KEEP THE SHIP MOVING! A memoir

180pp., illus., paperback, Botsotso, Johannesburg, 2026

ISBN: 9780639886893

In his memoir Mpumelelo Cilibe discusses his experiences in the 1970s and 1980s in New Brighton, the black township built outside Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). He focusses on the challenges of growing up in a period of intensifying resistance to white minority rule, the development of his political consciousness, his organising role at the Ford Motor Company factory, and why he chose to largely withdraw from political life.

Mpumelelo Cilibe was born and raised in Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha, where he still lives. He co-founded two trade unions and three non-profit organisations. His short stories have been published in Staffrider, Botsotso, Timbila, Kotaz and the Columbia University literary journal. He is a 1995 alumnus of the US-South Africa Leadership Exchange programme.