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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

Public Tourism lecture at Qwaqwa Campus a first

2011-10-03

Attending the Tourism Month celebrations were from the left: Dr Elias Malete, Qwaqwa Campus Principal; Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk; and Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector: External Relations (actg).
Photo: Thabo Kessah

Tourism Month was celebrated in style at our Qwaqwa Campus with the hosting of the first ever Public Tourism Lecture. The lecture was part of the national Tourism Month celebrations and was organised by the National Department of Tourism in partnership with the UFS, the Central University of Technology, Free State and the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

The keynote address was presented by UJ’s Ms Milena Ivanovic, whose paper was entitled Cultural Tourism – Global and Local Perspective. This presentation was followed by a discussion by a panel of experts, namely Prof. Doreen Atkinson, Ms Merle Naidoo (both from the UFS), Prof. Albert Strydom (CUT), Dr Webber Ndoro (African World Heritage Fund), Ms Leonore Beukes (Department of Tourism) and Dr Kevin Mearns (UJ).

In acknowledgement of the role that institutions of higher learning play in advancing the tourism agenda, Minister of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, said that South Africa was now in a better position to welcome tourists compared to pre-1994.

“Before 1994 we had less than 500 000 foreign arrivals in the country while in 2010 we had over 10 million of whom 8 million were tourists. In 2006 only 26 airlines were using our airports, but now there are over 50 airlines,” he said.

Also in attendance were Free State MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mxolisi Dukwana, and the UFS team led by Qwaqwa Campus Principal, Dr Elias Malete, and Vice-Rector: External Relations, Dr Choice Makhetha.

The Tourism Month festivities were concluded by a tough, but informative Poster Presentation Competition that pitted UFS, UJ and CUT students against each other.

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