One of the central themes in Mother to Mother is the impact of authoritarian rule on south African society, from its inception up to the early 1990's

In apartheid South Africa, black Africans weren't able to hope for themselves or their future. They are stuck in the terrible situation the government left them in: "Young and old alike, men and women, no one is exempt from the scourge. Violence is rife. It has become a way of life" (652). This causes the traditional relationship between children and adults to be subverted. Children lose respect for the adults in their lives, particularly their schoolteachers. "The children, in their new-found wisdom and glory, have decided that all parents carry sawdust where their brains used to be," Mandisa writes, "In this new world of confusion compounded, the children are aided and abetted by adults we call leaders" (54). These leaders push the children into politics and away from school. As the kids learn to hate the government, they begin to resent their parents who they come to see as complacent about its cruelty.

Mandisa makes sure we know this—that she has little control over the actions of her son. She wants us to know that she would have kept a better eye on him if her job had allowed. She wants us to know that she tried to force him into school. On the other hand, Mandisa wants us to know that Mxolisi wasn't seen as a bad kid in his community. He was rebellious, but he was also a political leader with a cause worth fighting for.