The Post

Small steps to face her grief

POST REPORTER

LOUISA Zondo is a lawyer and political activist who has held a number of high-profile roles in public life.

She served as the deputy executive director of the Constitutional Assembly during South Africa’s transition from apartheid and went on to become the chief executive of the South African Human Rights Commission in 1996.

Zondo subsequently held a number of senior roles in public and non-profit sector organisations, most recently as acting executive director of Oxfam South Africa.

Along with other members of her family, she is involved in establishing the Riky Rick Foundation in memory of her son Rikhado Makhado (Riky Rick), a rapper, singer and songwriter who took his own life in February last year.

Zondo’s work has helped to shape the new SA, but she has also faced grief and trauma, which came from the underside of the emerging nation’s complex social fabric.

As mother of the much-loved music star, Zondo’s loss was shared by millions. The loss of her beloved MaRiky also brought to the surface cataclysmic trauma from her past.

As she takes her first small steps to facing her grief, she finds herself speaking to her son in a series of letters in her memoir Dearest MaRiky: A Mother’s Journey through Grief, Trauma and Healing, gradually finding the words to express her love for him, and the pain of losing him.

In expressing that love, she tells the story of her own life and the experiences that shaped her.

This journey brings Zondo to a deeper understanding of her life’s path, and closer to healing.

Opinion Post

en-za

2023-05-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thepostza.pressreader.com/article/281818583211623

African News Agency