She's one of the country's busiest multihyphenates. She is a businesswoman, owns football club Royal AM and is a mother.
Now she add a new title to her list of accolades – Shauwn “Mamkhize” Mkhize the author.
Together with African Perspectives Publishing, she is set to release a memoir entitled My World, My Rules, a tell-all memoir on her upbringing, her relationship with her parents, motherhood, and briefly on her marriage and divorce to Sbu Mpisane.
Ghost-written by seasoned journalist and author Amanda Ngudle, the book details Mamkhize’s “cloistered but privileged childhood, which was torn asunder by the assassination of her father and the subsequent quest by her brother to avenge his death”.
“Amanda Ngudle’s career as a journalist spans over 28 years. She was part of the team including African Perspectives who are one of the country’s first black-owned publishing house, led by communications strategist Rose Francis,” she tells Drum.
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Mamkhize says her memoir is to remove any speculations about her life.
“For far too long, there have been stories and accounts of my life that are factually incorrect,” she says.
“Some media and people have constantly chosen to portray a negative narrative about my life. This book is my way of saying to the world, this is who I am, these are the experiences that have shaped me, and this is a factual account of my life story.”
In the memoir, Mamkhize tells the story of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission from her unique point, as one of the family members of a victim.
In her larger-than-life approach to life, like her father and brother, Mamkhize sometimes feels misunderstood. In the memoir, she shares how the combination of political and business acumen runs in her family.
“I hope this book will inspire and bring hope to any black child who is faced with obstacles, who is working hard and hustling to make a success of their lives,” she says.
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From My World, My Rules
Dear Baba: “You were gone too soon, dad. They say life begins at 40 and ironically, that’s when yours was ended. I remember your ways like you never left. If I knew that the day at the Umbumbulu police station holding cells would be our last together, I would have at least taken a photo even though it would have burnt down with the house like the rest of our precious possessions. If money could buy a life, I would spend my life working day and night to make sure you stayed because I refuse to believe that your job was done on earth; you still had so much to offer.”
Mom: “In my colliding memories, I sadly always recall that fateful night; the one that altered our lives forever. Was dad watching it all from above? Did he see his friend pleading with you and saying he would take us without you if you chose to stay behind? What about when you came running in your nightgown at the eleventh hour? You were a force yazi mah? It is not my wish to worry you about what should have happened, but I wish I had asked and told you about these things in the aftermath. I should have told you it was not until morning that sleep finally came. I spent the entire night tossing and turning, in total disbelief of what had befallen us. How like a thief in the night, we had been robbed of our lives."
