Praise singer Inako Mateza says Presidency didn’t mind Ramaphosa being called 'My Cupcake'

Imbongi Inako Mateza, from Willowvale in the Eastern Cape, left an impression at this year’s state of the nation address (Sona) in Cape Town.

Praise singer Mateza earned widespread attention with her heartfelt praise of President Cyril Ramaphosa, which included a playful reference to his nickname, “My Cupcake”.

Despite the surprise inclusion of the nickname, the 19-year-old poet emphasised on Instagram that the Presidency had no objections to the reference.

“About 'my cupcake', I sent the poem to the Presidency with every word that I said there and they accepted it. I did rehearsals yesterday, I was never told to change anything,” she said.

The conclusion of her praise song, which was met with ululation and applause from the audience, caught many by surprise.

Mateza, who is also a Xhosa activist and cultural preservationist, became the first woman from the Eastern Cape to perform as an imbongi, the revered role of praise poet, at the Sona, the Presidency said.

Her performance followed in the tradition of previous imbongi performers, such as Singatha Jongela Nojozi, who helped to establish the practice at the heart of South Africa's democracy.

Mava Lukani, senior technical writer for the Presidency, explained the significance of the imbongi's role.

“Imbongi is the curtain-raiser of a significant moment of the nation, thus setting the mood by capturing its collective sentiments with poetic fervour. Its duty is to inject the president with a great sense of pride by narrating his personal history, his clan and his family lineage in song, dance, and narration. It does this with great accuracy that often fills the president with delight and surprise,” Lukani said.

Mateza said her performance as an imbongi marked a historic moment not only because of her youth but also because she has joined a revered lineage of performers who set the stage for Sona.

The praise singer is considered an essential part of the event, and the tradition, which has been in place since the birth of democracy, celebrates cultural diversity through rotational language and provincial selection processes.

Lukani said an imbongi occupies a special place in African culture as someone who recounts the historic moments of the nation, who reminds the nation how far it has come and where it is going.

“Imbongi is a living heritage and the archive of the nation.”

Mateza, who has received many accolades, including being named Indoni Miss Cultural SA 2023/2024 and receiving Miss SA Traditional Leaders Awards 2024/2025, grew up in the small village of Ludiza in Willowvale.

Despite her early start, she has already achieved much in the cultural sphere, including receiving the Best National Letter Writer award at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Oral History Programme in 2019.

She is also a student at the Durban University of Technology, pursuing a degree in health sciences (homeopathy), and was named Hustler of the Year at the Eastern Cape Hustlers' awards in 2024.

In 2019, she was crowned the best Eastern Cape poet and awarded the Best Student Leader accolade from the Xhosa King's Nqadu Great Place.

Speaking to Daily Dispatch, Mateza said poetry was more than just an art form, “it is a precious gift that allows us to tell our stories as the indigenous children of this soil”.

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