Dr Wele Cecil Manona was born in Durban location, Peddie in 1937 and completed his early schooling at the Methodist Mission school before proceeding to high school at Heraldtown, from where he seemed doomed to a career as a teacher subjected to “Bantu Education”.
Dr Wele Cecil Manona was born in Durban location, Peddie in 1937 and completed his early schooling at the Methodist Mission school before proceeding to high school at Heraldtown, from where he seemed doomed to a career as a teacher subjected to “Bantu Education”.
He escaped this fate by joining the SABC Xhosa radio service where he became very well known as a disc jockey – which was to stand him in good stead later when his greeting in many strange places brought the immediate and admiring response, “Manona!”.
In his spare time, Manona completed a BA with honours in Anthropology through Unisa.
From 1975 to his retirement in 2002, Wele was a research officer with the Rhodes-based Institute of Social and Economic Research. He completed an MA on Burnshill, one of the villages in Keiskammahoek which had featured in the great Keiskammahoek Survey in the 1950s – the project which launched the ISER and pioneered multi-disciplinary research into contemporary South African communities.
Visiting scholars from Yale and other New England universities relied on Manona for guidance on local issues.
“Artists in Residence” brought African musicians and poets to the ISER who likewise turned to Manona for advice on how to survive in Grahamstown West.
Manona worked among professors emeriti Winnie Maxwell, Michael Roberts and Leslie Hewson; researcher Simon Becker and African music specialist Andrew Tracey.
Former colleague Michael Whisson describes several telling encounters.
"When we were working at Ford Motor Company, he interviewed some rough immigrant artisans, one of whom swore at him and ripped up the interview schedule," Whisson said. "Wele smiled and duly noted this attitude to race relations in his logbook.
During the roughest years of the Struggle, Rhodes offered Manona's family a house on campus – not least because his twin daughters had broken the race barrier and been admitted to DSG, so had to be driven down Raglan Road in their uniforms each morning.
His son was also trying to evade the police.
Manona declined the offer – his credibility depended on his being in the heart of the community, and the family were not touched by the Comrades.
Cecil Manona died in St George's Hospital, Port Elizabeth on Monday 7 October, leaving his wife, Nobantu, his three daughters, his son and grandchildren.
This edited obituary first appeared on the Rhodes University website and is republished with permission.
