31-year-old Mosimanegape Jeremiah Jason, from the North-West Province being greeted by the NCOP Deputy Chairperson Ms Sylvia Lucas.
Photo: Twitter/Parliament SA
31-year-old Mosimanegape Jeremiah Jason, from the North-West Province being greeted by the NCOP Deputy Chairperson Ms Sylvia Lucas.
Photo: Twitter/Parliament SA
Following a brief hiatus last year during the COVID-19 pandemic from the usual pomp and ceremony that generally accompanies the State of the Nation (SONA), the event is once again resembling its former self on Thursday.
One such feature of the prestigious event is the reading of a poem with Mosimanegape Jeremiah Jason the Imbongi selected for this year’s SONA.
Who is SONA poet Mosimanegape Jason?
Jason hails from the North West province, from the Mt Manthe village in Taung. He is expected to usher President Cyril Ramaphosa into the Cape Town City Hall ahead of his speech on Thursday night with a poem read in Tswana.
He began his studies at the University of Johannesburg in 2019, and was nominated for a Mama Award in 2021.
Gleaming with pride over, the North West Provincial government lauded Jason’s achievement.
“Of course, we should be proud as a province, and this is testimony that North West is rich in arts and culture and Setswana is one of South Africa’s indigenous languages and should be preserved,” they said on Twitter.
“We wish Ntate Mosimanegape Jason a good performance and stay in the Mother City.”
President to speak at 19:00
Last year, Sipokazi Jonas opened the SONA event with her poem What Does Not Sink, containing a message of of hope and hurt about the COVID-19 pandemic and our collective resilience as South Africans in the face of adversity.
SONA is currently underway in Cape Town, with Members of Parliament and Government Ministers arriving on the red carpet. The military procession set to perform 18:30 before President Cyril Ramaphosa takes to the podium to address the nation on the many issues government is facing at 19:00.
