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08 April 2021
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Story Thabo Kessah
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Photo UFS Photo Archive
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.
“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.
“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.”
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).
UFS honours its top sport achievers
2010-10-21
KovsieSport at the University of the Free State (UFS) will honour its top sport achievers at a glamorous ceremony at the Centenary Complex on the UFS campus on Thursday, 21 October 2010.
The Kovsie Sport Stars 2010 awards are divided into two categories, one for the top men’s sportsman at the university and one for the top women’s counterpart.
The nominees for this year are:
Women’s category:
- Lesley-Ann George – Vice-Captain of the South African Hockey team that took part in the recent Commonwealth Games in India.
- Tanya Basson – The current African Judo champion in the under 52 kg division and Member of the South African Judo teams that took part in the Kata and Kurash World Championships as well as the Commonwealth Games.
- Nelmaré Loubser – Represented South Africa at the Triathlon and Duathlon World Championships and a member of the South African Prestige Biathle team.
Male category:
- Thuso Mpuang – Represented South Africa at the Africa Athletics Championship and the World Continental Games as part of the SA relay team.
- Boy Soke – Represented South Africa at the Southern African Half-marathon Championships and a member of the South African Half-marathon team competing at the World Championships.
- Bruno Schwalbach – Gold-medal winner for South Africa at the Southern African Karate Championships in the senior Kata division.
- Windy Jonas – Represented South Africa at the Africa Athletics Championships.
- Wiaan Viljoen – Represented South Africa in Badminton at the Thomas and Uber Cup, the All African Championships where he won a silver and a bronze medal, as well as the World Badminton Championships, reaching the 32nd round.
- Boom Prinsloo – A member of the South African Sevens rugby team that competed in the Commonwealth Games.
- Johan Cronjé – Currently ranked 38th in the world 1500 m rankings and represented South Africa at the Africa Athletics Championships.
- Philip van der Walt – Member of the Vodacom Cheetahs rugby team as well as of the South African Sevens team that competed at the Commonwealth Games.
Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (acting)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
21 October 2010