She is witty, has a sharp sense of humour and can hold a conversation on any subject without hassle. She has lived through the First and Second World Wars. She survived the Red Storm that culled her father’s livestock between Koppies and Wolwehoek in 1933, in the Free State Province.

She has trodden the flatlands, migrating from various farmsteads including Vredefort, Laadwei, Byveld, De La Rey Krans and many others, as a maiden who endured gross human abuse; courtesy of the Dutch descendants for whom she slaved and whose children she reared.

Mention Hendrick Verwoerd, the grandmaster of apartheid and she immediately shakes her head in disgust. After all, she has witnessed the incarceration of Nelson Mandela and his comrades, the forced removals, segregation and racism at their inhuman best.

Elizabeth Maloka (née Thedingwane) is a New Year’s baby, born on the January 1, 1902, on a farm in Ventersberg. She is the only girl and the lastborn after three brothers. Her mother was the third wife of Thedingwane.

As a young girl, she celebrated in awe when Princess Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England. Her Majesty was her fashion icon and a resemblance of her beauty caught the Maloka family’s eye, who later arranged a marriage for their son Samuel. In traditional times, it was common for the groom’s family to initiate such unions, perhaps the reason behind their longevity when compared to present six-day extravagant wedding celebrations that often end gruesomely.

The couple was blessed with eight children, three girls and five boys. Six of these have since passed on. The oldest son lives in Nigel, while the remaining daughter lives with her in Sasolburg. Together with Samuel, affectionately named “Uncle Sam” in the former-day Koppies, they ran a successful taxi business with the then stylish Ford Fairlaine 500 and Chevrolet models. Legend has it that Uncle Sam was the first legal taxi operator in the small farming town, with Elizabeth making waves in fashion stakes and through her natural beauty.

Above her neatly plaited head, on the wall of her daughter’s house in Sasolburg, hangs the photo of a handsome Mandela, her favourite son of the soil. She knows him quite well because she voted for the first time when she was 93 years of age! Before then, she supported the women’s grand march to the Union Building in Pretoria when she was working in Malvern, the modern-day Hollywood of Johannesburg.

Now she is a 108 years old and is a great-great grandmother who has seen many of her beloved relatives pass on and arrive in this world.

When Kaizer Motaung and his friends birthed Kaizer Chiefs in 1970, Elizabeth’s sojourn landed her in Mzimhlophe, a concrete jungle of a sprawling township that cousined Phefeni; its birthplace. Travelling by train and mixing with the local cronies that worshipped Kaizer, Ewert Nene, China Ngema and Ratha Mokhoatleng to mention a few, Elizabeth just melted with love for the fast and growing Amakhosi.

Her love never wilted and today she blossomed when Chincha took time off from his hectic office to pay respect. For a while, Elizabeth’s home in the small township of Sasolburg welcomed Kaizer and his entourage from the office in a gesture of humility to the frail lady, who had initially expressed her undying support for Kaizer Chiefs!

A local Basotho band and a crowd of curious supporters gathered to usher Kaizer into the warm sitting room. Ensconced in a comfortable chair, Elizabeth’s eyes gleaned when she met her hero after many years of hearing and reading about him in the radio and newspapers.

Upon meeting her, the Chairman retorted that he was surprised that she did not look her age, besides her clear voice and her sharp hearing.

Her favourite players are Kaizer Senior and Kaizer Jr Motaung, Letsholonyane, Tshabalala, Tau, Zwane, Mathebula and Sibeko. She cant miss Sibeko because he is her son-in-law from a distant relative!

Receiving presents from an equally ecstatic Kaizer, Elizabeth spoke fondly of the Kaizer Chiefs’ successes and the pain she suffers when the team is on the receiving end. She mentions prayer and her unwavering dependence on the Almighty as her faithful weapon of survival throughout the many years she has witnessed.

Today Elizabeth is a true Khosi4Life after being registered, the oldest Gold Card-carrying member of the Kaizer Chiefs family. She will sleep comfortable in her gold and black blanket and towel, and probably try her still-strong lungs on the golden Vuvuzela! She directed her encouraging words of continuity and strength to Jessica, Kemiso, the Motaung Family, and prayed that they keep their father’s legacy!