Kenny Mathiva, the voice of the premier

POLOKWANE – For many people who have met him, he left a lasting impression and is the kind of person who will be remembered long after he left.

To friends and colleagues he is a motivational person who keeps people positive despite what they may be facing.

“I have adopted many young people who talk to me on a daily basis. I also give career guidance, and I am a visiting media studies speaker at the University of Limpopo,” he says.

His role models are Dr Maswole Ragimana, who continues to be his inspiration, and Dr Martin Luther King Jr, whom he found inspiration from at a very early age.

He has been the spokesperson for the Limpopo premier since 2013, a job he finds both challenging and satisfying. The thing he finds most challenging about his position is that people struggle to understand he is a communicator and not a politician.

He says the one thing he cannot live without is the word of God. “The Word of God is on my lips, in my heart and on my mind. This is my survival and reason for being,” he explains.

Working closely with the media, Mathivha says is like working with family as he was a reporter himself and worked in broadcasting media, and multi- media, as well as for BBC News from 1994 to 1996.

“I was a young journalist during the homeland systems. I have seen the demise of Venda, Gazankulu and Lebowa Bantustans. I have been arrested more than three times for ‘obstructing police’ in my pursuit of the truth. I have worked internationally, in the Americas as a student journalist, and for an underground ANC publication, The Bugle. I have worked across Africa and Europe as a BBC correspondent and won the Best Talkback show host in 1994 in London. I was a correspondent of Nelson Mandela based in Cape Town, travelling with him around the world as a political reporter between 1995 to 1998. I have interviewed several presidents, from Julius Nyerere, Joachim Chissano, and Arap Moi, to Robert Mugabe. Nothing much has changed, journalists still continue their search for the truth today.”

Mathivha has also appeared in several newsletters, magazines, and television shows. He is a well-known media personality throughout South Africa.

He carries professional certificates in public management, specialising in policy development and management.

He attained a scholarship under the African National Congress (ANC) to study journalism and corporate communication and broadcasting journalism in 1990.

“I became the host at the world service of BBC in 1991 and was crowned the ‘king of talk back’,” Mathivha says.

Mathivha was also nominated for the Myles Munroe International Award in 2011 for the completion and writing of The Prophet and the Three Generals, the biography of Dr Elijah Maswangayi.

When asked to describe himself, Mathivha says he is a man who is versatile and driven. “I am a man who has gathered a lot of experience over the years and I apply it whenever I get the chance. I do not mix business with pleasure. I play hard and work smart. I also believe in having different work and business ethics. I am very spiritual. I live by the adage: ‘do unto others’,” he says.

The message he would like to give every South African is: “We need to protect the legacy of our freedom. Our children will rue us for neglecting to protect the Constitution and it’s human rights precepts. We need to be true to ourselves. I was in this country during the height of Apartheid, I am here 20 years later, post-Apartheid. There’s enough space for all of us.”

When he is not travelling to functions or addressing media inquiries, he likes to listen to music, drive sports cars, and write blogs. He loves events coordination and teaching English and journalism.

One thing not many people know about him is that he is an artist. “My first job for a newspaper was as a cartoonist. I also play bass and I am a gospel artist who occasionally sings at church. I also make music with Bishop Benjamin Dube, whom I have known since we were both 16.”