Online Exhibitions

Queen Moloi was born in 1964, in Jabulani (meaning “let's rejoice”), Soweto, with the maiden’s name of Cecilia Puleng Nkutha. She is the third of six children of the late Mr Tebesi Kleinbooi and Mrs Limakatso Annah Nkutha.

Her father came from a small town called Reitz, in the Free State and, like many young men, he moved to Johannesburg to seek employment. There, he met her mother, who was working as a domestic worker. Mr Kleinbooi was a talented and ambitious young man. He started out as a driver, realised the great need for transport for workers living in Soweto, and began a taxi business, which grew quickly. Her father soon became a founder member of the Taxi Industry.

Young Puleng attended school in Qwa-Qwa. It was there, in 1980, that she met her husband, Chief Matla Henry Moloi. He comes from Daggakraal in Mpumalanga and is descended from the Royal line of King Mokgatla Tabane. Tabane’s second-born son, Morena Kgetsi, had four brothers. The first-born son was Leubane, who is the ancestor of Chief Matla Moloi. Puleng studied for her Education Certificate at Bonamelo Teachers Training College, in the Free State, and commenced her teaching career in 1985 at Phiri Higher Primary in Phiri location, Soweto. In 1999, Puleng enrolled at J R Business College for her Entrepreneurial Course. Thereafter, she bought two minibuses and, following in her father’s footsteps, she entered the taxi industry. Soon after, Puleng undertook a Fuel Training course at Mont Fleur in Stellenbosch, where she obtained her Fuel Retail Licence by Shell South Africa. The Moloi family had a very successful filling station in Orlando, Soweto, which they managed until the end of their contract with Shell SA.

Now retired from her business interests, Queen Moloi juggles her royal duties with those of being a wife and a mother of three and a grandmother of three. Her challenges include fighting for recognition of the Makholokoe by the South African government, which would facilitate job creation for women in her community. One of her long-standing passions is to empower women and the youth to be independent and be able to contribute to the welfare of their families and their communities at large. “Women are the pillars of the homes”, she says. “When you empower a woman, you empower a Nation.”

As a businesswoman, Queen Moloi sees it as her duty to encourage business and investors to create employment and to eradicate poverty amongst her people. She sits in the Family Council of the Makholokoe Kingdom, advising and taking decisions. All the while seeking opportunities for women, Queen Moloi also monitors a group that educates young women in the social skills of etiquette, morals and appropriate behaviour. She meets with other Queens to discuss how to support their husbands and uses her experience as an educator and business leader to give them foundation lessons in business, the decorum of dress and conduct, and the protocol of Royal and Cultural Events. Queen Moloi acknowledges the many challenges of being a black woman in South Africa, of fighting against marginalization, disparity, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and misogyny. As an educated professional, she is a stand for the upliftment and empowerment of her people, and particularly of its women. She has learnt to speak with the conviction of her knowledge and her faith, and to win the trust of fellow leaders in her community.

R 80 000