Issue no: 06
Tšhutšhumakgala: is a Sepedi biography penned by Moses Seletisha (29), about the life and
political times of Tlokwe 'Harlem' Maserumule, who is a former Umkhonto we Sizwe
combatant. Tlokwe spent almost a quarter of his life in Robben Island. He worked in the
kitchen section during his jail days in Robben Island, that is where he earned himself the name
'Mr Soup' after Mandela, Elias Motsoaledi, Goven Mbeki and other inmates confessed and
insisted that he be given that name. It was for the simple reason that the kind of soup he used
to cook had to befriend their taste buds.
The very same soup he mastered was not only used for consumption but also to ease
communication of inmates. One inmate would simply submerge a little note wrapped into
same soup and let Tlokwe dish it to a fellow comrade.
Maserumule remains the first black prisoner to have been allowed marrying a woman in
Pollsmoor prison during his jail days. The wedding was championed by Judy Moon whom by
then was a wife to former human Settlement minister Tokyo Sexwale — both groom and bride
were granted only 10 seconds for their honeymoon! Upon his release in 1990 he was
deployed as a member of parliament under safety and security portfolio (perhaps hoping to
drink from his military cup).
We also learn that Tlokwe is a man with power as he is from a royal family; he is a son to Kgoši
Shikwane Maserumule-Matlala, Ga-Matlala. That is to say he could have been oblivious of
the conditions and refrained from participating in the post-struggle but he persisted and
unconditionally joined the movement to serve as a terrorist not some royal prince if not
principal. The book was edited by Matete Motsoaledi, foreword Letlapa Mphahlele of Pac and
afterword Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha. Tšhutšhumakgala is a second published
Sepedi biography in South Africa, after EM Ramaila with Tšabophelobja Abram Serote
www.megaartists.co.za
Nov-Dec 2015
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