Khonani Ontebetse
Khonani Ontebetse was born in Zoroga, Botswana in 1978. He was educated at Masunga Senior Secondary School and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Communication and Culture at NMMU in 2005, Khonani worked as a journalist for The Ngami Times newspaper and later The Mirror newspaper. He joined The Botswana Gazette in 2008 as senior reporter and currently is Deputy Editor for the Weekend Post newspaper.
In 2004, when the then Port Elizabeth University and Port Elizabeth Technikon merged to form the NMMU, Khonani was among the four students from the two institutions to win a literary competition with his essay entitled- “How I will remember The University of Port Elizabeth.” That was the turning point in his career as an ambitious writer.
In 2008, he won the first Bessie Head Literature Awards, a locally-run literary competition in Botswana for his novel titled Born with a Husband (Pentagon Publishers) Bessie Head Literature Awards. The awards are held annually in honour of one Africa’s acclaimed writers, the late Bessie Head. Born with a Husband discusses arranged marriages in relation to HIV/AIDS. His second historical novel, The Trial of The Gods which was published in 2011 by Canadian based publishers, Nsemia publishers explores the forced removal of the Basarwa (the San) by the Botswana Government from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). His intriguing third novel which was inspired by the tragic murder of a form two student, Segametsi Mogomotsi in 1994 is still being assessed for publication. The book is expected to be the writer’s most controversial work ever, according to preliminary reviews and is expected to usher in the author into the international writing scene. Khonani’s other works are short stories and plays which are yet to be published.
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