Mother to Mother

Mandisa's oldest son and the murderer of Amy Biehl. At the time of the novel, Mxolisi is 20 years old. He is part of a generation of millions of children in South Africa who rebelled against ineffectual schooling and spent their time fighting against the oppressive apartheid government.

Mxolisi stays up all night, roaming the streets in with a group of other boys. He is fiercely intelligent, loyal to others, and very caring and demonstrative to his mother. At the worst of times he is disobedient and a bully to his siblings, at the best, he is a protective and politically active leader.