Kaizer Nengovhela wins Mathatha Tsedu award

A long-time correspondent of Limpopo Mirror, Kaizer Nengovhela, received the Mathatha Tsedu Award for his work in the field of journalism in the province.

This was during the inaugural Limpopo Media and Communicators Awards ceremony held at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane last Thursday evening.

The award came with a R 5000 cash prize, a certificate and a Samsung tablet.

Nengovhela said that the award served as a kind of recognition, "which indicated that people out there were appreciating the work that journalists are doing. I have received this award with a warm and happy heart,” said Nengovhela.

“We take pictures of the homeless and victims of natural disasters and print them in newspapers and also forward them to our municipalities and MECs for consideration. Most of those poor people eventually get help because of the stories we write.”

He further thanked his editor, Mr Wikus Lee, and the team at Limpopo Mirror for the good working environment which was conducive for journalists to write and publish life-affirming stories. “I thank my super senior, Mr Frank Mavhungu, who mentored me as a sports journalist,” he said. “All I can say to journalists and aspiring journalists is that you must report truthfully, factually and tackle your job boldly without any fear or taking sides.”

The CEO of Limpopo News, who also is the CEO of the Limpopo Media and Communicators Awards, Mr Matodzi Makananisa, said it was not difficult to decide on Nengovhela as the recipient of the Mathatha Tsedu Award. “Nengovhela is a perfect example of a passionate newshound who derives pleasure from serving his community,” Makananisa said. “This is what we seek to recognise with this award.”

Nengovhela started working at Phala Phala FM as sport freelancer between 1993 and 1997, reporting on local sports. He joined Limpopo Mirror around 2000. "When he started atLimpopo Mirror, he was submitting stories written on paper, because computers were a scarce resource back then,” Makananisa described Nengovhela's passion. "He travelled the length and breadth of Vhembe in pursuit of a good story, relying on lifts."

The veteran journalist Mr Mathatha Tsedu said that there was hope in journalism and telling the public all those untold stories.

“Our people never forget and will always find a way to encourage you to do better each day,” he said of the recipient of the award named to honour him. “I went into journalism by chance and not design, and worked using public phones to contact sources and get comment as well as file copy. I used taxis and buses to get to far-flung places in search of stories that would tell the struggles of our people, and provide hope that a better tomorrow was possible. I wrote my stories from park benches and restaurants.”

The guest speaker, MEC for Agriculture Ms Joy Matshoge, stated to the journalists that "whether you write or report on health, economics, politics, lifestyle, sport, entertainment, you should do this in such a way that you take people into new ways of thinking and feeling stronger about themselves. Go about your work with a good head and in everything you do as you engage with people, let the goodness in your heart prevail.”

Date:04 December 2014

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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