Tumi Morake on being a working mom: ‘It takes partnership’

Tumi Morake is an actress, comedian, author and radio personality amongst other things but most importantly she’s a mom-of-three.

For working women, it can become increasing difficult to juggle work and parenting so Move! Caught up with the 37-year-old to find out how she does it all.

Tumi admits that being able to handle everything has a lot to do with her relationship with her partner Mpho Osei Tutu.

“The secret to managing a good balance between work and family is to constantly be on the same page with your partner,” she said.

“Tag-teaming will then comes easier.  Our roles are fluid in the family and so it makes it easy for either one to step in when needed between work and home.”

TUMI'S CAREER

The comedian became well-known in 2006 when she dominated the comedy space in 2006. Ten years later she became the first woman to win Comic of the Year at the Savanna Comic Choice Awards.

Speaking of firsts, Tumi also recently became the first black African woman to have a set on streaming service, Netflix proving she means business. Her memoir Then Mama Said, which highlighted challenges in her marriage, body shaming by other women while presenting Mzansi Magic’s Our Perfect Wedding (OPW) and racial comments at Jakaranda FM amongst others, was released in 2018. This year the star released the audio version of the book. It was announced that the star would be returning to radio, this time with Setswana radio station Motsweding FM. Speaking to Move! at the time the mother-of-three said, “I was a little worried about joining a breakfast show because most times the audience is resistant to change. It has only been a short while and so far, it has been great. The audience has been good, and I feel right at home,” she says.

COMEDY TOUR

Teaming up with comedian Ndumiso Lindi, Tumi is preparing for their comedy tour Married… But Not to Each Other! The tour starts on 24 May 2019 at the Soweto Theatre. The show tackles the roles and regulations of marriage and the pothole-laced roads the sexes have to navigate. Tickets are available at Computicket.