SUBSCRIBE
Monday, May 12, 2025
Health For Mzansi
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
    • Health Heroes
    • TV
  • Grow It
  • My Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
No Result
View All Result
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
    • Health Heroes
    • TV
  • Grow It
  • My Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
No Result
View All Result
Health For Mzansi

Persistence pays off for late bloomer doctor

by Vateka Halile
27th July 2022
in Trending
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
Dr Manduleli Bikitsha believes that utilising illegal substances to lose weight might be harmful to your health.
Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi.

Dr Manduleli Bikitsha believes that utilising illegal substances to lose weight might be harmful to your health. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi.

Due to peer pressure, Dr Manduleli Bikitsha (60) worked in a mine before becoming a general practitioner in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Through sheer determination, this doctor found his happy place in his consulting rooms well into his thirties.

Bikitsha was born in the kuGatyane district in the Eastern Cape and relocated to the Fort Malan to be closer to schools when he was seven. “Farming was fundamental to my family, both for rearing livestock and for cultivating food in the fields,” he says.  

General practitioner, Dr Manduleli Bikitsha. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Mines before medicine

“Because I grew up in a chieftainship, I did not have any special rights or privileges in my society, nor were we modernised. Instead, we followed all of our community’s practices.”

He attended the Fort Malan Junior Secondary School and then transferred to Fort Malan Senior Secondary School, until he dropped out of school in grade 11 and moved to Johannesburg to work in the mines. “Peer pressure influenced me, which is why I dropped out to work in the East Rand Property Mines in Gauteng,” he says.

“This was because my peers back then would come back home in December looking great and dressed nicely. This made me want to make money as quickly as possible, simply to be like them.”

Bikitsha adds that his grade 11 qualification helped him secure work as a clerk in a mine in 1983. While working there, he gathered his thoughts and applied for a night school to finish his grade 12.

“I enrolled at St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic School, starting with three subjects. Studying at night, I completed them and enrolled for the remaining three subjects before passing matric with an exemption in 1985.”

The pursuit of a dream is where devotion begins

Bikitsha worked at a mine for three years until he finished his matric. In 1986, he enrolled at the University of Transkei (Unitra) for a bachelor of science degree and in 1989, Bikitsha completed a higher education diploma in education during his fourth year of study.

“I began teaching in 1990 and 1991 as a biology and science teacher at Clark Barry High School. In 1992, I was a teacher at Butterworth College, where I trained students pursuing a teacher’s diploma.”

His interest in medicine took shape in 1992. The next year, he resigned from Butterworth College and enrolled in medical school at Medunsa.

He says because of his B.Sc. from Unitra, he was exempt from course 1 in Medunsa and as a result, immediately kicked off with course 2.

Living his medicine dream

Bikitsha began his internship at the Cecilia Makhiwane hospital in East London in 1998. A year later he did his community service at the Cecelia Makhiwane and Frere Hospital in East London.

“The concept of opening a private practice hit me when I was performing community service. I was convinced that being a private practice doctor is lucrative and subsequently resigned on May 20, 2000.”

While performing community service, he would drive from the Eastern Cape to Cape Town in order to work as a locum for the physicians. It was during this stint when he realised that working in the Mother City was a real possibility.

“On July 27, 2000, I began my practise in Khayelitsha. This property was formerly a two-room phone shop, but I transformed it into the building I desired and ultimately purchased the property. This implies that I worked hard and waited my turn for nearly all I have accomplished as a doctor.”

Bikitsha says he began studying medicine when he was 32 years old and completed it when he was 36 years old. However, he was unable to choose a specialty due to his age and the death of his father during his second year of B.Sc. studies at Unitra in 1988.

“I chose private practice because I wanted to earn a quick income to improve my family’s home and support my siblings. Being the eldest child also pushed me due to my responsibilities. Overall, it was the quickest way to financial independence and my passion for helping people with different conditions and sicknesses.”

Juggling chieftaincy and medicine

As the oldest child, he was instructed to take on the role of chief following his father’s death. He explains that as much as he believes in and enjoys being a chief, he had to allow a family to select an acting chief, someone who would lead in his absence.

