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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

Elzmarie honoured internationally for economics education

2012-10-13

Elzmarie Oosthuizen (middle) with Prof. John Brock of Colorado University in Colorado Springs and Prof. Claudia Parliament of Minnesota University.
12 October 2012

An exceptional honour has been bestowed on Elzmarie Oosthuizen of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences with the awarding of the Patricia K. Elder International Award to her in America at the beginning of October 2012.

The award is made by the National Association of Economics Educators and the Council for Economics Education (CEE). It gives recognition to individuals whose outstanding and committed service makes a meaningful impact on the delivery of economics education worldwide. The award was made to her at the 51th annual Financial Literacy and Economics Education Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

Elzmarie is Manager: Teaching and Learning in the Faculty. She was originally appointed to manage various projects to better prepare students for what is expected of them. She teaches in the extended programme and achieved success with bridging mathematics and the changing methodologies that she uses.

She plays an active role in international economics education programming. Elzmarie was an essential element in the development of CEE’s programmes in South Africa and has now moved to expand economics education programmes to Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana.

She successfully participated in the CEE’s Train the Writers programme and lobbied the CEE to provide a mentoring programme that would prepare participants to offer a training of writers programme within their own country. This year, she presented the first writers programme for South African teachers.

Claudia Parliament, Director of the Minnesota Council on Economics Education, said in her recommendation for the award: “Elzmarie is a change agent. She has boundless energy. Few can keep up with her work pace. She has put economics education on the map in South Africa and she is poised to have a similar impact in other countries in southern Africa.”

Elzmarie says: “I feel very honoured to have received this award.” Since 2004, she has worked very hard and trained some 800 teachers. In 2011, some 200 000 children were reached through the training.

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