Destiny Lozikeyi Khumalo

The central protagonist in Glory is Destiny Lozikeyi Khumalo. Destiny is a “slim goat” (139) who often wears a long white dress. In the novel, Destiny returns to Jidada after a decade spent living abroad. Like her mother Simiso, Destiny is strong-willed, independent, and fiercely loving. She is unafraid to buck certain societal conventions in Jidada; somewhat scandalously, she tells her mother’s friends that “motherhood is not for me” (148). As a young woman, Destiny participates in the protests following the illegitimate 2008 presidential election (in which the Old Horse refuses to give up power). She remembers “how, at the end of that terrible war, the hoped-for future lay broken, bloodied. She remembers, her body remembers” (286). This traumatic violence—both physical and emotional—prompts Destiny to leave Jidada for ten years. She has no contact with Simiso during this time.

When Destiny returns to the township of Lozikeyi...