INTERVIEW
Africa Maqolo
The HI-FI of the UDF A half-an-hour long interview of Africa Maqolo, the songbird of the pre 1994 pro ANC RALLIES, tracing back the impact of his singing and articulation of the Freedom Songs during the Apartheid era, till the dawn of the New Democracy in South Africa. Interviewed by Sandile Matebese (Founding Editor of My Leader Magazine)
The beginning of an Interview: Hello Mr.Afrika Maqolo, My name is Sandile Matebese from the editorial of My Leader magazine Good Day… SM : People they call you Africa, tell us more about the name Afrika ?
Maqolo : Listen My brother, It feels so good about this question, and I love this question of Africa. There, at my home, we are nine children, my father in 1964 was incarcerated, and sent to Robben Island, was sentenced in 1965, and was released in 1972, and he went to Linge (rural area in the Eastern Cape) , he stayed there up until his death at Dongo in 1994. But; nevertheless, I am Africa, and my elder brother is Russia, as my father never assigned names to female children, he named the male borns only.
The male first-born of my family is named Hitler,his also known as Ladzudzu, he grew up with my martenal inlaws, after him is Crosby, the third is Russia, and Africa, my younger brother is Kruschev (Nikita Kruschev) and the small one is Brezhnev and Stalin the last born. Even if I’m having an interview with radio I don’t want that to be left out, and the failure if most interviewers, do not sometimes ask as to why were you named Africa. I remember when my family arrived at Kwazakhele in 1956, as I was born at Korsten, it was the time of the resistance against ANC Volunteers (Amavolontiya) till 1960, and I realised that in the 70s that, what was said in the 60s when the Apartheid boers, where doing door to door in our townships taking anything weapon-like or weaponry from each house, there was a long queue of soldiers, an amry, I’m not talking of Hippos (Caspirs) I mean armed soldiers standing in a queue from Njoli Square up to New Brighton, Njoli at that time was called KwaNdlebe. I then realised that OK, that was the reason for this door to door search for weapons in every house, that was during the time of the banning of the political organisations, and it was also the launch of the MK Umkhonto we Sizwe. as my father was imprisoned in the process, and served his sentence years in Robben Island.