Simon Mukwevho on Muvhango, Award Winning Journalist and Broadcast Lecturer, his name is Tshamano Makhadi.

Tshamano-Makhadi

Born at Ha-Ramantsha, Sinthumule, a small village just outside Makhado town in the Limpopo province. He is the last born of six children born to Tshinakaho and Madauvhi Makhadi.

During an interview with him, Makhadi said he grew up like any other child in the village. A few years later, his family moved to Itsani village about 6km outside Thohoyandou. His parents were very strict especially his mother. Makhadi said “we were not even allowed to swim because it was not a safe thing to do due to a lack of not having proper facilities in the area”.

Even though his parents were uneducated, they always emphasised the importance of education towards their children. Makhadi said “I followed on the footsteps of my older brothers, they were my role models”. Makhadi’s mother always emphasized that even when you have successful elder brothers, you can’t be a beggar, a man must stand up for himself. “I grew up knowing that education is important.” said Makhadi.

When he started school, the facilities were not in the same standard like it is in modern day. He said he attended his primary education under a tree at Tshiguvhu  Vhadeani. The situation did not change when he did his grade 5-7 at Mavhungu Matambule. Makhadi said “some of my classmate abandoned school because of the difficult circumstances that they faced especially in winter seasons”.

Whilst he was in High School at the age of 16, Makhadi joined Great North Theatre where he was trained for stage play. He featured on a number of stage plays including Macbeth and Tshilwavhusiku tsha Ha-Ramabulana. Makhadi travelled the country with performances at Market Theatre in Johannesburg and Grahamstown International Arts Festival. With his knowledge of the story, he ended up teaching grade12 learners Macbeth as it was part of grade12 curriculum. He was only doing grade11 at the time.

After completing High School “I asked myself if I wanted to be an actor or a journalist, but I ended up choosing journalism because I have always been passionate about writing hard news” said Makhadi. He didn’t understand everything about journalism, but Makhadi said he always loved story telling.

Makhadi’s career blossomed when he got a five minutes slot to do a showbiz report on TNG FM (now known as TUT FM) during his first year of study. He said it was a fantastic opportunity working for the country’s number one community radio station. “I learned to perfect my presenting skills, and scored myself a primetime slot - Monday to Thursday between 7&9pm – Room 96. It didn’t take long before I was given a weekend breakfast show – Khwezela otherwise also known as “The MC Ride” named after my radio stage name – MC.” said Makhadi.

“One of the biggest achievements I received was a scholarship from Jacaranda FM 94.2 towards the end of my first year. I received a call that my second year will be fully funded” Makhadi said. Out of 2000 applications that were received by the station, he was one of the sixteen candidate who received the opportunity as he explained.

“By the time I left TNG FM, I understood storytelling, I was a solid reporter” said Makhadi. In the year 2002 he became a producer for SABC’s Radio Channel Africa. Makhadi later joined eTV as a journalist, and reported on many big stories in the country. He interviewed political figures such as Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu amongst others.

Makhadi said he had to choose between SABC, Jacaranda FM, and E.TV. “I chose eTV because they had a different approach in storytelling.” He covered general news from politics to business and sports based in Johannesburg and in Cape Town.

“2004 I received my first award - Coca Cola Flair TV Journalist of the year, 2005 Coca Cola Flair TV Journalist of the year (merit award), 2006 ABSA Best TV Journalist of the Year (merit award), 2006 Telkom Best TV Journalist of the year, 2006 eTV Employee of the year and 2007 ABSA Best TV Journalist of the year” said Makhadi.

“In 2007 TUT approached me to join the Department of Journalism as a Broadcast Lecturer for radio and TV. It’s been fun ever since, and I don’t have any regrets. There is nothing better than sharing your knowledge with young and upcoming student journalists.” said Makhadi.

“Muvhango started following me in early 2011, eventually in 2013, they wanted me on set to play the character of Simon Mukwevho” said Makhadi.

Makhadi’s wife Phathu is a Senior Forensic Accountant at SASOL Head Quarters in Johannesburg. They have a four year old daughter, Mpho.

“Mr Makhadi is a very good lecturer, he provides a lot of information during his classes and he is a very humble person” said Lindiwe Thwala, a third year TUT journalism student. Makhadi’s colleague Hope Motau, a TV Assistant at the Department of Journalism said “Makhadi has a lot of experience, as he has worked for SABC and eTV. I have worked with him for two years now and I have been learning a lot from him”.

Makhadi said in the next five years he has an intention of going global within the media space.