RENOWNED Sesotho author, actor, and playwright, Khotso Nkhatho was last week conferred with an Honorary Doctorate in Communication and Language Practice by the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State at the class of 2020 Virtual graduation ceremony.
society
May 7, 2021
KABELO MASOABI
3 min read
Legendary Sesotho actor, Khotso Nkhatho honoured
Iconic Sesotho author and actor Dr Khotso Nkhatho
The much celebrated Mosotho actor born in South Africa was acknowledged for his role in shaping and promoting Sesotho language via drama and books he has written in the past four decades.
"Dr Nkhatho is a great ambassador for our province. He is a qualified educator, which is what the CUT Faculty of Humanities strives to produce with students who enroll for further studies in education. As the University is currently revising its language policy, Dr Nkhatho’s experience and knowledge of Sesotho and acting represent what the faculty strives to achieve.
"From the Department of Communication Sciences, to the Department of Design and Studio Art, Khotso Nkhatho’s influence has left an indelible mark. Dr Nkhatho seeks to develop upcoming artists, who often include CUT students, as he usually casts them in his Sesotho plays, which are broadcast on Lesedi FM," reads a presser by the university.
Born in Ventersburg in the Free State Province in 1953, he matriculated from Tshiya College of Education in QwaQwa in 1973. He then pursued a Junior Secondary Teachers’ Certificate at the Tshiya College of Education in QwaQwa in 1975 and thereafter, obtained diplomas in Senior Education and Higher Education at the then Vista University.
Dr Nkhatho started acting at the age of 15, in school dramas commonly known as sketches. He continued to pursue his passion for acting at college in QwaQwa, where he trained as a teacher. Here, he established a reputation amongst students as a popular actor, playing lead roles in most of the stage productions in which he was cast.
In October 1977, Dr Nkhatho left the teaching profession to become a fulltime radio announcer, newsreader and producer at the South African Broadcasting Commission (SABC) and has been there since.
Lead roles he played in memorable dramas such as Mopheme (1989) and Mmalonya (1992) confirmed his reputation as the finest Sesotho-speaking actor on local television.
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Such is his veneration for his mother tongue that he has never acted in another language.
He played different characters in 19 episodes on SABC2 during the Mopheme series, written by Sebolai Matlosa of Mafeteng, Lesotho.
“I played about six characters: Tšitso, Mopheme, Metsi, Lirahalibonoe and Motsamai in the television series Mopheme. Mopheme’s father was killed and his mother died from poisoning. Mopheme’s stepmother was very cruel and she took everything that belonged to Mopheme. The boy had a difficult life. Even today people who used to watch Mopheme on SABC2, still call me Mopheme, Tšitso, Metsi or Lirahalibonoe,” he told the media.
"He is a legend admired by a lot of people. Be it radio or TV drama - he perfects his act. Mopheme has been watched repeatedly on TV, youtube and DVDs played often in buses ferrying passengers in Lesotho. Even though Nkhato was born in the Free State, we consider him as our own in Lesotho because we share same ancestors," said a local actor, Mobatsi Sekonyela.
Nkhatho has also published a book called Ke Etse Jwang? which is a Sesotho drama about abortion. The story is about a lady who is about to get married but is impregnated by another boyfriend so she decides to illegally abort her unborn child. The theme is her confusion of not knowing whether to do the abortion or to tell the man who wants to marry her, about it. The book was read by Grade 12 learners in 2002.”
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