Pretoria - Whenever there is an injustice, a cry for help or someone in need, call #NotInMyName International.
The organisation has always been on the lips of people, not just in Pretoria but across the country and the globe.
The brand has been championed by ordinary men like Themba Martin Masango, one half of the duo who initiated the organisation, which has become synonymous with civil society in action.
Masango is not just the co-founder and secretary-general of #NotInMyName International but a qualified pastor and counsellor with more than 10 years of experience in ministry leadership and a successful entrepreneur with a qualification in the financial sector from Moonstone College.
Born and raised in Mamelodi A3, the best township in the country, according to Masango, he attended school at Christian Brothers College before moving to Cape Town. The move was largely because his mother was a Member of Parliament in 1994.
He could never quite call the “Mother City” home and eventually moved back to Pretoria and completed his senior certificate at Clapham High School.
Following that, he studied at Moonstone College and went into the financial sector, working at Outsurance, Absa. His last formal employment was with King Price insurance in 2016.
At the same time, he was also into counselling and a pastor at a local church. The father of three boys said it was with the advent of the #FeesMustFall movement in 2015 and 2016 and the volatility witnessed in the country that the activism bug bit him, and he delved deep into the state of the country.
“I felt at the time that the country was going in the wrong direction and we needed more than ever for civil society, ordinary men and women, to stand up and say something about what was happening instead of waiting on the government to act.
“As time went on, me and other friends started the brand #NotInMyName, especially after the spotlight was put on gender-based violence and femicide – the response was immense.”
Through the organisation, Masango said they identified societal ills plaguing South African communities from toxic masculinity and addressing the way young boys were groomed, reaching out to men from all walks of life about the impact of gender-based violence, and trying to do their part in challenging societal norms and helping men with communication.
Due to the movement growing to greater heights than anticipated and spanning to countries across Africa, they opted to change their name to #NotInMyName International, as movements such as these were needed the world over.
According to Masango, his call to action was motivated by lived experiences and realising that the way the country was moving was not sustainable in the long term.
It was for this reason he surged forward and kept pushing for activism through the organisation.
“I have three sons, and I really want them to be able to have a future and live in a country they can be proud of and call home.
“I want them to have opportunities that I didn’t have, and that change needs to happen now because if I don’t stand up, who will?”
He is also the former spokesperson of the Save South Africa Campaign and said he was honoured to serve on the United Nations’ “think tank” committee on gender- based violence in South Africa 2018.
Masango also serves as a director of Siyathemba Reputation Management Pty Ltd, an advisory start-up company that offers corporate social reputation management strategies to executives.
Even though Masango has hung up his preaching robe for the time being, he did indicate that he would not rule out pastoring again in the future.
Pretoria News