The Mazisi Kunene Foundation Trust was launched at the International Convention Centre in Durban on June 3, 2006. Among those present were His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithi, the First Lady Mrs. Zanele Mbeki, Minister of Arts and Culture Z. Pallo Jordan, the Premier of KwaZulu/Natal Sibusiso Ndebele and Mrs. Mathabo Kunene.
Their mission is:
- To gather, translate & publish all the writings of Mazisi Kunene.
- To develop research fellowships & scholarly sponsorship of African literary works.
- To advance African art forms & its artists. To inspire positive change around the world.
Professor Mazisi Kunene was a great freedom fighter, literary icon and poet. A talented writer whose inspiration was the history of Zulu people, the liberation of Africans everywhere and the oral traditions of African literature.
Kunene’s works were originally written in Zulu before they were translated into other languages, because he championed the inherent value of African literature written in African languages. Emperor Shaka the Great & Anthem of the Decades are two of his best known works.
