Walter Mncube | University of the Witwatersrand (original) (raw)

BHEKISISA aka Walter MNCUBE is a South African journalist, author and essayist. He was born and raised in the small rural village of eHabeni near the town of Eshowe, in northern KwaZulu-Natal. He says he was born in the apartheid South Africa, ‘black and poor.’ ‘I was a herder despite the fact that my father had no livestock,’ he says ruefully. His life of poverty propelled him into the political life of the nation. At the penultimate stages of the apartheid regime, he served on many anti-apartheid structures, including the African National Congress (ANC). He has been writing and publishing for the last 20 years. He holds a National Diploma as well as a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in Journalism from the Durban University of Technology. He is also a recipient of the coveted Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung International Scholarship (Germany) which funded his journalism studies. Currently, he is a Master’s degree student in Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Witwatersrand. His books include, The Love Diary of a Zulu Boy, memoir (Penguin Random House, 2018), Thokozani Series, Kumnandi Emakhaya, Grade 6 Reader, children’s book, nonfiction, (Macmillan Education South Africa, 2019), FET English First Additional Language Level 4 Student’s Book, edited collection, (Macmillan Education South Africa, 2014), ‘A Critical Engagement with Society,’ edited collection, (The University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2004) and ‘Black Tax, Burden or Ubuntu?’ essay on the black condition (Jonathan Ball Publishers, September 2019). Mncube’s childhood memoir, The Love Diary of a Zulu Boy was published in April 2018 to rave reviews on digital platforms, newspapers, radio and television. The author was interviewed live on SABC2, Morning Live and eTV, The Morning show. He also had numerous interviews on radio stations including at the Power FM, Radio 702–Cape Talk, Ukhozi FM, Ligwalagwala FM, Radio 2000, Gagasi99.5 FM and Kasie Community Radio.It also received good reviews in newspapers such as the Sunday Times, Sunday Tribune, Saturday Star, Sunday Independent, City Press, Witness, Sowetan, and Isolezwe Langesonto. It also received favourable coverage in magazines such as the Drum, Women/24 and True Love. It trended on the largest news site in South Africa, news24 making it as one of the top read features. A month after he launched his memoir, he was featured as top five of the, ‘most incredible South African authors’ on W24 magazine. Subsequently, The Love Diary of a Zulu Boy was listed as one of the top ten books to read in 2018 by Drum Magazine. In October 2019, a documentary based on his memoirs, The Love Diary of a Zulu was flighted on television, SABC 1’s flagship programme, ‘Now or Never.’ As an essayist, and a contributor to the Back Tax, ‘Burden or Ubuntu’ anthology, he has been featured on eTV Morning Show, and Newsroom Afrika (2019). He has received memorable mentions on Daily Maverick, and Sowetan to mention just a few. He has been a speaker and facilitator at some of South Africa’s prestigious literary festivals including at the Time of the Writer International Festival, South African Book Fair, and Jozi's Books and Blogs Festival.His original and incisive writing has appeared in various publications, including The Witness, Witness/Echo, Sowetan, Sunday Times, Mercury, Sunday Tribune, City Press, Independent on Saturday, Daily News, Sunday World, Transform SA, Bona, Politicsweb, Bizcommunity.com and the now defunct - The New Age. He has also published in academic journals at home and abroad. In December 2018, he published an essay on interracial love affairs for the global quarterly magazine, the Index on Censorship, UK.
Supervisors: Prof Lesley Cowling

less