Before he became a doctor, Dr Manduleli Bikitsha worked in the gold mines of Johannesburg. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

“I’m an educated chief who is far from home. My representative is the wife of my brother right now. I do schedule time for crucial meetings, some of which I do virtually. I believe that traditional leading can take place in a modern world.”

Bikitsha is not only a doctor and chief, but also the author of a historical book titled AmaMfengu, which came out in May 2019.

He also holds an MBA from Regent Business School, and an H.D.E from the University of Transkei.

Bikitsha stresses the importance of African identity and history, saying that if our history is set in stone, our children will be able to keep it and pass it on to future generations.

According to Bikitsha, who wrote the book to clear up the situation, the conflict and understanding of AbaMbo and AmaMfengu history have been talked about on a national level.

“Some people feel insulted when they are called AmaMfengu, but it is important that we know where we came from, and who we are. Our children should read books written by us about our identities and history.”

ALSO READ: Young radiographer intrigued by ‘the eye of medicine’

Tags: Eastern CapeMedical doctor
Vateka Halile

Vateka Halile

Vateka Halile grew up in rural areas of Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape. She was raised in a traditional family setting and found writing to be a source of comfort and escape. Vateka participated in an online citizen journalism course through Food For Mzansi, and her passion for health and medicine-related stories was born. Her dedication to community work and love for social justice and solidarity spaces is evident in her quality time with the community when she isn't working.

Related Articles

Lung disease
Trending

Beyond the cure: Many TB survivors face lung disease

by Chris Bateman
8th May 2025
Flu
Trending

Flu season is on! Time to get your shot

by Raylentia Simmons
23rd April 2025

Stories

HIV and initiation: Supporting boys through cultural rites
Security fails as gangs target Eastern Cape clinics
Dr Makanya blends spiritual healing with art therapy
Canola oil: A heart-healthy choice for your kitchen
No more pain! Tackle the torment of toothaches
How smoking causes harmful bacteria in your mouth
Discover delicious, healthy dishes that will make your heart sing
Rediscover the joy of creamy pap with chicken livers
No Result
View All Result

Latest

Dietitian on a mission: Love, loss, and healing through food
Health Heroes

Dietitian on a mission: Love, loss, and healing through food

by Vateka Halile
12th May 2025

Pregnant at university. First in her family to study. Now a leader in chronic disease prevention. Dietitian Phumelele Mthembu didn’t...

Read moreDetails
Pregnancy

Fighting pregnancy fatigue: What your body might be telling you

9th May 2025
Lung disease

Beyond the cure: Many TB survivors face lung disease

8th May 2025

Time to revive Mzansi’s nutritious indigenous crops

7th May 2025
Indigenous foods

Indigenous foods: Nature’s wisdom in every nourishing bite

6th May 2025
Health For Mzansi

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824

News: hello@healthformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

Awards & Impact
Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy
Copyright

Somagwaza

HIV and initiation: Supporting boys through cultural rites

cropped-scott-webb-yekGLpc3vro-unsplash.jpeg

Security fails as gangs target Eastern Cape clinics

Dr Sinethemba Makanya

Dr Makanya blends spiritual healing with art therapy

Dietitian on a mission: Love, loss, and healing through food

Fighting pregnancy fatigue: What your body might be telling you

Beyond the cure: Many TB survivors face lung disease

Time to revive Mzansi’s nutritious indigenous crops

Indigenous foods: Nature’s wisdom in every nourishing bite

Art meets medicine: Mother and daughter share grit and glory

error: Content is protected !!
No Result
View All Result
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
    • Health Heroes
    • TV
  • Grow It
  • My Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes

© 2021 Health For Mzansi | Farmers For Change Pty (Ltd)

HIV and initiation: Supporting boys through cultural rites Security fails as gangs target Eastern Cape clinics Dr Makanya blends spiritual healing with art therapy Canola oil: A heart-healthy choice for your kitchen No more pain! Tackle the torment of toothaches How smoking causes harmful bacteria in your mouth Discover delicious, healthy dishes that will make your heart sing Rediscover the joy of creamy pap with chicken livers