Malesela Piet Mokonyama from Ga-Mashashane, outside Polokwane, did his share in honouring the memory of the late Tata Nelson Mandela this year. The 62-year-old walked 753km across the Limpopo Province in 12 days. On Thursday, 13 July, he arrived in Musina, where he rested overnight before resuming his walk, under the theme "One nation, one voice, and unity for all," to his finishing point in Polokwane.
Mokonyama started his long walk at 06:00 on Tuesday, 4 July, from the Smelters Mine in Polokwane, on the R37 Road to Mokopane. On his second day, he walked from Mokopane to Matlala and proceeded to Moletjie on the third day. From there, he walked to Dendron, Vivo, Alldays, Venetia Mine, took a roundabout in Musina, and back to Polokwane along the N1. He arrived at his final stop, the Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane, on Sunday evening (16 July).
While he was in Musina, Limpopo Mirror had a chat with Mokonyama. He told this newspaper that the reason for his long walk was to honour the life of Nelson Mandela while at the same time raising awareness of and finding solutions for social ills in our society. "Finding solutions to social problems is not an easy task, hence the long walk to demonstrate that; to achieve these results, hard work and patience are needed. These social ills include gender-based violence, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancies. Through this walk, I would also like to encourage young people and adults like me to take part in sports or physical activities to keep themselves physically fit," he said.
Mokonyama had been walking long distances in the past. In 2015, he walked 174km from Polokwane to Bela Bela, and 220km from Polokwane to Beitbridge in 2016. He also walked 260km from Ga Mashashane to Pretoria in 2018.
During all his walks, including this recent one, he stops in major towns, where he addresses people to encourage them to fight against the many social ills. He depends on donations to cover his accommodation, meals, and other basic needs when he rests between his long walks.