7 minute read
PERSONALITY PROFILE
In conversation with… Dr Mahlogonolo Thobane
Dr Mahlogonolo Thobane is the Senior Lecturer in the Department of Criminology and Security Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the first Black President of the Criminological Society of Africa (CRIMSA).
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Born in the village of GaNkidikitlane in Mokopane, Limpopo Province in South Africa, Mahlogonolo moved to Mpumalanga Province when she was four years old. The only child of a young teenage mother, her maternal grandmother then opened her home to the little girl, where she lived until the age of thirteen. By then, her mother had established herself in Soshanguve, a township to the north of Gauteng, so the now-teenaged Mahlogonolo was able to join her.
Warm, open and inspiring, Mahlogonolo shares her personal and career journey here:
The early years
I remember sitting around the fire with my cousins and listening to my grandmother telling us many beautiful tales. My grandmother, Mantwa Stephina Kwadi-Lepemole, from whom I got my middle name, was and is still one of my favourite human beings. Being raised by her, such a powerful woman, is one of my fondest childhood memories.
I was born to a teenage mother, Dikeledi Molewa nee Kwadi, whose boyfriend rejected me before I was born. However, my mother got married in 2007 to a lovely man, Elvis Molewa, who has been nothing short of amazing to me as a father.
The road to success
After matriculating from Hillview High School in Mayville, north of Pretoria in 2002, Mahlogonolo enrolled for a Bachelor of Social Science degree at the University of Pretoria.
“I’d always wanted to become a clinical psychologist, but then criminology found me! After obtaining my undergraduate qualification I went on to study my Honours Degree in Criminology fulltime at the University of Pretoria.”
Her first job was as a post-graduate research assistant at the-then Department of Security Risk Management at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Next, she was employed by ABSA Bank, in its Group Risk Division, Department of Security, where she spent three years before returning to UNISA.
From 2012, she worked her way up, through the ‘varsity to her current position, that of Senior Lecturer at UNISA. Mahlogonolo is also a Research Consultant at the University of Cape Town’s Gender and Health Justice Research Unit, and the founder and CEO/ Managing Director of non-profit organisation Mu Duka (212-833 NPO), which means “We are together” or “Re kaofela” in the Hausa language.
“The central focus of this organisation is to encourage the nation, regardless of age, gender, race and cultural background, to stand united against gender-based violence. Mu Duka further promotes holistic and intersectoral approaches (involving various government departments, the private sector and non-government organisations) to prevent the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa. Mu Duka also reminds victims of gender-based violence that they are not alone.”
To this end, Mu Duka’s objectives are as follows: • To improve and generate knowledge on issues relating to gender-based violence through community engagement, advocacy and research output; • To improve support offered to victims of gender violence and prevent secondary victimisation through engagement with community support organisations and continued engagement with the Criminal Justice
System (CJS) and processes used to handle cases of victims of genderbased violence;
• To tackle cultural practices that perpetuate gender-based violence through continued interaction with community and traditional leaders; • To assist in creating a platform where women and men are offered skills development to alleviate poverty, which in turn eliminates the chances of violence caused by dependency and/or frustration; • To motivate young boys and girls and the youth to attain basic and higher education, which may assist in creating career opportunities for them, which in turn reduces and/or prevents violence caused by dependency or a lack of employment.
What do you love about your career?
That I get to make a tangible impact through my work, be it through imparting knowledge to students whom I teach or making a contribution to the banking and security industries through the research done on CIT (cash-in-transit) heists or to the communities I interact with through my work and research on Gender-Based-Violence (GBV). Also, it may seem like I am doing a lot of things, but everything I do is intertwined and leads to the same purpose, which is making a contribution to the prevention of crime in our country.
What are the biggest challenges?
Trying to solve the crime problem in South Africa is a big challenge on its own, which makes the job that I do, as a criminologist, not an easy one.
Your best advice to the young generation?
Always know your why, and chase purpose over money and material. When you do what you love and are living in your purpose, money will chase you. Your talent will bring you before queens and kings.
Your mentors?
I consider anyone whom I have ever come across and who has taught me something, to be a mentor. I am where I am today because many people made valuable contributions to my life. I have – and I still am – been standing on the shoulders of many giants, of which my mother and my grandmother are the main two. Also, not to forget about my supportive husband and number one cheerleader, Modise Thobane. My current career mentor is Professor Lillian Artz from the UCT Gender Healthy and Justice Research Unit.
What do you do to relax?
I love reading non-academic material for leisure. I am currently in the middle of These Bones Will Rise Again by Panashe Chigumadzi, and I also write poetry.
What are your dreams and hopes, both personal and career-wise?
My dream is to make a contribution in terms of decreasing crime in our country.
What is your hope for South Africa?
I dream of a South Africa where women, children and other vulnerable groups are safe and no longer victims of heinous crimes. The narrative that South Africa is one of the world’s crime capitals needs to change.
Qualifications and awards:
Dr Mahlogonolo Thobane holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences: Psychology degree from the University of Pretoria (UP); BA (Honours) degrees in Criminology and Psychology from UP and UNISA, respectively. She also holds a Master’s degree in Criminology as well as a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy (DLitt et Phil) in Criminology.
She is the first black President (2021-2023) of the Criminological Society of Africa (CRIMSA), the only society for Criminologists and Criminal Justice professionals in South Africa and other African countries.
She was the quarterly newsletter editor for CRIMSA from 2014-2019. In 2020, she was appointed to serve on the Assistant Editorial Board for the CRIMSA Journal, Acta Criminologica: African Journal of Criminology and Victimology.
In 2018, Dr. Thobane was awarded the UNISA Vision Keepers Prize for the research project titled: An exploration of the impact of sociocultural norms on the surge of gender-based violence in South Africa with the mentorship of the Director of the University of Cape Town (UCT) Gender, Health and Justice Unit (GHJRU).
In July 2019, the GHJRU awarded her a Senior Researcher grant for a five-year Local Responses to Improve Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Project led by the Centre for Communication Impact (CCI) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This came on the back of her Vision Keepers project.
Dr Thobane is the holder of the UNISA ‘2018 Woman of the Year Award’ under the category, ‘Enhancing Other’s Health and Wellbeing’. She is one of ten young international criminologists who won a research paper award, sponsored by the International Society of Criminology (ISC) as well as the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNDOC), at the 2019 International Congress of Criminology.
She is also the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) and Universities South Africa (USAf) 2020 Medal in Social Sciences and Humanities: Emerging Researcher runner up.
Her research and personal interests are bank related robberies or violent crimes, critical criminology, indigenous research methods as well as gender based violence. Given her interest in gender based violence issues, she founded a Non-Profit Organisation, Mu Duka (212-833 NPO) in 2018, which promotes holistic and intersectoral approaches (involving various government departments, the private sector and non-government organisations) to combat the scourge of gender based violence in South Africa.
