This piece, composed by Dr. Tshepo Mvulane Moloi, draws upon the comprehensive media tributes that accompanied Professor Noel Chabani Manganyi’s memorial and funeral services.

The memorial service took place on 6 November 2024 at the Bryanston Methodist Church, with the esteemed Prof. Tinyiko Maluleka, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the Tshwane University of Technology, serving as the master of ceremonies.

The bond between Prof. Maluleka and Prof. Manganyi grew stronger following Maluleka’s appointment as Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria, where Prof. Manganyi held a position on the board.

In the tribute booklet distributed during Prof. Manganyi’s funeral on 8 November 2024 at St. Michael’s Anglican Church in Bryanston, celebrated Black Consciousness leader, Prof. Barney Pityana, former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of UNISA from 2001-2010, provided his heartfelt tribute.

Former interim Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, Prof. Themba Mosia, also made a significant appearance among the guest speakers at the funeral.

It was noted during both the memorial and the funeral that Prof. Manganyi passed away on 3 October 2024, after battling a prolonged illness associated with a type of dementia.

This article aims to serve as a brief introduction to an upcoming chapter that will explore Prof. Manganyi’s vital contributions as the often-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 of Yugoslavian origin, who released her book, ‘Ezekiel Mphahlele,’ in 1976, the same year she first met Manganyi.

Personally, I learned of the sad news regarding Prof. Manganyi’s death while engaged in two activities that were indirectly linked to him.

The first was finalizing plans for the centenary celebration of my alma mater, the first boys’ school established in Johannesburg.

Originally named Sacred Heart School, the institution is now more widely known as Marist Brothers College, founded in 1889 on Koch Street.

After relocating to Eckstein Street in Observatory in 1924, it was renamed Sacred Heart College in 1980.

A significant historical connection exists between Prof. Manganyi and Sacred Heart College through his daughters, Tintswalo and Nkensani Manganyi (the well-known founder of the ‘Stoned Cherrie’ fashion brand), who both attended the school; Tintswalo graduated in 1985, followed by Nkensani in 1991.

The Manganyi family joined other families to celebrate the school’s centenary on 30 November 2024 as part of the SHC alumni.

The second task I was handling was the preparation for my 9th public lecture titled ‘Studying Zeke’s Ideology of African Humanism as a Possible Contribution towards the Discipline of African Philosophy,’ scheduled to take place at Funda Community College in Diepkloof, Soweto, on 21 November 2024.

This lecture is part of a series of ten lectures commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Funda Community College (1984-2024). My second lecture, ‘Es’kia Mphahlele’s Life Story: Narratives led by Ursula Barnett and Chabani Manganyi,’ occurred on 19 April 2024.

In that lecture, I contextualized both Dr. Barnett’s and Prof. Manganyi’s biographies of Prof. Mphahlele, emphasizing that Dr. Barnett approached her subject 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 accomplishments as one of South Africa’s pioneering intellectuals and activists, who used his training as a psychologist to enhance the educational environment in the country.

My interest in Prof. Manganyi’s oeuvre particularly centers on his lesser-known biographical works apart from his notable work ‘Being-Black in the World’ (1973), as noted in various tributes that have seldom highlighted his biographies of Prof. Mphahlele.

These include ‘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 an updated version of the latter co-edited with Prof. David Attwell in 2010.

After reviewing numerous tributes to Prof. Manganyi during the first week of November 2024, I was struck by a common theme—many tributes significantly downplayed his influential role as a biographer-historian, which is a source of concern for me.

To underscore my perspective, I would like to paraphrase a contemporary black female psychology lecturer, Dr. Mpho Mathebula, from the University of Witwatersrand (WITS), as expressed in her online article published on 8 November 2024.

She asserts that Prof. Manganyi holds significance as South Africa’s “first registered black clinical psychologist trained during Apartheid” and as an “intellectual biographer” (Mathebula, 2024).

While this recognition is valid, I remain concerned about the insufficient acknowledgment of Prof. Manganyi’s role as a biographer, which may deprive readers of understanding his contributions in that domain.

Furthermore, I am troubled that Dr. Mathebula’s tribute follows sources that also inadequately elaborate on Prof. Manganyi’s biographical endeavors.

A review of numerous sources, ranging from media statements to individual articles, supports my viewpoint. Media statements from Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Prof. Blade Nzimande and WITS, both dated 5 November 2024, reflect this sentiment.

Tributes from Black Consciousness proponents like Prof. Ranwedzi Nengwekhulu (City Press, 10 November 2024, p. 15) and Prof. Barney Pityana (Obituary, 8 November 2024) emphasized the intellectual contributions of the Tsonga Nation.

Further evidence of the mentioned trends can be seen in statements published on 6 November 2024, which remarked on his biographical publications, including those on painter Gerard Sekoto source, describing 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 reflects these generalizations.

Maluleka’s comments echo Prof. Jonathan Jansen’s 2018 review of Manganyi’s memoir ‘Apartheid and the Making of a Black Psychologist (2018),’ which garnered the ‘2018 ASSAf Humanities Book Award.’ Maluleka noted, “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 issues raised by these observations will serve 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.