About Me

 

Kenni Gambo was born in the city of Cape Town at the Southern tip of the African continent. Known as Camissa after the Khoi-San name for Cape Town which translates to “the place of sweet waters” (referring to the Camissa River which was the primary source of potable water for the Khoi people) before the Dutch colonial settlers arrived. 

 

Shortly after his birth, the family was forcefully removed to the then newly built township of Gugulethu 15 kilometers away on the notorious sand dunes of an area called the Cape Flats. The fifth in a line of six children, Kenni excelled at school and sport, with history and boxing being his favourite subject and sport.

 

Growing up under the hardships of apartheid, the family was as affected by this government policy as any other black family. However on a winter morning in 1976, he saw something that would impact his life for decades to come. The student uprisings which had started in Soweto in Johannesburg had come to Cape Town. Whilst walking home with his brother, he saw apartheid security forces shooting defenceless students in Gugulethu near the present day Gugulethu Mall. This traumitised the young man immensely. Not long thereafter the family moved to the then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. It was then that he realised the severity of the apartheid system on the psyche of a young child as mixing with multi-racial children at school revealed deep rooted inferiority complex issues. In many ways that is where his desire to inspire and motivate others by helping to improve their self worth was born. 

 

Kenni Gambo is a child of a land with a sad past, yet he has chosen to imbue himself with a joyous and positive demeanour. He has overcome poverty, racism, and other challenges faced by marginalised people on a daily basis in apartheid South Africa to become known as Mr. Inspiration. It is, he says, a conscious decision he had to make.