Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS mourns alumnus and literary giant Dr KPD Maphalla

08 April 2021 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo UFS Photo Archive

The late Dr Maphalla with former UFS Chancellor Dr Franklin Sonn — Dr KPD Maphalla with former UFS Chancellor, Dr Franklin Sonn, during the graduations in April 2007.

The University of the Free State is sad to learn of the passing of alumnus and award-winning Sesotho literary giant, Dr KPD Maphalla.

The literary works of Dr Khotso Pieter David Maphalla, like many other African writers and artists, were influenced and characterised by his own era of powerful forms of oppression and exclusion from dominant literary discourses. In his own right and through his writings of poetry, novels, short stories, and kodiamalla (dirge), he articulated a deliberate political and social protest and pushed for a place for African languages in literature at the height of apartheid.

Ground-breaking novel

“He entered the professional scene with his ground-breaking novel, Kabelwamanong, in 1982 at the age of 27. His career actually started in 1971 while he was still at school. Since his first novel, he has produced at least two books annually, covering the genres of poetry, novels, dramas, and short stories. As a dramatist, Dr Maphalla has written a number of excellent and educative radio dramas for the then Radio Sesotho (now Lesedi FM),” said his long-time friend and Head: African Languages at the University of the Free State, Dr Nyefolo Malete.

Honorary degree

“It was for this writing prowess that he received recognition from the UFS when he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature by the Department of African Languages during a momentous ceremony on the Qwaqwa Campus in 2007,” added Dr Malete.

Dr Malete also revealed that, despite losing the use of his right hand after suffering a stroke following a car accident in the late 1990s, Dr Maphalla continued writing using his left hand. “He was adamant that, what he referred to as his ‘supposed disability’, would not deter his passion for writing.”

Scholarly studies

Dr Maphalla’s work has also produced numerous scholarly studies by the likes of Profs Moleleki Moleleki (protest poetry), Thapelo Selepe (lament and protest poetry), and Dr Seema Seema (process of cross-cultural communication). He was a committed Qwaqwa community member, who was also instrumental in the founding of Qwaqwa Community Radio (2000) and Metjodi Writers (2006), among others. He has written more than 70 books, many of which have been prescribed texts in schools.

Some of the awards he has won include:

South African Centre for Digital Language Resource (SADiLar) Sesotho Lexicographic Unit (Sesiu sa Sesotho) Lifetime Award for outstanding literary works and for promoting Sesotho literature (2019).

The Literature Festival and the University of the Free State Award for enormous contribution to Sesotho literature by a South African writer (2019).

Lifetime Achiever Award in Literature awarded by the Department of Arts and Culture (2005).

M-Net Book Prize for Sesotho poetry (2005). The first and thus far the only Sesotho author to have received this honour.

M-Net Book Prize for best novel (1996).

De Jager-HAUM Literary Award for his volume of short stories, Mohlomong Hosane (1993).

Thomas Mofolo Trophy for Best Novel, Best Poetry, and the Overall Award (1992).

Thomas Mofolo Trophy for Best Poetry (1991).

Dr JJ Moiloa Floating Trophy for Best Sesotho Poetry Book of the Year, Kgapa tsa ka (1985).

News Archive

Kovsiesport - Results

2009-03-09

Varsity Cup: Shimlas (39) vs Tuks (22) - 2 March 2009
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

1. Krieket:

UV 1 vs Polisie 2

UV 1 maak 216/8 en Polisie 2 87/10

UV wen met 129 lopies

Peshawars vs Rocklands

Rocklands 65/10 en Peshawars kry 67/1

Peshawars wen met 9 paaltjies

2. Hokkie

Wedstryde gespeel op Saterdag – 28/02/09

Kovsie mans vs Tuks
Verloor 0 – 3

Kovsies dames vs Tuks
Verloor 4 – 0

3. Rugby

Wedstryde gespeel op 02/03/09

Shimlas vs Pukke
Wen 39 – 22

Armentum vs Amajuba (Maties)
Wen 61 – 19

4. Atletiek

2 S.A Atlete het deelgeneem aan die Southern Region Cross Country
Championships in Mauritius op 28/02/09 naamlik:

Windy Jonas in die Mans 8km (Tyd – 25:35)
Boy Soke in die Seniors 12km (Tyd – 35:52)

4. Tennis

Het proewe gehad oor die naweek en die volgende spelers is in die onderskeie spanne
opgeneem.

Mans:                                                                 Dames:

1. Reon Henning                                        1. Elrien de Villiers
2. Duke Munro                                          2. Rensia Henning
3. Willem Vorster                                      3. Christine Keyser
4. Robert Kot                                            4. Nicola Dormehl
5. Willem Steenkamp                                 5. Jeanne Du Plessis
6. HB Steyn                                              6. Elizna Barnard
7. Wynand Schoeman                                7. Marna Louw
8. De Villiers Koster                                  8. Belinda Strydom
9. PW Holtzhausen                                    9. Jolene Botha
10.Divan Olivier                                         10.Sumandi Nel
11.Hendri Steyn                                         11.Bernadette du Toit
12.Ruan Olivier                                          12.PETRO TAUTE
13.Renier Van Vreden                                13.Nicolene Gordon
14.Deon Stander                                        14.Lianie Oberholster
15.Pieter Burger                                         15.Melanie Patrick
16.Willie Harber                                         16.Elria Munro
17.Conrad Dormehl                                    17.Sunelle Van Vuuren
18.Gideon Roux                                         18.Some Olivier
19.Andries Swart                                       19.Lize Venter
20.Schoeman Serfontein
21.Marthinus Ras
22.Lyndon V/D Haer
23.Johan Scherrer
24.Phillip Smit
25.Adriaan Oosthuizen
26.Gerhard Olivier
27.Wessel Wessels
28.Pieter Van Rooyen
29.Pierre Lombaard
30.Alex Marais
31.Jacques Krause

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept