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So long, Sowetan. It's been an honour and a privilege

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These past few days have felt like the end of an era for me. Just as I was preparing for what was going to be my final week as editor of Sowetan, someone very dear to me passed away.

I had known Dr James Khuthala Mabuza for almost two decades and, over the years, I could even refer to him as my Gauteng"baba". His family accepted and treated me as one of their own.

A school teacher and an academic by profession, Mabuza had a way of educating you without saying much. This soft-spoken man with a down-to-earth personality would ask you questions during a discussion that would force you to read up some more on a subject matter you thought you were an expert on. It was from such conversations that I rediscovered my love for essay and short-story writing, as well as the freedom that comes with writing in one's mother tongue. It was also from such discussions that I began to appreciate anew the role black writers and black publications are supposed to be playing as a voice of our communities and champions of good social causes.

Like many newspaper readers of his generation, Mabuza was concerned about the tabloidisation of newspapers, especially publications targeted at black audiences.

 

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