SA Book Awards organisers have announced that Muzi Sikhakhane SC’s memoir, Odyssey of Liberation, has won both the Non-Fiction Prize Award and the Overall Prize.
The awards were announced during the SA Book Awards ceremony held this morning.
Sikhakhane had registered to attend the ceremony via Zoom but was not online when his wins were announced.
In a statement, Sikhakhane said he was “delighted and truly humbled” to have received both awards from the prestigious institution.
He dedicated the prizes to his late parents and his supportive family, saying the recognition belonged not only to him but also to the friends and staff who supported him throughout the writing of the book.
Sikhakhane also expressed his gratitude to South Africans for embracing his story and engaging with the emotions explored in the memoir.
He acknowledged that Odyssey of Liberation was his first book and said it was not a perfect literary work, but he was grateful that readers had welcomed it.
He described the recognition as a deeply humbling moment.
Sikhakhane said receiving an award of such significance was not an opportunity for personal celebration, but rather a moment to reflect on the African people from different backgrounds who had engaged with his work.
He described Odyssey of Liberation as his contribution to a conversation about the liberation of his people, whom he said he deeply cares about.
The author further thanked everyone who engaged with his book, including those who criticised it, saying he valued the different experiences and perspectives shared with him.
Sikhakhane also thanked Xarra Publishers for believing in his story.
The memoir, titled Odyssey of Liberation: A Memoir of a Rebel Advocate, features a foreword by Reverend Dr Allan Aubrey Boesak.
The SA Book Awards recognised the book as the winner in the Non-Fiction category as well as the Overall Prize.
In his message of gratitude, Sikhakhane thanked his readers, family, friends, staff and the South African public for their support. A new advocacy group led by senior advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, former spy chief Arthur Fraser, cleric Allan Boesak and academic Isaac Shai has declared the post-1994 political settlement incapable of delivering Black emancipation and pledged to challenge the ownership of land, wealth and state power.
Sikhakhane recently launched Vuka Azania, a non-profit company, a think tank and advocacy group which he co-founded with former spy boss Arthur Fraser, renowned cleric Dr Allan Boesak and Advocate Isaac Shai.