Felicia Mabuza-Suttle on Richard Maponya and giving people hope

SA's first lady of talk, Felicia Mabuza-Suttle, on Sunday opened up about her relationship with late business mogul Richard Maponya and how this fed her passion for success and journalism.

Speaking to eNCA, Mabuza-Suttle said her move to talk TV happened after she dropped her studies in law when she found out she would have to write bar exams in America and SA.

Looking for the closest thing to law, she turned to journalism and launched the country's first television talk show.

“Journalism was it because it did what I wanted to do, to give people hope, to defend people, inform people. I have always been a teacher at heart and I also used it as a way of conscientising young people as I was getting close to people like Steve Biko, who taught me a lot of things. I would then take that to share with the young people at Tswelopele.”

Mabuza-Suttle also attributed the success of her show to Maponya, who introduced her to some of her American guests on The Felicia Mabuza Show.

“It was at [Richard Maponya's] house that I met these guests from abroad. The Maponyas were our neighbours in Dube. They looked good, they spoke eloquently, they dressed good and you wanted to be like them.”

TimesLIVE reported that Mabuza-Suttle spoke glowingly of Maponya during his funeral service on Tuesday. She said she would “celebrate this man” instead of mourning his death.

Mabuza, who hails from Soweto, often reflects on her success. In December, she shared on Instagram that, as a child, she dreamed of being successful.