“No disorder formed against me shall prosper.” This is the motto of Thomas Mashavha (59) from Midoroni village outside Louis Trichardt. Mashavha suffers from a speech disorder called malimi in Tshivenda, which causes him to pronounce words differently from the normal pronunciation.

Despite this speech disorder, Mashavha is making a name for himself in the Tshivenda traditional-music fraternity, having released his third full album titled “Botsotso Volume 3” last month.

Mashavha remembers how he was ridiculed and bullied for suffering from malimi when he was young. He explains: “Although my family and some of my friends supported me, I felt hopeless in my youth because whenever I opened my mouth, my peers used to laugh at me. This had a negative impact on my self-confidence and led to withdrawal and loneliness. However, as I grew up, I learned to accept myself for who I am,” he said.

He said he did not feel ashamed to sing, even though he cannot pronounce some words normally. “This is who I am, and it will never change. If I don’t accept myself first, who else will accept me? I am very proud of myself because this is how God created me. I urge everyone who has any type of disorder not to feel ashamed, but to come out and proudly show their talents to the world.”

Known by his stage name of Thomly, Mashavha started his music career as a dancer for various artists before releasing his debut album, “Botsotso Volume 1”, in 2020. This was followed by his second album, "Botsotso Volume 2", in 2022. His second album gained popularity from hits such as “Cellular”, “Tshimange”, and “Phiranawe”.

Mashavha returned to the studio earlier this year and recorded his third album, “Botsotso Volume 3”, which was released last month (June). The album includes hits such as “Samuel”, “Vhathu”, “O dzulaho”, “Ri ya u livhiwa”, and “Mudi ndi musadzi”, all composed by Mashavha himself. The album was recorded at Tshigomboza Recording Studio and arranged and mastered by Peter Tshirovhe.