The Playhouse, Durban, hosted a tribute for the late Mbongeni Ngema, a renowned playwright and musician who died in a car accident two days after Christmas. Ngema passed away soon after he was taken to Adelaide and OR Tambo Memorial Hospital in Mbizana in the Eastern Cape, following a collision with a truck on the R61 last Wednesday.
Themba Ndaba, a close friend of Ngema, said they missed many opportunities because they lacked funding. He said their work was taken by others, including the famous Shaka Ilembe. “I met ‘Madlokovu’ in 1991 and we were fighting for freedom. I joined the industry because of his work on Sarafina. We collaborated on many productions and he mentored me.” Ndaba said that the Shaka Zulu that was made by Bomb Pictures was actually their creation, along with their friend in New York in 2015? They took my script and changed the name from ‘Inkosi Ilembe’ to ‘Shaka Ilembe’, which is disrespectful to a king,” he alleged. He said they had many projects in the pipeline, such as a documentary on Oliver Tambo and another one on Jacob Zuma. ?Mbongeni Ngema was a visionary. He inspired many South Africans and the youth of his era.” he said
Another friend of Ngema, Vusi Mvelase, said Ngema used his art to advance political causes. ‘Many people don’t know Mbongeni as a politician, but only as an artist, but Ngema was working with Mama Winnie Mandela to send young people to Lusaka. Many people would join committed artists to be trained as if they were going to be in Sarafina, but then they would vanish and no one would know where they went, but Ngema helped them to cross the border and join the ANC military wing, Umkhonto Wesizwe,” he said.
Ngema’s family thanked everyone for their support. “The Ngema family and committed artists are grateful to the public and media for the expressions of sorrow and the continuous coverage since Ngema’s sudden death. The family acknowledges that Ngema was not only theirs, but also belonged to the people of South Africa and the world,” the family said. The funeral will be at the same place on January 5.