April 10th, 2009
Archives | Interview Transcripts | Maps | Photos | Links
Interview with Mrs. Cwayita and Mr. Mandla Zituta
General Topic of Interview: Life and Education under and after Apartheid
Dates: 19 August, 2008
Location: the Zituta Family Residence, King William’s Town, South Africa
Narrator: Mrs. Cwayita Zituta and Mr. Mandla Zituta
Interviewer: Flosha Tejada
Transcriber: Unknown
Biographical Information:
Mrs. Cwayita Zituta was born to teachers in a township near Berlin. She is now a Chief Operating Officer in charge of college education and training colleges at the Department of Education.
Mr. Mandla Zituta was born on March 21, 1960, the same day as the Sharpeville Massacres. He is originally from Bizana Township. When growing up, Mr. Zituta would take care of cattle while his father worked at the docks in Durban. He attended Fort Hare University, where he and many other students were once arrested for not recognizing the then-president of the Ciskei Homeland.
Interview Information:
The Zitutas discuss the impression black inferiority that they perceive modern South African whites to have. Mrs. Zituta notes that black women are able to do more now than merely bear and raise children. Both talk about the local nature of the Black Consciousness Movement as well as its importance to black self esteem. Mrs. Zituta remembers several occasions when she experienced others’ deaths by necklacing (putting a tire filled with fuel around someones neck and lighting it). Both detail issues in the modern education system as compared with the Bantu Education system. The couple recalls several freedom songs and discusses the roles they played in motivating the anti-apartheid movement. Mr. Zituta notes the move away from apartheid-era sex and gender roles (for example, modern same-sex relationships) now allowed by South African federal law. Both discuss their desire to see street names and so forth changed to recognize neglected heroes and people.