How would you describe your childhood in Lugelweni in the Eastern Cape?
I was one of six children — three boys and three girls — and we had an average village childhood experience. We had livestock, so I was a herd boy, and we attended the same school where my mother was a teacher.
We had to duck and dive when she insisted we do our homework because we were reading boxing magazines instead [laughs]. My father wanted us to become professional boxers, but my mother insisted that we study and obtain degrees.
I come from an African royal family, so we have a traditional, Christian and agricultural village heritage.
For example, when the lockdown was announced last year, I suggested to my wife and kids that we replace all the flowers in the garden with vegetables, and that project worked out quite well.
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