During my teenage years, my greatest passions were football and school. In 1976, while I was in sub A (grade 1), I witnessed my first student riots.
I remember seeing a huge balloon (parachute) followed by screams and the torching of cars. In the chaos, I led the charge to push our class teacher, Mme Selepe, away from the door as she tried to shield us from the violence outside.
My actions spurred the entire school to flee, and we ran home under the cover of dark clouds from burning cars, beer halls, and houses belonging to apartheid councillors.
I continued my studies until 1984, when I reached standard 8 (grade 10). However, our education was disrupted by nationwide class boycotts demanding the establishment of student representative councils and the release of political prisoners. For the first time, academic progress came to a halt, and we stayed home for nearly a year without attending school.
During this period, I joined a group called Bafutsana Dramatic Arts, led by the late Pitso Molefe, a highly talented playwright. There, I learnt more about political resistance, which we expressed through theatre.
I even played the lead role in Phinda My Woman, a play which incorporated many of these political themes. We were so dedicated that we believed we could rival the “Father of Township Theatre,” the late Gibson Kente.
In 1988, while in standard 10 (grade 12), another nationwide class boycott disrupted my studies. This time, I was at the forefront after being recruited by student leaders, first by my neighbour, Kennedy Nkoana, and later by twins Mafa and Matlotlo. Mafa, in particular, was a caring cadre who took a deep interest in my wellbeing. Even when I started skipping school, he would come to my house, fetch me, and emphasise the importance of education, and the Struggle.
That same year, I was elected to my first political office as secretary of the self-imposed student representative council at Boitumelong Secondary School (which we had renamed Thabo Mbeki during that period). This position opened the floodgates to police harassment.