Busisekile “Busie” Khumalo desribes herself as a vivacious reader who fell in love with books when she was in Grade 4.
“It opened up a whole new world that I became lost in,” Busie told The Weight She Carries. “I’m someone who is always restless, so books do have the effect of centering me.”
Her love for storytelling dates back to her early years where she would lose herself in the captivating characters and storylines of her favourite books. Years later during a low period of her life, Busie turned to writing. Today, she is a seriel author and humanitarian lawyer. We reached out to her to learn more about her journey.
Tell us more about your childhood. What would you say are the fondest memories you have?
I was a hyper child, very curious and always in everyone’s business. They called me ‘Louise, Radio Gogo, Mrs Gumede’ from the TV character played by Gloria Mudau in the popular sitcom ‘Sgudi ‘Snaysi. My fondest memories include how I would spy on our neighbour’s maid and report back to her. I called her Mamdala, and she even bought me goodies for my snitching role.
Then when I went to school I got bullied, and my Grade 1 teacher would pinch me to the point where my skin would peel off, so for the first three years of primary, I hated school until I changed teachers. I remember in Grade 4, the teacher, Mrs Mashangwa, didn’t see my hyperactivity and loudness as a bad thing. She made me class prefect and introduced me to reading and [that] was the first time I went from being an average student to being top of my class and grade.
Mrs Mashangwa and books gave me the confidence to be myself. My fondest memories include afternoons at the Bulawayo public library and reading Anne of Green Gables until I passed out while I pretended to study. My mother let me get away with it. She would see the books when she came to tuck me in, but she wouldn’t say anything.
Tell us about your journey to earning a law degree.
I was mostly an indoors kind of student. I would go from the faculty to my dorm room and binge on Korean drama series. I made some solid friendships and the lecturers referred to me as Khumalo because I would always bring them to task whenever they taught in Shona.
I developed a love for humanitarian law. I even based my dissertation on child soldiers and that love has stayed with me to date. One of my dreams is being a UN Goodwill Ambassador, and this dream was born in a tiny room in Sandton. I didn’t struggle a lot with my courses, but my strong point was always essays. I remember getting a 29/30 for an essay in, I’m no longer certain, but it was either Criminal Law or Contract Law, taught by Professor Geoff Feltoe.
The most exciting thing that ever happened to me is almost spending the night locked up in Harare Central Police Station and getting bailed out by Professor Lovemore Madhuku at around 2 a.m. Fun times.
Why did you shy away from writing, and what changed your mind?
I wouldn’t say I have ever shied away from writing; I just never saw myself as an author. When I started writing, I was at a low point in my life, being a cashier at Steers while my peers were getting registered as legal practitioners. So even when I finished writing and started growing my readership, my confidence in my writing abilities was very low. For the first time in my life nothing was going how I envisioned it would go, and my self-esteem was knocked down a peg or two.
The reception that I got from people, sold out my first 100 copies within five days, it gave me the confidence to say, ‘Okay, you can do this.’ Then the reviews came pouring in. Most were great and very personal. Hearing how a lot of women saw themselves in my work, especially Nonaswazi, it clinched the deal for me. I have been an avid reader most of my life, but I couldn’t relate to most of the characters that I read about. Being able to make people see themselves and find healing or comfort in my work, it gave me a new purpose in life.
Tell us more about the books you have written briefly.
I write African stories for African women in their many different shapes, forms, sizes, ethnicities and tribes. I mix a bit of different African cultures, spirituality and norms with the everyday challenges of contemporary African women. All my books have female leads, but I do also write from a male perspective. I think they are light reads, though my readers will probably disagree (I mean what’s a little sobbing as you read?!)
The first book, The Harvard Wife, follows Nompumelelo through her journey of dissolving her marriage, getting a second shot at a relationship with the one that got away and the challenges that come with establishing a blended family.
Nomaswazi is a slow-burn Swati romance, with a lot of body dysmorphia and a strong current of loss and forgiveness.
Lola’s Heart and The Princess and the Piper are sequels (books two and three) of The Harvard Wife following the lives of Nompumelelo’s daughters as they make their debut into adulthood and the challenges they face when it comes to love, family expectations, sexual trauma and their spirituality.
In Fallen Candle, I ventured back home via Emihle, a newly widowed young woman who has to flee her in-laws’ home because her in-laws want to marry her off to her brother-in-law (ukungenwa) to gain access to the inheritance that her late husband left her. As bewildering as South Africa is to her, Emihle finds herself and the light that burned within her before her father’s death.
The last is the series that I am currently working on, Her Silent Screams, which follows a mute Muslim girl as she finds her voice and love in high school only for it to be cruelly snatched away from her when she is abducted by Boko Haram.
Which one would you say is your favourite and why?
Ha! That’s like asking a mother who her favourite child is! I love them all differently because they all carry a part of me at a different stage in my life, and I usually love the one I’m working on the most at any given time. So that would make Her Silent Screams Magnified my current favourite because I have pushed myself beyond the envelope and ventured into the Nigerian jungle. I’m enjoying learning about the plight of internally displaced people in Nigeria, how war rages so close to us, yet we are more worried about Russia.
What is your advice to women when it comes to professions, their talent and business?
Don’t put yourself in a box. Learn and adapt to whatever situation life throws at you. Had I only been focused on the qualification that I got, who knows where I would be. It might seem scary, but do it anyway and be happy while doing it.
Connect with Busisekile via:
Twitter: @khumalo_busie
Facebook: Busisekile Khumalo
Instagram: @busisekilekhumalo_author
TikTok: @busisekilekhumalo
