Remembering Prof Kgomotso Masemola

On Saturday evening, I received a WhatsApp text about the passing of our wordsmith, comrade, friend, colleague, and my prayer partner, Professor Tso Kgomotso Masemola. Out of disbelief and denial, I texted his wife, Busi, on Sunday morning, hoping it was fake news. Even though I visited and prayed at his bedside in the Intensive Care Unit at the Pretoria Heart Hospital, I still couldn't believe the reality of the news. I was hopeful that he would open his eyes and speak someday. 

Professors Kgomotso Masemola (late) and Edith Dinong Phaswana

Before joining the Vaal University of Technology, Masemola was Unisa's Executive Dean of the College of Human Sciences (CHS). His intellectual home was the English Department, where he served as a professor of English Literature. He was a great tower who lived up to the demands of the position. He further led the Quality Assurance Division at CHS and rose to become the Dean until he left for the Vaal University of Technology in August 2022. I served with him on various selection committees here at Unisa. We were also representatives in some senate committees, and he would put on his cap as an African scholar in these meetings, pushing the frontiers of African epistemologies and philosophies. 

Certainly, Masemola's memory is still fresh with all of us here at Unisa. We remember him as our wordsmith; even when he presided over events as a programme director, he would leave heads spinning and elevate the Queen's language to greater heights. Sometimes, I would tease him and say Tau a ke a go kwa wa tseba o reng na o ntsha sa Sheffield ka dinko. He would then laugh and say: "Professori mola ke tshepile wena ka sa London." These were our cordial jokes. A great human being he was.

I knew Masemola before I joined Unisa through the Tshwane School of Thought known as the Africa Decolonial Research Network – an excellent movement in the contemporary moment that catalysed much thinking on decolonial epistemic thought in South Africa. Professors Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni and Rosemary Mooketsi introduced me to him. I found allies and intellectual partners at Unisa with this group coming from the University of Johannesburg. The group was the brainchild of Ndlovu-Gatsheni, which started with a book workshop project at Leriba Lodge. The group members were Professor Tendayi Sithole, Wendy Willems, Eddie Plaatjie, Morgan Ndlovu, and Finex Ndlovu. The group later grew and convinced the university management to host the first Decoloniality Summer School in South Africa at Unisa. 

I did not mind driving from Johannesburg to Unisa for meetings and seminars. We later made Burgers Park Hotel a place to meet and engage. We knew these engagements would be epistemically disruptive, but we were prepared. On one occasion, Masemola was brave enough to propose that he will lead a special edition in the African Journal of Rhetoric, which he did and was published in 2014. We would meet informally for long hours, discussing and debating with Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Morgan Ndlovu, William Mpofu, Akhona Nkekana, Thando Songwevu, Everisto Bengera and many others who joined later. 

I used to call  Masemola Tau, Samma, Wesu after learning that we both have roots in Soweto and  Limpopo. He used to say to me: "Ba ska mpapalla nna ke Tau ya Tswako! Gaba ntsebe!" I cannot forget how we were there for one another during the difficult times of COVID-19 when it hit both of us. We would share COVID concoctions, scripture texts and gospel music via WhatsApp. He later lost his mother, which greatly devastated him, but prayer was his solace. I remember how grateful he was that he could bury his mother despite his weak physical health due to COVID at the time. Tso was a prayer warrior. Even when I faced challenges, he would reach out to me, saying: "Professori, have you forgotten Yahweh is in control? Please don't despair. Remember how he fought my battles?"

World-renowned and pan-African Professor Kgomotso Masemola (late)

We will remember Tso as a world-renowned erudite scholar, a highly sophisticated academic, a prolific author, and a world-class pan-African theorist. If anything, Tso was a workaholic and an intellectual par excellence who reached global stature in citation indexes publishing in high-impact journals. Locally, he reached the NRF B-rating quickly because he was never afraid of pushing the boundaries of English literature by inserting decolonised global knowledge in his field.

When I coined the concept of Afrodecoloniality in my pedagogy and discussed it with comrades, he was the first to say Professori; please write and copyright this robust framework; they will steal it. He then cited it in his journal article in the Black Studies, arguing that he is protecting me. He led many projects on this, including leading a special edition of the African Journal of Rhetoric as early as 2014.

Not only was Tso a deep thinker in academic debates, but when the social activities started, you could not match his dancing skills. How can I forget his love for finer things in life – even tenderpreneurs could not match his dress style, wristwatches, cigars, fine dining, and flashy cars! Importantly, Masemola loved his family, especially his wife Bubu and his daughter Kitso. He would brag about Kitso's achievements and brilliance – a proud father who liked showering his daughter with fancy gifts. 

To conclude, I quote the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:10, who says: "There is no one who is righteous; we will all be saved by grace." I quote this because it was his belief, too. I am grateful that in our imperfections, we have intercessors. My friend Tso had a chance to be interceded for by many, including myself. Many pastors visited his bedside, and therefore, resurrection is guaranteed.

Until that glorious morning, good night Professori. Joy will come in the morning. Someone said: "Memories are a gift from God; that even death cannot erase." Your memories will remain with us. Robala ka khutso Tau ya Tswako!

To read Masemola's last interview at Unisa,  click here.

* Tribute by Professor Edith Dinong Phaswana