The family of the renowned playwright and musician, who died in a car crash on Wednesday, has announced that a memorial service will take place at the Durban Playhouse in KwaZulu Natal next week Wednesday. Ngema was on his way back from a funeral in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape when his car hit a truck head-on.
He was taken to the Adelaide and OR Tambo Memorial Hospital in Mbizana, where he passed away from his injuries. Nhlanhla Ngema, the family spokesperson, said that the funeral for the legendary artist will be on 5 January in his native KZN. He added that more details about the funeral venue and the memorial service time will be revealed soon. ?The Ngema family and committed artists are grateful to the public and media for their sympathy and coverage since Dr Ngema’s sudden death.
The family acknowledges that Dr Ngema was not only theirs, but also belonged to the whole nation of South Africa, and the world at large,? he said. Minister of Sports and Culture Zizi Kodwa and KZN-based artists visited Ngema’s home in Durban yesterday. Kodwa said that Ngema should get a fitting farewell. “I spent time with the late Dr Mbongeni Ngema’s family today. His death is a huge blow to South African arts.
Dr Ngema was a global star who used theatre to fight apartheid,” Kodwa said. Actor Sello Maake ka Ncube wrote a heartfelt tribute to Ngema. “Mbongeni Ngema! Madlokovu! ?After a brief slumber, we awaken forever, And death will be no more; Death, you shall Perish? Madlokovu?
He was born of the sun, he journeyed a short distance toward the sun and left the bright air marked with his glory.? These two lines from two different poems capture how I feel about Mbongeni Ngema’s passing. May his soul rest in peace,” Maake ka Ncube wrote.