Stolen Light, Marantu Fire

“Marantu didn’t save me. It met me in my ruin.”

For many years, anonymity was my strength, my sanctuary. It allowed me to create freely and genuinely, without the interference of ego, expectation, or external validation. I connected deeply and authentically with people from every walk of life, unseen and therefore unfiltered. Projects like InterSEXions, Sika and uSkroef noSexy thrived precisely because the spotlight was never on me, but always on the message and the impact.

However, life sometimes forces our hand, pushing us toward necessary, if uncomfortable, growth. Today, silence no longer serves truth, nor does it honour the stories I am committed to telling. The project “Stolen,” intended to be another powerful narrative, unravelled, threatening to bury me under a narrative that was not mine. Doors slammed shut, my reputation came into question, and career prospects vanished overnight.

Left with my babies, my brown babies, with their life in splinters, with only my breath and Buddhism’s quiet wisdom about the illusion of self, I faced a truth deeper than any success or failure could reveal. It was then, in the silence left by shattered dreams, that I discovered who truly stood beside this flickering idea of ‘me’ – my true friends, my family, my ubuntu tribe. Believing my career was irreparably damaged by something I did not do, I redirected my energy, not toward recovery, but toward leaving a meaningful and enduring legacy for my children. In that quiet surrender, Marantu found me, contemplating Maranasati.

Now, as Marantu prepares to take its first breath, a remarkable thing happens: Stolen begins revealing its truths, truths long hidden beneath confusion, conflict, and misinformation. Only now do I fully see why it had to unravel this way. It was a necessary passage, a difficult but vital journey to lead me to a vision larger and more profound than I’d ever dared imagine.

Life, I now deeply believe, does not bend to our will. It gently, and sometimes ‘painfully’, guides us toward the path it intends for us. Each day, I find myself surrendering deeper into this unfolding truth.

In past successes, though they came with awards, accolades, international travel and achievements, I was robbed of something infinitely precious: witnessing my children grow. Today, with every fibre of my being, I am committed to creating a different world, one where no parent misses the joy, the sacredness, and the profound privilege of being a Ma or a Ra to their Ntu.

Marantu is not just another project; it is a vision that embodies possibility, creativity, and unity for Africa’s future. To truly realise this vision, I must embody the change I seek, openly and unapologetically.

Today, I choose visibility, not as an end in itself, but as a commitment to truth, authenticity, and responsibility. The journey ahead may be challenging, but I step forward trusting that integrity and clarity are powerful allies.

I invite you all to walk with me, not behind the anonymity I have cherished, but openly, into the transformative light of genuine human connection, purposeful storytelling, and limitless possibility.

And if you, too, have known the silence after collapse, if you have watched something precious fall apart and wondered who you are without it, know this: the flame is not gone. It is never gone. Sometimes, it’s just been waiting for a different story. I’ll meet you there.

I surrender now, willingly and fully, to this vision, to the life that has always awaited my arrival.

Uzanenkosi

Torchbearer, Marantu