About the museum

Meet Ms. Mandy Mankazana, the women who turned her home into a museum. She is the founder of the first home-built museum in Soweto to expose ancient African wisdom before colonization and the first African woman to introduce Soweto to the world in 1994 under the name Imbizo Tours. The museum was inspired by her experience in running a tourism company and meeting different people from all over the world. She got involved in tourism as she needed a space to tell her story about the brutality she endured during apartheid and the loss of her childhood. Tourism gave her a platform to heal and managed to forgive the perpetrators. Sharing her story to tourists helped her to heal and learn about the power of forgiveness and not allow the perpetrators to be in control of her life. She is thankful to all the tourists who were part of her healing journey. 

Throughout her journey as a tour-guide, she started researching about why tourists travel to other countries. She discovered that tourists were interested and curious to learn about other people’s cultures, history and traditions. She was privileged to meet Baba Credo “Vusamazulu” Mutwa, the great African Historian, Sanusi, Author, Sculptor and Scientist, Astronomer who opened her eye about ancient African knowledge and wisdom before colonization. Mandy kept her promise to honor Baba and keep his legacy alive by sharing part of her museum with Baba’s wise knowledge on ancient African wisdom in different fields.