Native Boy: Confessions of a Maplazini in the City by Thabo A Molefe is out in April 2021 from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

‘When we moved from the farm, my mother was especially concerned about my survival. How would her youngest child negotiate the drama of township life; how would he transform from a suspected maplazini to an accepted urban, township boy?’

As a child, Thabo Abram Molefe, along with his family, is impelled into the apartheid-era tradition of rural-to-urban transition.

Moving from a farm to a multi-ethnic and vibrant township in the heart of Heidelberg, the birthplace of Eugene Terre’Blanche’s AWB, proves to be both a challenge and an adventure as he works to evade the nickname that has followed him as a result – ‘maplazini’, Sotho for dumb country bumpkin.

Native Boy explores a young man’s complex relationship with identity and race, seen through the lens of township life. Moreover, it is about his journey to escape the socio-economic trap of the apartheid regime to forever limit the black man to a life of hardship.

Mixing intelligent critique with candid humour, Molefe’s memoir shines light on the experience of being black in South Africa, both during apartheid and after, and the material and psychological legacies of its policies.

‘An honest, touching and important read.’ – Dr Peet van Aardt, author and lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of the Free State.

About the author

Thabo Abram Molefe is an independent consultant and business improvement professional with a deep affinity for South African art and culture. His work spans more than a decade in the local government, oil and gas, logistics, mining and financial services sectors of South Africa. He holds qualifications in business and technology from Unisa, Wits and Pretoria universities. Thabo is also Founder and Principal Consultant at Vintage Artifact, a consulting services & natural stone processing, design and manufacturing company. This is his first book.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

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