Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo’s inspiring book is a journey of healing in tribute to her father

Stan Mummy a Lindi. Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo

15 Jan 2025

The Stan Sangweni biography and love story is a narrative about land, love, family and the state of South Africa. Ferial Haffajee interviewed author Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo about her love story to her ‘Dedi’.

Ferial Haffajee: What an intriguing book. Its classifications could be biography, land, family, love, and more. How did you come to it?

Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo: Indeed, the themes of my book, The Syndicate of Twenty-Two Natives — The Stan Sangweni Story, are layered. When I was writing the book, I wanted to amplify the themes of land acquisition, family values, education, and liberation. I think by telling my father's story, I was able to cover all of these themes.

FH: Its meta-story is of your father, Stan Sangweni, the man we know as the architect of South Africa’s democratic-era public administration ethos and philosophy. Was it healing to write, as it came out soon after he passed away?

LSS: Writing my Dedi’s story was definitely healing, and it offered me a special place to come to every day to pay homage to him and to be with him as I wrote the book. I tried to write almost immediately after he had passed away on 18 May 2021, but it was too raw, and it hurt a lot — I would just break down in tears with each attempt.

A family picture with Stan Sangweni centre. (Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo)

Stan and his bride Angela on their wedding day, 11 July 1965. (Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo)

In March 2022, I woke up one morning with this great urge to just start writing his story — it felt like he had whispered in my ear that everything would be alright. The writing process was so cathartic, almost like he was with me throughout, talking to me and reminding me of what to write.

FH: The process of mining his archive and telling his story started well before — tell us about that.

LSS: Before my father passed away, he had already indicated that he wanted to write a book about his life. I think it would have been a different book, more historical in context, and filled with greater depth of the work he did during his time at the United Nations where he was a senior rural sociologist, and then about his work as director of the School of Agriculture and Community Development at UKZN, and then, of course, his time as the first black chairperson of the Public Service Commission in a democratic South Africa. I think he would have insisted that his papers and speeches be part of the book.

I have written about how we sat in his study contemplating the clean-up before The Big Move, after my father sold our home of 27 years.

He and my mother were preparing to move to my brother’s family home. It was during this phase that he would refer to documentation and memorabilia that would be used when we wrote his book. I was always intrigued by old documents like the Exemption Certificates his father Stephen Sangweni had kept, which exempted him from Native Law, institutionalised by the British colonisers. The actual title deed that detailed the ownership of the Syndicate of Twenty-Two Natives was also quite intriguing — it was so well documented, and as a result, our family is still the landowner of Suspence Farm. My father was also a great storyteller, and a lot of the stories he told were recorded by younger family members during the pandemic or taken from my notes of long phone calls where I captured the great detail he shared about his family history.

FH: Your name attracted me to scoop it off the shelf and buy the book. But the title, The Syndicate of Twenty-Two Natives, and the cover design grabbed me too. How did you and your publishers decide on the title and design?

LSS: I gave it this title on the basis of a story my father would always recount to my brother Dumisani and I, about how his grandfather Mgodeni Khumalo had acquired land as part of being a syndicate of twenty-two natives — natives, as they were called by their colonisers. My father would regale us with tales of the syndicate of twenty-two natives, and I thought it would be so fitting to use this as the book’s title.

This was how it all started, after all — the vision of his grandfather was a catalyst for many milestones that followed that land acquisition. The design was a collaboration of ideas between myself and the publisher — we loved the collage of old photographs of his family, which gives the reader a glimpse of the characters whose stories are told in the book.

FH: Who was in the syndicate, and how did they get around the sweeping cruelties of the 1913 Natives Land Act? How did this shape your dad’s life?

LSS: The syndicate was the brainchild of a man named Robert Hughes Kumalo – RH as he was known in those parts. He came from the elite and was exempted from Native Law. He approached my father’s maternal grandfather, Mgodeni Khumalo, who was part of a group of men who followed their Zulu traditions and were labelled “pagans” by the British colonisers. The syndicate formed by RH Kumalo managed to acquire land in 1911, just before the Land Act of 1913 made such acquisitions impossible. The land shaped my father’s life profoundly, instilling in him a deep appreciation for family values, education, and self-reliance.

Mavuso Msimang and Stan Sangweni in 1960. (Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo)

Nthabiseng, Stan's granddaughter, with the family on her 21st birthday party. (Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo)

FH: “Suspence Farm claims pride of place in this book,” writes your uncle, Mavuso Msimang. How did it mould your father’s ambition?

LSS: Suspence Farm was a symbol of security and unity for my father. Its legacy nourished his mother’s people. They were not rich but never went hungry. The farm’s foundation instilled family values of hard work, perseverance, and education. My father’s global academic journey started with these values and culminated in his work in rural community development, bringing him full circle.

FH: I know you as a hotelier extraordinaire and a leading business figure — now you’re an author. Have you always loved writing?

LSS: I have always loved writing. For many years I wrote short essays in my spare time as a hobby. I captured many oral stories my father shared. In 2012, I took a writing course, knowing that eventually I would want to be an author and tell the stories of my people, my travels, and my life as a hotelier and businesswoman.

FH: How did your family stay together despite apartheid’s attempts to destroy African families?

LSS: Suspence Farm played a big role as the base, the home, the foundation where everyone always returned. Even during the years of exile, my parents kept our family’s stories alive. They spoke about home, our relatives, and their legacies. My father drew family trees, and my mother created photo albums to preserve these connections.

FH: One of Stan Sangweni’s last acts of protest was to denounce State Capture. Could you tell us more?

'Mummy and Dedi'. (Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo)

Stan Sangweni and Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo at Suspence Farm, September 2018. (Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo)

'Stan, Mummy and Lindi'. (Photo: Supplied / Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo)

LSS: My parents, along with ANC stalwarts, denounced State Capture as it contradicted the values of transparency and ethics of his philosophy of Batho Pele — People First — which was eroded by unethical behaviour, deeply saddening him. They believed in the ANC’s integrity for the sake of the people.

FH: Social media shows you have ensured the book is distributed through your extended family. What have they said as the most essential reviewers?

LSS: My family is proud that our story is documented and accessible. The book launch in Newcastle was emotional, transforming our oral history into a legacy for future generations. Social media has been a powerful platform for sharing this milestone and connecting with family and readers. DM

The Syndicate of Twenty-Two Natives by Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo is published by PanMacmillan.

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