Lesang Maswabi
14 November 2008
opinion
In the early hours of Monday, November 12, 2008, I woke up to very saddening and indeed, heartbreaking news of the sudden passing away of Mazi Miriam Zenzile Makeba, the legendary South African musician popularly known to the world as Mama Afrika.
Before I could relay the depressing news to my parents, an incoming message on my mobilephone from my old man (who was at the time in Johannesburg) read: "Mma Makeba has passed on".
As the world began to mourn and tributes poured in from all over the globe I remembered the first time my extended family and I were first introduced to Mma Makeba by another family friend, Mpho Maine-Oliphant. That was in the early part of November 2000 at her majestic home and ranch of Northriding just outside Northgate in Johannesburg.
Maine had herself built a daughter-mother relationship with Makeba. Their strong bond would later see Maine accompany her to Rome, Italy, to receive her first funding for the Miriam Makeba Rehabilitation Centre for girls.
Ironically, it was in Italy where she died whilst performing at a charity concert.
Maine had also made a special request to Makeba, on behalf of my mother, to design a gown from her home tailoring studios. She (mother) was to wear the garment on their 30th wedding anniversary celebration with dad later that month.
The black and gold dress for the cocktail dinner was certainly elegant and as it turned out Mosadimogolo Mma Maswabi was to later wear it at almost every important occasion, including at the fund-raising concert for the installation of Kgosi Mosadi Seboko of Balete, where Makeba performed in 2003. Sadly, that was to mark her last visit to Botswana.
In next week's Arts & Culture edition, I shall posit the last segment honouring Mama Afrika.
The tribute shall focus on Makeba's association with Botswana and its people during her exile in the United States of America (US) and upon her return to South Africa. The feature shall also highlight Makeba's other social and domestic interests.
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