Putco Mafani: The Price and Prize of Greatness. Putco Mafani
great respect for the lecturers who followed the University of Transkei’s three-year teaching curriculum strictly and with passion: the likes of Mfeka, Hlubi, Professor Du Buisson, Nontando Dube and many more come to mind. Pastor Chapman Mphuthumi Ntlonze, who happened to be an ex-Bethelite, was also my mentor and role model and his unorthodox ways and his approach to his calling were a wonder to me. Apart from our sharing the same name, Mputumi, I was humbled to discover he reciprocated the respect I had for him and had followed my career.
Professor Du Buisson was our lecturer for educational psychology. He also took us for principles of teaching and child development. He was a walking encyclopaedia. He knew the Greek philosophy of raising a child, which was part of the curriculum. A quiet man, very softly spoken, he had amazing methods. He had such knowledge, and the moment he opened his mouth, you listened.
Professor Du Buisson was white, but there was no visible friction between the black and white teachers. This was because they were all Adventists and we were under the government of the Transkei. They acted as one big family.
I remember that Nontando Dube was a walking calculator, brilliant in commercial subjects. She was the lioness of commerce. Nontando got married on campus to Ace Dube and invited all the students. Saswanker blind lomini leyo – we put on our best clothes that day. Getting married on campus had an element of convenience, but they also both wanted us to be guests.
With its beautiful history as a school, Bethel College has a good reputation of morality based on its Christian principles and has produced some of South Africa’s most prominent personalities. Bethel was strict – so strict you could smell wrongdoing even before you set your eyes on it. It was the holy ground and all citizens of the Transkei, Ciskei and other areas of the Eastern Cape, and generally South Africa, regarded it this way.
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These teachers and mentors sharpened my talents. I believed that once I left school with full qualifications, I would be able to achieve whatever I set my mind to in the outside world.
Then, on the South African TV screen, I encountered other exBethelites like my campus ‘mom’ Noxolo Grootboom, who recalls with a broad smile:
‘Wayendwebile’ – he was an extrovert. Putco had long had this unique voice with a hint of hoarseness. I am convinced that the broadcast bug started biting him in high school, and the late radio veteran Dambile Tuswa must have been his role model because when he spoke, I picked up a bit of Dambile Tuswa in his tone . . . not a bad thing at all.
Some readers might know the Baby-Mums game. Well, he was my ‘Baby’ and to him I was ‘Mums’. This meant he had a ‘mother’ figure in the girls’ dormitory. This was someone you confided in. Maybe about things that had to do with love affairs. Putco would come to me typically as my baby and I would advise him on life matters. If he needed something, he knew to come to me anytime. The good thing is that I am still Mums and he is still my Baby. Even to his wife, I am simply Mums. To his former colleagues at iBreakfast Eyondlayo Ekuseni, I was simply Mums and am still Mums long after Putco left the station. One thing I never doubted about him while at Bethel was that he was going to go far in life.
The darling of black TV in the ’80s, Lunga Williams, says:
Observing Mputumi’s movements on campus, I saw he showed signs of leadership as he was always surrounded by his peers who seemed to be attracted to him. During the weekends at Bethel, we usually had entertainment on Saturday nights. One of the activities that used to take place was a ‘Talent Night’. This is where Mputumi showed his talent as a radio commentator. He used to narrate soccer commentaries – commentating on imaginary players on the soccer field – and that amused the audience of students and staff. On the spiritual side, he joined the Master Guide leadership course under my tutorship, and he passed this with a good grade and was awarded the Master Guide certificate.
Mr GB Yaze, former deputy principal at Bethel College, says:
Putco was a bell-ringer – a very prestigious and responsible post in our world. This meant that he was the timekeeper for the entire college, responsible for waking us up, determining when prayers started and ended, when classes resumed and ended, when meals were served, when to study, and when lights went out on campus. He controlled our lives through that bell and we all relied on it to know what was happening. This duty he executed faultlessly and not even one day did he run late or miss an appointment.
Pastor Mputhumi Ntlonze explains:
Mputumi Mafani, from a young age, was very active and energetic. His environment seemed to be too slow for him. Talking, unless combined with action, was never sufficient for him. He would rather be found taking an action than be found doing nothing. He was often criticised but those who criticised him could not cope with his zeal and vigour. The point of finishing something was always a point of starting something else for him. He must have been jumpy before birth, impatient with waiting within the confines of the womb. Maybe before birth he was a student of Leonardo da Vinci, who said: ‘I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.’ Every time I met him, I could not help but see a person in him who had a potential for the fulfilment of the statement by the writer Ellen White, who said: ‘To plan with clear mind and execute with courageous hand demands fresh, uncrippled energies. Young men and women are invited to give God the strength of their youth, that through the exercise of their powers, through keen thought and vigorous action, they may bring glory to Him and salvation to their fellow men.’ (Messages to Young People)
Putco’s padkos
We are all born with a moral conscience that tells us what is right and what is wrong. When that conscience is aided by the moral reputation of a good school, the learners are set up for life and can journey on the rough tracks and the smooth paths in confidence and dignity.
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