlapane (28) said that the appointment came as no surprise to her. “The work I did at VowFM speaks for itself.” As a recipient of the station’s people’s person choice award in 2020, she believes that the technical skills she acquired at the Academy of Sound Engineering are what separate her from the typical radio host.
She joined Vow in 2018 as a stand-in presenter, after resigning from the International Hotel School in Sandton as a student representative. She went on to get a stable slot on Area Code as a co-host with Boipelo Mooketsi, and by the time she left, had also been presenter for That Lunch Show, VowFM Drive and Breakfast Punch.
She heads to YouFM with intentions to repeat what earned her the South African Radio Award for best daytime show in 2021. “I took over That Lunch Show, and a year later it won an award. The style and voice I introduced earned me recognition,” Hlapane says.
Boipelo ‘Kgosigadi’ Hlapane (front) poses with her then co-host, Ayanda Ntuli, during VowFM Drive in 2022. Photo: VowFM Twitter page (@vowfm)
In 2022, she was nominated again for the best daytime show and for the best daytime show presenter on VowFM Drive. Although she walked away empty-handed that time, she was not discouraged. “I had to remember that sometimes you must let what you love be your killer.”
She leaves VowFM after a short introduction to the listeners of Breakfast Punch. Hlapane is filledwith a lot of gratitude towards the station: “[VowFM] will forever be home.”
VowFM programme manager Junior Malinga told Wits Vuvuzela that the radio station is a door opener for anyone with a passion for radio. “[VowFM] gives inexperienced interns necessary skills and trains their brain to start treating working in radio as an actual job.”
The show she will be co-hosting alongside Dj Ankletap, YOUR Mornings with Malume Tap will air Monday to Friday, from 5am to 9am, on FM 89.8 to FM 103.9, youfm.co.za, DStv channel 842 or the YouFM app.
FEATURED IMAGE: Boipelo Hlapane in front of a poster announcing her imminent arrival at YouFM. Photo: YouFM Twitter page (@YOUFM89)
The British Council alongside Business and Arts South Africa host a queer edition of karaoke night at Wits’ Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct.
On Friday March 24, 2023, people took to the stage for their fifteen minutes of fame, at the queer edition of Fak’uoke (wordplay on Fak’ugesi and karaoke) in Braamfontein.
Fak’ouke is part of the Fak’ugesi Festival, which showcases and celebrates African digital creativity annually. Festival planner, communications intern and MC, Nontokozo Qhobosheane said, “With the help of our partners, Business and Arts South Africa and the British Council we were able to make all our attendees feel like stars.”
This queer edition of Faku’ouke was inspired by Five Films for Freedom, a nine day film festival with queer rights as the theme.
Rowann Hermans, karaoke night attendee and ‘best power ballad prize winner said, “Bear in mind that I didn’t know it was a competition until they said that they were going to start voting.”
Hermans walked away with a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and six bottles of wine for their rendition of Estelle’s ‘American Boy’.
“I really just enjoy performing so my expectations were to make a show and engage with the audience, I was more there to perform a song than to win,” they added.
Lathitha Gqokama who was in the crowd and attending a queer event for the first time said that “it was a safe space for any kind of self-expression, and I particularly enjoyed experiencing the diversity among the people who were there”.
The Faku’gesi festival plans to host another Faku’ouke queer edition during pride month from June 1 to June 30, 2023.
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FEATURED IMAGE: Attendees second self is Fantasia onstage. Photo: Mbalenhle Dlamini
This Witsie wants to challenge the likes of Checkers Sixty60, Woolies Dash and Pick n Pay ASAP.
Born and raised in Tafelkop, Limpopo Lethabo Maphopha, a fourth-year Wits University medical student is the founder of BroughtCargo, an online e-commerce website.
BroughtCargowas was established in 2022 to help spaza shops in rural areas expand and provide them with easy access to bulk suppliers.
The 23-year-old businessman believes that for local spaza shops to thrive unity is needed. “If Spaza shops can buy bulk products, they can afford to make a certain profit, because like they come at a certain lower cost but street vendors and other Spaza shops they can’t afford to buy them alone,” he said.
Tokelo Matsepe, an actuarial specialist and Maphopha’s business mentor, told Wits Vuvuzela that he decided to take Maphopha on as a mentee after seeing his passion and love for business. He believes that BroughtCargo is a great initiative for underserved communities. “When people design products, they never think about the Spaza shops and small businesses,” said Matsepe.
Maphopha’s late father was his initial inspiration, he was a spaza shop owner who was struggling to expand his business, all while supporting a family of eight. Maphopa attributes this to the bulk buying tactic used by foreign-owned spaza’s, who are then able to sell goods much cheaper than most.
BroughCargo, was placed fourth in the 2022 Nedbank Green Superheroes competition for helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The competition recognises the efforts of small businesses which incorporate ‘green’ practices in several aspects of their operations.
Lethabo Maphopha stand in front of a bookshelf, he says much of his success comes from his love for books. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi
When asked about how a medical student learned about business, Maphopha said he reads a lot of business books and from the experience of others. Maphopha’s role model is Anna Mokgokong, a former Wits medical student and businesswoman.
Friend and Wits Bsc Chemistry graduate, Khutso Fenyane, is helping him with business mentorship and applying for funding and incubation opportunities.
“I first met [Lethabo] through his uncle and he told me about his interests I discovered that we share common interests,” Fenyane said.
He said his greatest challenge is not having enough money which has prevented him from performing neuromarketing, a marketing technique that measures brain signals to help understand customers better and said juggling work with studies limits his time making it very difficult to compete with other businesses.
Maphopha’s expansion plans for BroughtCargo, include turning the business into a Takealot for Spaza shops, so convenience can be more than a luxury for those with means.
FEATURED IMAGE: Lethabo Maphopha poses for a portrait. Photo: Mpho Hlakudi
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
