18th November 2025
Sello Motseta
Over a week after we laid her to rest the memories of a compassionate and vivacious young woman, committed to embracing the Gospel in word and deed remain etched in my mind. I first met Reverend Dr Cheryl Natalie Dibeela as a student at Rhodes University in the early 1990’s. She was enrolled as a student in the Theology Department, along with her husband which was a short walk from the Law Department where i was enrolled. I along with an old friend would make periodical visits for social get togethers.
There were very few blacks at Rhodes University at that point prior to the first non racial election. A small collection of ‘Brothers,’ as we liked to call ourselves were from Botswana. We therefore knew each other initmately with distance bringing us closer to each other.
It was evident even in those early days how close Cheryl Dibeela (aka MmaLorato) and her husband were during those formative years. It was perhaps poetic that they were together when she passed. They were inseparable as young adults and would keep that bound into their adult life. It was a relationship built on a solid foundation. They were friends before they became lovers.
They give a literal and practical meaning to iconic ‘Until death do us Part,’ often taken for granted by many young people today unable to grasp the enduring appeal and challenge of an enduring and meaningful long term committed relationship.
The diversity of the composition of those who paid their last respects talked to her universal appeal. She was a consensus figure. Strong willed but reserved. Principled yet accomodating. She was very difficult to pigeon hole. Reserved but fiercely loyal. Even in death at her burial at Phomolong in Phakalane on the 8th November 2025, her character loomed larger than life.
Cheryl Dibeela (aka MmaLorato) was a caring pastor, a community and a human rights activist. She was extremely loyal to her husband who she elected to follow to Botswana in retirement. They did almost everything together. This included pastoral work amongst rural communities. We saw this commitment especially with those who were less privileged than her.
She established and ran several Non-governmental organizations including Mabogo Dinku Advice Centre, which provided a safe space to listen and assist community members on any issues with which they might be struggling. In this space she worked with out of school youth, sex workers, victims of violence in relationships, ex-prisoners and so on.
She later formed the Sedibeng Life Skills Centre which partnered with hotels, CITF and other vocational schools to provide preferential assistance to youth who came from very poor and troubled families and communities. Through this work she facilitated the training of many young people in the hospitality and construction industries.
In the process she and her husband would also be providing counselling, mentoring and life-skilling to the young people, reminding them to shun violence, to work hard and to contribute to nation-building. Many of these children, who are now men and women, to this day consider MmaLorato and RraLorato, their parents because of the role they played in contributing to their lives.
At some point between 2003 and 2005 MmaLorato led her team to establish a restaurant near Trinity Church, which was run exclusively by the youth that had been trained through the Sedibeng skills centre. Many of the councillors, Members of Parliament and Public officers at the time became regular patrons at the restaurant.
They fully appreciated the work done by the organization and supported it by dining at the restaurant. In kanye she formed the Tswang Learning Communities, which was a continuation of the work of developing and training youth from underprivileged communities.
For more than half a decade Dr Cheryl Dibeela ran a youth programme known as Discovery. This programme enabled youth, between 18 and 20 years, to discover themselves, their faith, the world around them and delve into issues of justice, activism and being a responsible citizen.
The annual programme brought together young people from 12 countries including Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar, RSA, Jamaica, Guyana, Netherlands and others. She worked tirelessly on this programme with the support of her husband and their two children. The programme was life changing, and youth most of whom had troubled backgrounds often went back as ‘newly born’ individuals.
MmaLorato was a gender activist who worked extensively work in the area of theology and gender justice. She was the first female minister in the UCCSA to attain the degree of doctor of Philosophy.
In 2005 she established the Women at the Well, a platform that brings together women in ministry, mostly in the UCCSA, but also in sister churches such as the United Reformed Church in the UK, the Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ in the USA and the Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.
Through the Women at the Well she and other Church Leaders mentored women leaders in the church by creating opportunities for further growth and development. Cheryl and Prince put a lot of effort in not just teaching their children to live just-lives but they made sure to live it out in their home.
In paying final homage, I think the best conclusion is that perhaps offered by 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”
