The Durban University of Technology’s alumni, Bhekisisa Mncube, has always been featured in the news for his writing and publishing career.
Mncube just launched his book: The Love Diary of a Zulu Boy, a childhood memoir, his first solo book, having been a contributor to two books. The genesis of his book began with amusing Facebook posts under the innocuous title, The Diaries of a Zulu Boy. Later, it morphed into a book form. So in essence, the book is the love story of a Zulu Boy.
“At times, it’s erotic, romantic and tragic. At others, it’s comical. It is inspired by the real-life drama of a deepening romantic relationship between a Zulu boy and an English woman. Thus, its main theme is a compelling look at intimate interracial relationships in modern-day South Africa,” he said.
Mncube added that the storyline showcases the relationship which was under the microscope and that had stood the test of time. “Its seed was planted in the trenches of the African National Congress (ANC) underground in the early 1990s, and it found its feet in the new South Africa. In a series of diary entries, the book takes us on a whirlwind tour of this seventeen-year-old relationship that has survived the Zulu cultural demands for the slaughter of a cow to introduce an English woman to the Zulu ancestors; four marriages; and an imagined yet troublesome foursome involving a proverbial gardener, Thabo, and the Pool and Bean Boys,” he said.
Besides finding time to being an author, the talented Mncube serves as a Director of Speech Writing Services at the Department of Basic Education in Pretoria. He is the official speech writer to the Basic Education Minster, Mrs Angie Motshekga, and her deputy, Mr Enver Surty.
For Mncube, his road to success is driven by passion. He said that one must be willing to put in extra hours for low pay. “We don’t write to make money, but to tell our stories. It took me 15 years of writing and publishing to reach the top as a director of speech writing services at the Department of Basic Education. There is no short cut to success. Success is neither an accident nor luck. Success is a choice. Success requires consistency, perseverance, hard work, humility and tenacity,” he said.
The book is available online at Loot, Takealot and Amazon. The paperback edition is indeed available at Exclusive Books and other reputable book stores nationwide including Adams and CNA.
Biography
Over the 18 years, Mncube has written extensively for the South African press, including The Witness, Weekend Witness, Politicsweb, Bizcommunity.com, Sunday Times (Lifestyle), The New Age, This Day, ANC Today, The Mirror, Witness/Echo, Public Eye, Mpumalanga Echo, Maritzburg Echo (News24), Edendale Echo (Media24.com), The Mercury, Sunday Tribune, The Independent on Saturday, Isolezwe, Daily News and Sunday World/Sowetan Sunday World.
He has also written for magazines such as Transform SA, Bona and niche magazines of the University of Natal such as Focus and nuInTouch, UKZN daba, Development Brief and UKZNTouch.
Mncube even has a chapter in the textbook titled: English First Additional Language FET Student’s Book, published by the Macmillan Publishers South Africa (Pty) Ltd. He has featured in various academic journals at home and abroad. These include the New Agenda: African Journal of Social and Economic Policy and Passages: A Chronicle of the African Humanities, a journal of the University of Michigan, USA. He also contributed to the University of KwaZulu-Natal publication titled: A Critical Engagement with Society.
Pictured: DUT alumni Bhekisisa Mncu
Waheeda Peters
