Dimakatso Mokwena told the Herald that his book is a gay love story that chronicles the journey of two men, Peace Maake and Thomas Mngomezulu, who are in love and have been together for a long time. “The tension in their relationship arises when Peace’s family instructs him to inherit his late brother’s widow as he is about to become the king of his village. To Peace’s family, homosexuality is taboo, labelled as ‘un-African and a white man’s disease.
“This necessitated me as a writer to explore issues of sexual identity including African culture and traditions and their place in today’s world,” said Dimakatso. He said that the story is largely fictitious. However, some of his personal experiences and those of his friends including that in which he has observed the gay community and society at large made it into the story. “I write about the lockdown and its impact on ordinary people’s livelihoods while maintaining the golden thread of a gay love story. I write about the mining industry, religion, culture, politics, and sex.
Also read: Tzaneen authors honoured for their great work
“There is nothing under the sun the book does not touch on. The novel is a literary melting pot of contemporary African issues that need our urgent attention,” he said. “My debut novel was born out of frustration. I love reading but I became increasingly frustrated with literature in the country especially works of fiction, as I am yet to come across works that detail lived realities of black gay people in post-apartheid South Africa, let alone from the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s.
“I decided to become the solution to my frustration and after a series of discussions with my friend, Andile Cele from KwaZulu-Natal, who loves reading and writing as much as I do, I decided to sit down and write the first sentence of my novel. With this offering, I am effectively putting a mirror in front of society at large, and showing people how they look; whether gay or straight.
Also read: Local man publishes book
I hope that this will spark conversations that will shape us as a people across social classes and various races, and somehow, recognise our shared values of humanity and the need for each of us to create something that will outlive us,” he added. Mokwena has been living in Pretoria for the last twenty years. “At heart, I am still the 17-year-old rural young man who left my village to pursue a dream. The only difference now is that I am wiser, street smart, and have experienced the life that has shaped my character and the intense drive to keep learning.
“I remember back in 1993, we read a short story in our grade 4 class. The story did not have a happy ending and as an eight-year-old, I really did not like the ‘not so happy’ which frustrated me. I got home and rewrote that story and gave it a happy ending. Unbeknown to me back then, that would shape my desire for happy endings and the ability to become a storyteller,” he said. Mokwena hopes that Here Comes The Gay King is the first of many. He already has plans to turn this into a trilogy.
Also read: Lebb Simons releases first book
“Of course, this will depend on whether my debut work does well. I have a clear plan of how the events in the second installment and the third installment will turn out. I am a hopeless romantic and I believe in the power of love and forgiveness, no matter how taxing the cost of love and forgiveness may be,” added Dimakatso. He said that in the immediate future, he would like to see his novel picked up by one of the local filmmakers and turned into a Netflix or Mzansi Magic series.
He said he has ideas on how the book can become a compelling series, especially for people who do not like reading or do not have the time to read. He will be approaching a number of filmmakers asking them to pick up the novel and turn it into a series. “Isn’t it funny that after almost three decades of constitutional democracy, we are yet to have our very own first gay series on South African television screens? Yet we believe our country is progressive and we are a so-called rainbow nation.”
He said that his novel was rejected by many book publishers because it is a gay love story. “That tells you of the enormous work we still need to do to get heterosexuals to respect gay people. Contact Mokwena on 076 563 3725 for a copy of the book or for more information on where it is available. Here Comes The Gay King costs R330 including free shipping to anywhere across the country
