Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh

Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh
Born 4 January 1989
Other names Vice V
Spouse(s) Sumaya Hendricks
Parent(s) Theresa Oakley-Smith; Dali Mpofu

Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh (Born 4 January 1989)[1] is a South African author, musician and activist. Mpofu-Walsh was president of the University of Cape Town Students' Representative Council in 2010.[2] He holds an MPhil from the University of Oxford.[3] In 2016, Mpofu-Walsh won the City Press-Tafelberg award for his book, Democracy and Delusion, due in 2017.[4] The book will be accompanied by a hip-hop album.

Early life

Mpofu-Walsh was born in Johannesburg, the son of a black father and a white mother. His parents were politically active in the struggle against apartheid. He attended Sacred Heart College and St John's College. He was part of the hip-hop group Entity, along with rapper AKA and Nhlanhla Makenna. He played for the Orlando Pirates Youth Academy between the ages of 13 and 16. Mpofu-Walsh spent a year living in the rural Eastern Cape village of Qugwala, before undergoing ritual Xhosa initiation in 2007.

Mpofu-Walsh attended the University of Cape Town, earning an Honours degree in Politics Philosophy and Economics in 2012. He was SRC President in 2010, where his SRC was the first to successfully challenge the university's proposed fees increase, reducing it from 12% to 8%. At UCT, he co-founded InkuluFreeHeid, a youth-led civil society organisation. He earned a Weidenfeld Scholarship to pursue a master's degree in International Relations at the University of Oxford, which he earned with distinction. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in International Relations at Oxford.

Writing and public career

Mpofu-Walsh released a viral song called ‘Mr President’, criticising South African President Jacob Zuma for corruption in 2013.[5][6] The song was featured in the Wall Street Journal.[7] That year, the Mail and Guardian named him as one of the 200 top young South Africans.[8]

He has written on the subjects of racism and corruption for South African newspaper City Press. In 2014, his article called "SA's Three-Way Split" predicted that South African politics would split into three poles.[9]

Mpofu-Walsh has been a vocal supporter of free education in South Africa. He published a chapter on a possible free education model in the book Fees Must Fall: Student Revolt, Decolonisation and Governance, published by Wits University Press.[10]

Mpofu-Walsh was also part of the Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford campaign, which aimed to highlight institutional racism at Oxford and called for a statue of Cecil Rhodes located on the Oxford High Street to be relocated.[11] Mpofu-Walsh was quoted as saying:

"There is something deeply wrong with the way Oxford presents itself, with the way it has biases against people and we are raising that and for the first time we are forcing the university to confront that problem and probably doing a better job than any generation before us."[12]

Mpofu-Walsh won the City Press-Tafelberg Award for promising non-fiction for his book Democracy and Delusion, due in August, 2017.[13][14][15]

References

  1. ↑ inspired4writers (2013-09-25). "Exclusive Interview with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh". inspired4writers. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  2. ↑ "Extend SRC's work beyond campus, says president-elect | University of Cape Town News". www.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  3. ↑ Wire, RDM News. "EFF's Mpofu a 'proud dad' as son graduates from Oxford". Times LIVE. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  4. ↑ "Debunking SA's myths". News24. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  5. ↑ "Mr President: "You wanna see a chicken run? I'll drown you in your firepool!"". The Daily Vox. 2015-05-29. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  6. ↑ Jadoo, Yadhana. "'Mr Zuma, your time is up' video goes viral". The Citizen. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  7. ↑ McGroarty, Patrick (2014-05-04). "Discord Grips Young South Africans". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  8. ↑ "Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh – 2013". 200ysa.mg.co.za. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  9. ↑ "Beyond 2014: SA's three-way split". News24. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  10. ↑ "Fees Must Fall". Wits University Press. 2016-08-31. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  11. ↑ "Patten criticism of Cecil Rhodes campaign 'scandalous', Best of Today - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  12. ↑ "Oxford is 'institutionally racist', say Rhodes Must Fall campaigners". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  13. ↑ "Literature corner: Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh exploding myths about SA politics". CapeTalk. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  14. ↑ "Literature corner: Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh exploding myths about SA politics". 702. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  15. ↑ "PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
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