- Like, I'll be honest with you, my gran,
I mean my whole family's like,
they're not TV or entertainment people.
So even hanging out with my grandmother
on The Daily Show was just like a freak thing that happened
because my Gran on the day was just like,
she didn't even think of it as TV.
She was just like, I was in Soweto
for the Global Citizens Festival
and then I was like,
"Maybe we should go to my grandmother's house."
And the TV crew as like, "Can we come with you?"
I was like, "I'll ask."
(crowd laughs)
And I asked my gran, and I was like,
"Hey, there's a TV crew with me, they wanna come in."
And then she was like, "Well, what is that for?"
(crowd laughs)
And she's like, "Are these your friends?"
(crowd laughs)
And I was like, "Yeah."
She's like, "Oh yeah, your friends can come in."
(crowd laughs)
And then like they walked in and my Gran was like,
"Oh, your friends are white!"
(crowd laughs)
First thing's first.
Whenever you come into an African person's house,
you greet.
So the first thing I'm gonna do is greet.
Koko?
(Gran speaks in a foreign language)
Hello Koko.
(Gran speaks in a foreign language)
(laughs)
(Trevor speaks in a foreign language)
How are you Koko?
Can we come in?
I've got, I've got some camera people Koko,
are we fine to come in?
If you say no, it's fine, I don't mind.
- No they can come in.
- Okay, okay.
Koko, I want you,
I want to welcome you to my show,
and I want to introduce you
to some of my friends and my viewers.
I brought them to South Africa to show them what it's like.
So they said because I'm coming, they want to meet you,
and they want me to ask you questions about my life.
- You were one of my grandchildren.
I always look at that photograph, you see the one?
- [Trevor] I remember.
- In there.
And I ask God, every morning when I look at it,
"Morning, Trevor." (Trevor laughs)
And he never answers.
- How old are you now, 91?
- Yeah, 91 and nine months
- When you get to 91, now you count months.
- Yeah, 91 years, nine months.
- We're here because the concert
at FNB stadium is celebrating 100 years of Nelson Mandela.
- Ehh, Madiba! - Madiba
- What was the first thing you remember
about Nelson Mandela?
- He was just like our God - Wow.
on earth, really.
- Because people have not seen a black man
who was an attorney.
- We were not allowed!
- Wow. - Nursing, teaching, policeman
for a black man, that's all.
So it was a wonder, even for Madiba.
- For young people, it's very hard for them
to understand how scary it was
to be a black person living
in South Africa during that time,
but everybody was scared of the police.
- Flying squads,
Each and every street there's a Flying Squad (hums),
a knock at 3:00 a.m.
The police, we used to call them black jacks
(yells in foreign language) just like that.
- Dress up. let's go.
- Yeah, and they were so tall, all of them.
- When you see white guys like this,
do they remind you of those police?
- Yeah!
- That's what you remind my grandmother of,
I hope you're happy bringing memories
of Flying Squad into my house.
There are some people who say now
because some people don't have jobs,
and because it's tough in South Africa.
It would be better to go back
to apartheid. - No, No thank you.
It wouldn't be better.
- Why not?
- Oh no, Trevor.
The laws of apartheid (whistles)
(speaks in foreign language)
- Do you what it's like to dig for potatoes with your hands?
- In the farms, no pay.
And then if one of these people working here dies
(speaks foreign language)
and you will still plant potatoes
on top of that someone. - Wow.
You're digging potatoes with your hands,
and if somebody dies from exhaustion next to you,
you dig a hole, you put them in that hole,
and then you carry on digging those potatoes.
(Gran whistles)
What was my contribution, how was, was I fighting apartheid?
- Not knowing.
- Not knowing?
- You were a kid, you were born a crime.
How could you fight apartheid?
- But I told them that I was an apartheid hero, Koko.
I wasn't?
- (laughs) When you were with me here,
oh Trevor, you gave me tough time.
- Why did I give you a tough time Koko?
- Because you wanted to play in the street
and I knew the Flying Squad was going to take you.
- So if I was playing in the street
the police would have arrested me.
- Yeah.
You know there were kids
who never knew what a white men was.
- So they thought I was white?
