Letta Mbulu shares her story: life in exile and the enduring desire for home
Iconic singer, Letta Mbulu, has opened about about her life in exile and how she made sure that her children remained South African while living in the States.
Image: System
For the legendary singer, Letta Mbulu, home has always been where her heart is.
In a recent interview with Umhlobo Wenene radio presenter, Dumza Maswana, she opened up about her life in exile with her husband, living legend Caiphus Semenya, and their children, Moses and Muntuyetwa, in the United States for almost 30 years.
The 82-year-old ‘Not Yet Uhuru’ hitmaker revealed that not a single day went by without them thinking about South Africa.
“The sun wouldn’t set without us thinking about home. Everything we did, with the students that were there and would come to our homes, we cooked food from home and spoke about things happening back home … That one day, we will also be free. And that was the topic,” she said.
Mbulu went into exile in the United States in 1964, leaving South Africa to escape the oppressive apartheid regime. She remained in exile for 26 years, returning to South Africa in 1991 after the fall of apartheid.
“We were very diligent when it came to such topics. We didn’t like conversations that didn't relate to our politics. We would sit down and discuss true politics,” she added.
Mbulu said that she even told her husband that the day they would be told to go, she would be the first to leave.
“I wanted to go home. I told him that after living three years in America. I said, You know what, I just want to be here for three years. I want to get out, and unfortunately, I was banned after my arrival. But our home was very important to us,” said Mbulu.
Being in exile with her children, schooling in the States, the iconic singer also opened up about the steps she took to ensure that her kids didn’t assimilate into American culture.
“When we noticed that they were starting to get Americanised and speaking a lot of English, their dad called them and said: ‘Listen here, this house and yard is the Republic of South Africa. If I ever hear any of you speak English when you enter the gate, just know that I’ll kill you.
"So that’s how they learnt. We taught them isiXhosa and SeSotho so they speak all languages, and today they're all grown up,” she said.