by Thinus Ferreira
The Sarafina! creator Mbongeni Ngema has died in a head-on car crash in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. He was 68.
The iconic South African playwright, producer and musician with a troubled professional and personal legacy, was returning after he had attended a funeral in the Eastern Cape of South Africa when he died in a head-on collision on Wednesday evening near Lusikisiki.
Mbongi Ngema who was injured along with three other people in the vehicle, died before he could reach the OR and Adelaide Tambo Memorial Hospital in Mbizana.
The accident took place on the R61 in Bozana in the direction towards Magusheni when the vehicle with three passengers collided with a truck.
"Mbongeni Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral he was attending in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape," his family said in a statement.
"The Ngema family, colleagues and friends are deeply devastated about Mbongeni Ngema's passing."
Anant Singh, Sarafina! film producer, in a statement, says "We have lost a trailblazing creative talent who fearlessly brought awareness of South Africa under apartheid to a global audience using the theatre as a platform".
"Mbongeni was one of South Africa's finest multi-talented creatives – a writer, lyricist, composer, director, choreographer and theatre producer. He has left an indelible mark on South African theatre and the creative industries as a whole."
"This is clearly demonstrated by the timelessness of Sarafina! the film. Mbongeni was an inspiration and mentored many young artists who are now household names. His passing leaves a deep void but he leaves a rich legacy that will endure for posterity."
Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president, in a statement, says "The many productions he created or to which he contributed inspired resilience and pride among us as fellow South Africans and took South Africa and our continent into the theatres, homes and consciousness of millions of people around the world."
Mbongeni Ngema was born in Verulam in 1955 and first worked as a manual labourer and guitarist.
Through playing backing guitar in theatre productions, Mbongi Ngema rose through the ranks to write the award-winning and acclaimed Sarafina! which had its debut on Broadway in 1988 and turned into a film in 1992 with Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo.
In 1998 he was accused of slapping a Sarafina! cast member of the New York stage production, and telling the media that "she annoyed me and the entire cast. I need ultra-discipline and that's how I get best results".
Mbongeni Ngema also penned Woza Albert in 1981 which went on to win awards worldwide, as well as Asinamali in 1983. He was also responsible for the choir direction of Disney's The Lion King animation film.
Mbongeni Ngema is also known for his albums and songs like Township Fever, Laduma, Woza My Fohloza, Jive Madlokovu and Stimela Sase Zola. He received a lifetime achievement award in 2014 from the Naledi Theatre Awards.
Mbongeni Ngema also appeared in the lead role of miner Patrick Gumede in e.tv's Gold Diggers telenovela.
His Sarafina 2 theatre production in 1996 was marred in controversy and financial corruption, including massive criticism over its inaccuracies about HIV/Aids and the Aids pandemic in South Africa.
Out of R40 million earmarked by the European Union (EU) to raise Aids awareness in South Africa, a whopping R14.27 million was given to Mbongeni Ngema for Sarafina 2 in which an older Leleti Khumalo played a social worker.
Mbongeni Ngema married Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema in 1982 but he was having an affair with Leleti Khumalo which led to a divorce in which she cited physical and sexual abuse.
Mbongeni Ngema eventually married the Sarafina!-star he had an extramarital affair with, but they also divorced in 2005 after 14 years.
