GROWING up as mommy's pretty little boy who was mistaken for a girl made Malefetsane Nkhabu, 50, so shy that he resorted to wearing a long blanket covering his whole body.
This is hard to believe for a man who has grown up to be a well-known comedian entertaining large crowds at halls and other public places.

As a renowned script writer, comedian, singer, freelance consultant, recognised motivational speaker, counsellor, community mobiliser and trainer, Nkhabu says his background positively shaped his thinking.

Hailing from the semi-rural area of Qeme, Ha-Ntsane, Nkhabu could not further his studies beyond Form E. When he grew up, reaching Form E was regarded by many families as an educational ceiling.

“After Form E it was seen as time to look for a job like thousands of many Basotho young men to help parents with household income and pay for one's siblings' educational needs,” he said.

With a chuckle, Nkhabu said his childhood challenges, especially being teased for resembling his mother more than his father“made me the person I am now”.

“People would stop me on the road and ask“u ngoanana kapa u moshanya? (are you a girl or a boy?)”, he recalled, adding that the question irritated him.

He said it is because of that identity issue that he became rebellious and prone to fighting as a means to show others that he was actually a boy.

“I was sometimes unruly for no apparent reason,” he said.

He said soon after enrolling in secondary school, the boarding master wrote to his parents telling them that he needed therapy“because I was doing extra-ordinary things at the dormitories.”

“I was a naughty boy,” he said.

He said at home he loved working with his mother in the fields and helping her with household chores.

“I am a good cook because of her and sometime before Covid-19 I was selling lunch around town,” he said.

Nkhabu also says what shaped his personality is how his elder brother used to treat him when they were still children.

“I come after a very tough boy, my elder late brother used to beat me for no reason and that made me and my younger brother tough,” he said.

“I used to watch him closely especially when he was misbehaving and would see my parents very upset, and that would send a message that I should do better than him.”

“However, I loved my mother and always wanted to make and keep her happy. I grew up in a very spiritual family and as I assisted my parents in the Apostolic Church, I gathered and learned spiritual living, hence I love the gospel and preaching.”

Nkhabu is also into theatre and has been in the industry since 1987 when he was a student at Moshoeshoe II High School, in Matsieng.

“I was exposed to theatre together with others when we were doing our Junior Certificate, and we were reciting one book by Zakes Mda, We shall sing for the fatherland, directed by our literature teacher,” he said.

He said they formed a theatre group together with the famous theatre legends Silas Monyatsi, Dan Molefe, David Makhoba, Moeketsi Maema and others.

“I was the producer and writer of the plays we performed,” he said, laughing.

“And I had an opportunity and offer by FINITE magazine to publish one of my short stories“When the time is ripe” – I do have a collection of short stories and plays.”

In the late 1990s, he was living at Ha-Foso where he founded two theatre groups which were very active, one for teenage boys and girls, and the other for children aged seven to 12 years.

The two theatre groups performed in the Morija Arts and Cultural Festival.
He said the famous and ever growing Bofihla 'Neko, popularly known as Lilaphalapha, joined the group back then and“I believe I groomed him into finding his feet to where he is now”.

“He was very good, active and innovative, informing the scripts very positively and humorously.”

Nkhabu said he also wrote the radio script for Tšasa, contracted by Sila Monyatsi and his partners under their company, Plot Points.

“That moment meant a lot to me, I got excited even before I started writing.”

He was also contracted by 'Mantsopa Communications and wrote a radio script for their film“Khetho ea Ka” and there is also their film where he acts as a doctor.

He was also featured in a radio play produced by Rathabile Malibo on Gender Based Violence (GBV).

He says Lesotho's film industry faces multiple challenges, including lack of government support“especially the ministry related to this industry and bringing artists together under one umbrella”.

To overcome problems in the theatre and arts sector in general,“we need to re-think and re-shape our approach as a whole”.

“There has to be support from the government, unity among artists, forming their own strong umbrella organisation, linking it to potential and resourceful partners and demand to be supported and considered,” he opined.“We are so far behind as a country compared to other countries.”

“It is common knowledge and a fact that most of the very best adverts on both radio and television are produced with engagement of well trained and skilled artists.

“The conceptualisation and messaging of tourism can best be driven through arts, theatre; thus through performance and television.”

He suggested that to improve the theatre industry in Lesotho, there is a need to first include it in the national curriculum, so that appreciation for the sector starts as early as pre-school.

“Theatre needs to start at school, be taught in classes as part of the curriculum by trained teachers. Acting can contribute a lot to the learning of pupils in schools as it stimulates message receiving and storage, it is fun, entertaining, educational and practical.”

He advised the ministry responsible for culture“to re-invent the wheel, go out there, collect data on available artists and their forms of art, categorise them, bring them together, conduct needs assessment, draw strategies to grow the industry, make plans, implement those plans, monitor and evaluate processes and progress.”

“There has to be an appointment of an artist within such a ministry to represent the interests and aspirations of artists,” he said.

He added:“Artists also need to re-organise themselves, get together, build their capacity, and seize opportunities that may attract and capture the interests of all potential resources.”
Nkhabu described the future of theatre in Lesotho as“blurry”.“Unless someone involved gets on board we may not see the sector growing.”

He said he would encourage the inclusion of arts in the national development plan and national operational plan with clear strategies, plans and implementation approaches and framework of results.

Nkhabu said artists are leaving Lesotho to neighbouring countries to survive.
“I don't blame them. They have to, because that is their means of earning a living. In this country there is no plan that will help artists to grow,” he said.

Nkhabu said artists who are leaving the country are unlikely to return“because of the way things are here”.

“The way the country handles issues surrounding artists is not promising any change.”
“There are times when tenders are advertised for artistes to write for local television. The likes of 'Mantsopa and other individual local writers, for example, would submit their technical and financial proposals to the responsible ministry but these never see the light of the day, and no feedback whatsoever is given to them.”

Apart from being a script writer, Nkhabu wears several other caps. Among them is being an Information Officer with the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship.

He is paving his way into motivational and inspirational speaking and counselling, skills he said he learned from his late parents.

“Fortunately, I am already engaging in showcasing myself and have featured in 11 radio programmes locally from motivation and counselling, healthy lifestyles, relationships, workplace motivation, HIV/AIDS to spirituality.”

He joined the Ministry in 2003 and was assigned to the health desk to be the focal person in coordinating a programme linking councils to line-Ministries, key being the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Gender.

“Most of my work on HIV/AIDS is implemented under the coordination of the National AIDS Commission (NAC),” he said.

He has been trained on the job on various health related issues and obtained a certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation for Excellency in HIV and AIDS Response, a short course done at the University of Pretoria.

He also has a Certificate in Psychosocial Counseling issued by the Institute of Development Management (IDM-Lesotho). Nkhabu holds a Certificate in Palliative Care for Children and was trained by the Ministry of Health and completed the practical part of the training in Bloemfontein at the Pelonomi Hospital.

'Mapule Motsopa

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