Maishe Maphonya (1951-2021) was a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

a political activist, playwright, director and poet. Maponya was born in Alexandra Township but his family was forcibly relocated to Diepkloof, Soweto in 1961.

Biography and career

Maponya was born in poverty under apartheid era in Alexandra Township, later his family was forcibly removed to

Diepkloof Diepkloof is a large zone of Soweto township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is also sometimes referred to as Diepmeadow, if considered as a single township with the nearby Meadowlands, Gauteng, Meadowlands (although there is Orlando, ...

, Soweto. His love for reading and writing was sparked at an early age, this is also when he became politically conscious and began to write poetry and stage productions that reflected the conditions of Black people in South Africa.

References

1951 births 2021 deaths 20th-century South African male actors South African dramatists and playwrights People from Alexandra, Gauteng {{SouthAfrica-writer-stub