Army Chief’s incredible journey comes to life in biography

THE REMARKABLE journey of South African Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General Lawrence Khulekani Mbatha, is now immortalised in his biography, “Planning is Everything”. The book provides an in-depth look at the upbringing and career of the esteemed military leader.

Mbatha launched his biography in his hometown of Kimberley, hosting an intimate book signing event at the McGregor Museum. During the event, he praised the book’s author, Corporal Khorombi, a member of his communications team, for his unwavering determination. Despite facing numerous rejections, Khorombi persisted in his quest to document Mbatha’s life.

“It took about three years before I agreed to have this book written and published. The young man, Corporal Khorombi, who wrote this book is part of my staff and was in the process of completing his Master’s degree when he told his professor about me. His professor advised him to write this book,” Mbatha shared.

“When he laid his request before me, I declined. I chased him away more than 10 times, but his resilience paid off. When I finally caved in, it took us less than a year to bring the final product into being.

“I must commend him because he truly did his utmost in verifying all the information and characters shared in this book. He not only took the story from my version, but interviewed the different individuals from different backgrounds who have walked with me on my journey. The author had to travel quite extensively to conduct those interviews. I was overwhelmed to note the observations made by those I have travelled with and touched during my life journey,” Mbatha said.

Mbatha expressed that neither the book nor his very existence would have been possible without the two individuals who brought him into this world.

“Everyone’s story starts with their mother and father. Those are the first two main characters in everyone’s story,” he said.

“My mother is a true matriarch. I was raised by a group of women - my grandmother, my mother, aunts and other female relatives. My mother is originally from Lesotho, but came to Kimberley to stay with my grandfather. Back then a lot of migrants came to Kimberley because of the diamond rush at that time.

“My father, who hails from KwaZulu-Natal came to Kimberley with his older brother. My father comes from a strict rural background. He came into the city lights of Kimberley and into an environment where Afrikaans was predominantly spoken. That frustrated him a lot. He took us to his homeland in KZN and raised us on that side as he did not want us to grow up speaking Afrikaans.

“However, the same year we went to stay in KZN, my father passed away. We found ourselves having to move back to Kimberley again. My mother was left to raise five children by herself after my father died.

“My mother was a smuggler and it was not an easy life, there were days when there was no money. Also, smugglers travelled a lot. In most cases we were alone at home as our mother had to travel. She would send us money.

“However, we were never truly alone as there were always members of the community who took care of us. We were born into the Mbatha family, but we were nurtured by various people from various backgrounds.”

Mbatha said his early school years shaped his involvement in the fight against oppression and paved his way into the military.

“A some point as a teenager, I became involved in what we at that time termed ‘The Tea Party Era’. During that era, gangsterism emerged. Being tall in length, I found myself in trouble. I was tall, but was very young. My mother became concerned and took me to a school that was operated by a German non-governmental organisation (NGO). My mother thought she had brought me to a good school, but was unaware that there were political activists at the school … even the teachers were political activists.

“I later became involved in the local politics of Namibia. The presence of the security forces started intensifying. I ended up leaving Namibia and went to Botswana. That was when I connected with the African National Congress (ANC), through the refugees and trade in Angola, and later went to Uganda. The career of the man you see today, started in Angola.

“I travelled all over the world. I spent my 21st birthday in Germany, where we were at the time training to be specialised fighters.”

Mbatha said that he was able to reconnect with his family only after the cessation of hostilities was achieved in Namibia. He also noted that this period highlighted the renewed sense of community connectedness.

“On a particular day, I dialled the code for Kimberley from the office, as I was at the time appointed as the education officer in Uganda. Someone from Ipopeng answered the phone on the other side. When the person picked up, I asked the person to help me find the family of Oom Appels. The person looked for the number and gave me the number. I do not know the person, but they assisted me without even knowing who I was.

“That is how I define the interesting part of life. Along the way, one meets with different people. It does not matter how small the contribution was, but whenever you knocked they were there to assist you. Through that connection to Oom Appels, I managed to make contact with my family.

"At the time, I also did not know that it would be the last time I would speak to my older brother. That connection also inspired my brother to go back to school to complete his Grade 12 as he felt inferior to me after he heard me speaking English. My brother, however, passed away, but it was after he completed his schooling.

“I also did not realise at the time that my call informed them how to get hold of me in case of an emergency. When my brother died, my family knew exactly where to find me and that brought me back to Kimberley.”

He added that the strong sense of community interconnectedness has greatly influenced how he lives his life and manages his office.

“There are many people who contributed to his book and that speaks to the social contributions that were deposited in me. The proceeds of the book will be donated to charity.

“‘Planning is Everything’ speaks of the turbulence I went through on my journey. It states that nothing is insurmountable. If you apply the planning process, it enables you as an individual to set realistic objectives you can reach in a disciplined manner. When you plan, you plan with a purpose and know what it is you want to achieve.

“To be able to succeed, you have to place systems in place to review the decision you took and to see the outcome of the decision. One cannot achieve this alone. This is where the collective comes into play.

“If you become a true professional, you become a true strategist as you are able to bring complex issues closer. That is an indication that you are becoming proactive in thinking, and adaptable to any challenges. That, however, does not mean that a challenge will be easy, but it does mean that you are better prepared for the challenge,” Mbatha said.