In Mepipi ka moka e a na the main character is named Magauta, which in the context of the story means “gold-digger”.
The book revolves around her obsession with the “high life” and money. To maintain her expensive lifestyle and tastes she devises devious ways of making money.
Magauta is from an ordinary background in rural Polokwane, Limpopo. She ditches her first husband and relocates to Gauteng where she marries Magagula. But their marriage is short-lived because he does not have deep pockets.
She then throws herself into the arms of a Nelspruit-based drug lord, who satisfies all her material needs. They buy an expensively built and furnished villa worth R15-million, but tragedy strikes when the police seize all his assets. It marks the beginning of the end of Magauta’s lavish life. Stripped of all her money, she treks to Limpopo and settles in a village in Modimolle.
Here she starts her life from scratch, building a brothel as a quick way of earning cash. She hires local girls as escorts and sometimes she “services” clients herself. The village is shocked to the core and strongly objects to her “business” because of the negative influence it will have on the children. A community meeting is convened where the decision is taken to drive her out of the village and torch her house.
The moral of the story is that “all that glitters is not gold”. Magauta leads a life to which almost everyone aspires, but she uses illicit and immoral ways to secure this lifestyle. Thus she sets a bad example that should not be followed. The theme of the book speaks to a generation that attaches huge significance to materialism and “bling”.
The theme is in line with the critical outcomes as set out in national curriculum statements such as “be culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts”. The book also encourages sensitivity between traditional and modern cultures. The characters are well and clearly described and their names suit the roles they play in the story.
Based on the language used I recommend the book for further education and training learners (grades 10 and 11). Teachers must ensure they warn learners against a materialistic culture by pointing out the tragic way in which Magauta’s life ends.
Mepipi ka moka e a na by Aletta Motimele
(Maskew Miller Longman) retails for R54,95.