Ita Mangela steps into the literary spotlight with The Mela Legacy
Ita Mangela, a first-time author, has officially stepped into the literary spotlight.
Following an illustrious career in the global financial sector, she recently returned home to embark on a bold new chapter: writing. Over the past 18 months, Mangela has dedicated her retirement to crafting The Mela Legacy, the remarkable debut in her planned four-part fiction series. Her disciplined writing schedule reflects the same commitment and focus that defined her professional life.
As Voice Woman sits down with Mangela, the author shares what inspired her to write The Mela Legacy – a novel that world-renowned writer, Sir Alexander McCall Smith of No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency fame, describes as “a fascinating and compelling read.”
Without revealing spoilers, the retired corporate powerhouse offers a glimpse into the richly imagined world she has created. She explores themes of ancestry, heritage, and identity through her central protagonists, Nala and Emang, and reflects on why that exploration is personally significant.
“Threading together African heritage, ancient history, and futuristic elements, the story unfolds through the eyes of Nala Isa – a brilliant, introspective student at the University of Botswana. Her close bond with Emang Mela, a key member of the mysterious Mela family, pulls her into a realm shaped by ancestral connections, guarded knowledge, and profound revelations about identity and legacy,” Mangela explains. “As the series progresses, Nala embarks on a powerful journey of discovery – unearthing secrets about her own origins, the Mela family’s visionary mission, and the enduring strength rooted in Botswana’s cultural heritage.”
A proud grandmother of two, Mangela says the concept of publishing the series has been years in the making. Although she pursued economics professionally, books have always been her constant companions. Now, she is channelling that lifelong love of reading into storytelling. “The Mela Legacy series has been brewing at the back of my mind for a long time. As a child, I always loved stories. But because I was in the science stream in secondary school, my first degree ended up being in Mathematics and Statistics. I thought I’d stay in science, but during my undergraduate studies abroad, I took economics as an elective – and became deeply interested. That led me to pursue a career in economics.”
Though Mangela’s professional life consumed much of her time, retirement brought the freedom to rekindle her passion for storytelling. “Now that I have more time, I decided to start writing. I asked myself – what’s the point of always wanting to do something if you never actually do it? The Mela Legacy is a way for me to explore my interests in science and technology alongside our rich cultural heritage. To some extent, we’ve lost a sense of who we are. Our founding President, Sir Seretse Khama, once said, ‘Chaba e senang ngwao ke mokang e latlhegileng’ (A people without a past is a people without a soul).”
Drawing from her own experiences, Mangela weaves in meaningful elements of her past. “There’s a bit of my economic thinking in the story, along with science and tech. And as I grew older, I became more interested in our heritage as Batswana. The question is: how much have we lost by disconnecting from who we were? This is a message to young people: don’t underestimate your potential,” she advises.
Focusing on her richly layered characters, Mangela says there’s much to uncover in Emang Mela’s deep-rooted history. “Emang’s story unfolds through the eyes of Nala, who is somewhat mysterious herself. As they become best friends, the story dives into traditional and spiritual knowledge passed down from Nala’s grandmother, revealing how their backgrounds become intertwined. Their journey blends indigenous wisdom with speculative elements – merging past and future,” she explains.
“Scientific discoveries are even challenging what we thought we knew – some of the history we were taught is being rewritten. It’s up to us, as Africans, to retell our story. We have the power to reshape how we see ourselves. I believe we’ve underestimated ourselves – and that’s one of the themes explored in the book and I hope to break stereotypes and propose meaningful solutions by combining traditional African wisdom with speculative fiction. In this first book, I explore one of our heritage sites and the stories surrounding it,” she shares.
Mangela reveals that the second instalment in the series, The Mela Legacy: Origins, will delve deeper into themes of identity in a tech-driven world. “We might have thought our history was poorly documented, but technology – especially AI – is helping us rediscover who we are. Ancient knowledge that was once hidden or inaccessible is now at our fingertips. For instance, cuneiform, which predates hieroglyphics, can now be decoded with tools that weren’t available before. This is part of reclaiming our true identity and history. We come from a past, we live in a present both of which are offering us infinite possibilities going forward,” she states, noting that she hopes to publish the next book before the end of the year.
Nearly two years after starting her journey with The Mela Legacy, Mangela reflects on the writing process – and its many challenges – with a sense of accomplishment. “Because I was used to working a 9-to-5 job, I knew I had to give structure to my writing or I wouldn’t get much done. I set fixed times and deadlines to stay on track. Finding the right publisher took longer than expected, probably because I was a first-time writer. But I’m grateful for the experience – it gave me insight into how the industry works. That’s why I believe I’ll be able to launch part two within a few months,” she says.
Mangela also made the unusual choice to include references in the book. “It’s not typical in fiction, but I thought some readers might be curious about the heritage sites and sources I drew from,” she says in conclusion, adding she now looks forward to the official launch of the book, scheduled for June 19th at 6:00 p.m. at Exclusive Books.
