Inako Mateza, a praise poet from Ngqamakwe, is set to welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa with songs of praise ahead of the Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday. In February 2025, Mateza made history when she became the first female praise poet from the Eastern Cape to welcome the president at the state of the nation address in parliament. During her performance, she referred to Ramaphosa as “Cupcake”, a name that quickly drew national attention.
“In 2025, I expressed my respect for the president and thanked him, as a citizen, for his efforts to improve the country,” she said. “This time, I will also include the Fifa World Cup trophy in my praise.” Being able to perform not only in my province but on national platforms, and doing it for Cupcake, was the cherry on top Mateza, 20, said she was the first Xhosa praise poet to perform at Sona in 11 years. “By calling the president ‘Cupcake’, I made history.
I was even invited to travel to Germany after that performance, but the trip clashed with my exams.” Mateza is a cultural activist, preservationist, and the founder of the Inako Foundation, a youth cultural organisation. She is nationally recognised for her strong voice in cultural education and youth empowerment. “I was named the Best National Letter Writer at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Oral History Programme in 2019,” she said. That achievement led to her work being sent directly to the president and later published online.
Read Full Article on Daily Dispatch
