This article, authored by Dr. Tshepo Mvulane Moloi, draws upon the significant media reflections following Professor Noel Chabani Manganyi’s memorial service and funeral.
The memorial service took place on 6 November 2024 at the Bryanston Methodist Church, where the master of ceremonies role was fulfilled by Prof. Tinyiko Maluleka, the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the Tshwane University of Technology.
The bond between Prof. Maluleka and Prof. Manganyi strengthened when he took on the role of Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria, where Prof. Manganyi was a board member.
In the tribute booklet distributed during Prof. Manganyi’s funeral on 8 November 2024 at St. Michael’s Anglican Church in Bryanston, eminent Black Consciousness advocate Prof. Barney Pityana, the former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of UNISA from 2001 to 2010, shared his heartfelt tribute.
Additionally, former interim Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, Prof. Themba Mosia, was a notable presence among the guest speakers at the funeral.
It was acknowledged at both the memorial service and funeral that Prof. Manganyi passed away on 3 October 2024 due to a prolonged illness related to a type of dementia.
This article serves as a brief introduction to an upcoming chapter that will explore Prof. Manganyi’s vital contributions as the frequently overlooked second biographer of Prof. Es’kia Mphahlele (1919-2008).
The first biographer of Mphahlele was Dr. Ursula Barnett (1925-2016), a South African critic born in Yugoslavia, who released her book titled ‘Ezekiel Mphahlele’ in 1976, the same year she first met Manganyi.
On a personal note, I received the sorrowful news regarding Prof. Manganyi’s passing while partaking in two separate activities, both indirectly related to him.
The first was my involvement in finalizing preparations for my alma mater’s centenary celebration, marking the establishment of the first boys’ school in Johannesburg.
Originally named Sacred Heart School, it is now more commonly referred to as Marist Brothers College, which was founded in 1889 on Koch Street.
After its move to Eckstein Street in Observatory in 1924, the school was renamed Sacred Heart College in 1980.
A notable historical link between Prof. Manganyi and Sacred Heart College lies in his daughters, Tintswalo and Nkensani Manganyi (who is well-known as the founder of the ‘Stoned Cherrie’ fashion brand), both of whom attended the school; Tintswalo graduated in 1985, followed by Nkensani in 1991.
The Manganyi family, as part of the SHC alumni, joined numerous other families to celebrate the school’s centenary on 30 November 2024.
The second activity involved the preparations for my 9th public lecture titled ‘Studying Zeke’s Ideology of African Humanism as a Possible Contribution towards the Discipline of African Philosophy,’ scheduled at Funda Community College in Diepkloof, Soweto, on 21 November 2024.
This lecture forms part of a series of ten lectures commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Funda Community College (1984-2024), with my second lecture, titled ‘Es’kia Mphahlele’s Life Story: Narratives led by Ursula Barnett and Chabani Manganyi,’ having occurred on 19 April 2024.
During that session, I contextualized both Dr. Barnett’s and Prof. Manganyi’s biographies of Prof. Mphahlele, noting Dr. Barnett’s approach as a literary critic, whereas Prof. Manganyi utilized a life-story methodology.
Prof. Manganyi’s profile on the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) website highlights his remarkable achievements as one of South Africa’s pioneering intellectuals and activists, who used his background in psychology to enhance the educational framework in South Africa.
My interest in Prof. Manganyi’s oeuvre focuses especially on his lesser-known biographical works beyond his influential text ‘Being-Black in the World’ (1973), highlighted in various tributes that seldom mention his biographies of Prof. Mphahlele.
These projects encompass ‘Exiles and Homecoming: A Biography of Es’kia Mphahlele (1984),’ ‘Bury Me at the Marketplace: Selected Letters of Es’kia Mphahlele 1943-1980 (1984),’ and a revised edition of the latter co-edited with Prof. David Attwell in 2010.
After reviewing several tributes to Prof. Manganyi during the first week of November 2024, I was struck by a common theme—most tributes failed to adequately highlight his essential role as a biographer-historian, which caused me some concern.
To illustrate my point, I would like to paraphrase a contemporary black female psychology lecturer, Dr. Mpho Mathebula, from the University of Witwatersrand (WITS), as noted in her online article published on 8 November 2024.
According to her, Prof. Manganyi is particularly significant for being South Africa’s “first registered black clinical psychologist trained during Apartheid” and an “intellectual biographer” (Mathebula, 2024).
While this recognition is important, I remain troubled by the insufficient emphasis on Prof. Manganyi as a biographer, which potentially denies readers valuable insights into his contributions in this arena.
Furthermore, I am concerned that Dr. Mathebula’s tribute follows sources that similarly fail to thoroughly elaborate on Prof. Manganyi’s biographical endeavors.
A review of different sources, from media statements to individual articles, supports my observation. Notably, statements from Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Prof. Blade Nzimande and WITS, both released on 5 November 2024, echoed this sentiment.
Tributes from Black Consciousness advocates like Prof. Ranwedzi Nengwekhulu (City Press, 10 November 2024, p. 15) and Prof. Barney Pityana (Obituary, 8 November 2024) underscored the intellectual contributions of the Tsonga Nation.
Further validation of these observations can be found in statements published on 6 November 2024, reflecting on his biography publications, including works on painter Gerard Sekoto source, and characterizing him as “a prolific author whose works—biographies, memoirs, and analyses—are foundational in South African literature and psychology” source.
Prof. Maluleka’s tribute published on 6 November 2024 in the Daily Maverick also reflects these overarching generalizations.
Maluleka’s commentary resonates with Prof. Jonathan Jansen’s 2018 review of Manganyi’s memoir ‘Apartheid and the Making of a Black Psychologist (2018),’ which won the ‘2018 ASSAf Humanities Book Award.’ Maluleka mentioned that “Writing is ultimately autobiographical, and none more so than Chabani Manganyi’s writing. In fact, Manganyi was a master biographer… He has given us five biographies in total—two autobiographies and the biographies of Mphahlele, Dumile Feni, and Gerald Sekoto—along with his other paradigm-shifting monographs.”
(source).
Addressing the gaps raised by these observations will stand as my tribute to Prof. Manganyi.
Rest in peace, Chabani Manganyi wa Mavambe wa Khutla wa Mukhane wa Bungu wa Mulekale wa Nsindavani wa Ripindzi ro phasa homu na rhole. Magoda! Manganyi!
*Dr. Tshepo Mvulane Moloi, Chairperson of Funda Community College, is the author of this article. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of The Bulrushes.