- They knew you were white, and they ran away.
(speaks foreign language)
- The kids ran away from me. - You.
- But why did they run away? - It was first time
they see a white man in their location
unannounced. - So for them, this was white?
- Yeah. - Wow.
I feel so special now Koko
to know that there was a time I was white.
(laughs loudly)
How old was I when this was happening, Koko?
- Three years
- Three years old? - Mm-hmm
- I was a very good looking baby, I'm sure.
- (whistles) Energetic and really naughty.
- But mostly good looking.
- Like hell.
- Yeah I'm sure Koko.
When I was here with you,
what did you do when I was naughty?
- Those big bumps (laughs) they know my slippers.
(laughs loudly)
(claps)
- Who was naughtier here, Koko, me or my mom?
- You were both, you would never tell Patricia what to do.
No, she did what she wanted to do,
and she was good at her work.
- You know how mom is.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Must always go up.
- Yeah, she takes no defeat.
Instead of defeat, you are challenging the wrong person
- So she was not only a black person
in job black people weren't supposed to be in,
but she was a manager of white people.
- What?
- But how did they allow that?
- How do I know, Trevor?
- And now I'm also a manager
of white people, Koko, unbelievable.
- It comes from your mother, dear
- It comes from my mother Koko.
Do you know I'm a manager of white people, Koko?
- You don't say.
- I'm telling you Koko,
there are white people who work for me.
- It's a pity because I don't even wish
to see where you stay.
(laughs loudly)
Fly over the sea like this?
No, not for me.
- Koko, have you ever watched The Daily Show?
- No, Trevor.
(speaks in foreign language) (Trevor laughs)
So I can not, and when I want DStv
that dish outside there, it's just there for fun.
- My Gran said she doesn't watch my show
because sometimes the electricity cuts out,
which is a very plausible excuse
and a nice way to let your grandson down.
- No, its not letting my grandson down.
(laughs loudly)
Even yesterday we had no electricity.
- No I hear you, Koko.
I didn't expect that answer, it's a good answer Koko.
So I must make sure that you have a generator,
so you can watch my show.
- Wonderful.
And then who fits my new generator?
- Who fits the generator?
- Uh-huh.
- Okay, so I must get someone to fit the generator also.
- I think so. - [Trevor] Okay.
(Gran speaks foreign language)
- Oh, and then I must also fix the cable, okay.
I feel like I've been tricked into doing a lot of things
for you to watch my TV show Koko.
(laughs loudly)
- At bogus price (speaks in foreign language)
- Thank you for having us Koko,
and thank you for letting me bring these cameras,
and thank you for sharing these stories with my friends,
and thank you being amazing.
- You've brought so many friends.
- I've brought too many friends Koko.
You guys must live now.
How's my grandmother doing?
Oh, she's fantastic man.
91 years old and 10 months.
Yeah, she makes me count the years and months as well now,
its a new thing.
- [Woman In Audience] Did she cook for you?
- Did she cook for me?
No she is too old.
Oh, no, no, she even says to me.
I was like, "what do you do Koko?"
She's like, "Oh me?"
She's like, "I just enjoy being alive."
(audience claps)
And the all she does is she,
We're ready?
- [Director] We are, yeah.
- Yeah, all she does is she chills at home.
She's got her squad of grannies,
and they all just come and hangout, and she,
it's like a weird team of superheroes,
where they've all got their specialties,
and then hers is that her memory is bullet-proof.
So all her friends ask her
about the things they've forgotten about in life,
(crowd laughs)
But I'm like, she's got a better memory
than me, my mom, everybody.
She can tell you what year a thing happened,
what month everything.
And so, here friends come over
and they'll ask random questions.
They be like, "Nomalizo,"
be like, "Where did I meet my husband?"
(crowd laughs)
And then she'd be like, "Oh, you met in,"
and then she'll like tell stories.
It's amazing to watch, yeah.
And so all she does all day.
She just, she loves writing, that's what she does,
and I asked her why?
And she said, "To be 91
and know how to still read and write.
Oh, I'm so blessed."
(crowd laughs)
So that's all she does, yeah.
(Daily Show theme music)