17 Dec 2024

The author of three Setswana books, Nkululeko Jackson has on Saturday scooped two prestigious awards at the 2024 Literature Awards in Gaborone.

Jackson retained the Best Setswana Novel Award, which he won in 2023 and won the 2024 Best Overall Male Author.

Jackson, aged 45 and a teacher at Boteti House Primary School in Orapa, has authored Sephiri sa Mosadi, Matsale wa Moloi and Mosadi Thipa.

In an interview on the sidelines of the 2024 Literature Awards Ceremony, he said his love for writing stemmed form the love he had for Setswana language.

 He said he was also inspired by everyday events, people’s lives and the general news that he felt was worth communicating by writing.

“Santlha ke go rata teme ya gaetsho ya Setswana, e a nnatehelela. Mo gongwe ke ditiragalo tse re di bonang di diragala hela mo botshelong o bona hale go reng, hale go reng o bo o kopanya o itirela dikgang tse eleng tsa gago. Tse dingwe di a go tlela e tla ekete ke toro , tse dingwe e tla ekete ke dikakanyo. Mo gongwe o tlotla le batho hela o bo o lemoga gore o le are, o le a re, o bo o kopanya go bo go tswa padi,” loosely translated that it was his love for Setswana that had encouraged him to write about eveyday life activities. 

He said Sephiri sa Mosadi was his debut followed by Matsale wa Moloi while he released Mosadi Thipa this year.  Also, he said he was writing two Setswana novels simultaneously. He said he planned to publish a book every year, and hoped to inspire young and upcoming authors.

“Ke solohela gore ba nkgaise. Santlha ba se rate Setswana. Re bone e le gore le mo maranyane a Facebook e re ha motho a dira post, a e kwale ka Setswana. Re solohela re bone gongwe e re ha ba kwala ba kwale ka Setswana se. Le go se bala tota, ba se bale le go se reetsa mo Radiong, ba se reetse.”, meaning he hoped to inspire other authors to do better than him and that he hoped to see posts on socials such as Facebook written in Setswana. 

He also said he was trying to inspire those who wanted to grow in Setswana to have access to the language by means of hearing and comprehension.

“Ke mo dithulaganyong tsa go dira mo go tweng an audio book. Mo e leng gore o tlaa bo o reetsa lentswe le gatisitsweng le go balela buka. E bo go nna jaaka ekete o reeditse pina mo Radiong e bo wena o bala ka theetso,” he said, meaning that he was in the process of producing an audio book, where one would listen to a voice reading the book for the readers like they were listening to music on radio. Ends