Legendary South African playwright Mbongeni Ngema dies in car crash

Legendary South African musician, composer, choreographer and playwright Mbongeni Ngema (68) has died in a car crash.

According to a statement shared by his family, Ngema was involved in a head-on collision on Wednesday evening while returning from attending a funeral in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved brother, father, husband and a patriot, Mbongeni Ngema,” the family said.

“Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident whilst returning from attending a funeral” in Eastern Cape province, the statement added. He was a passenger in the vehicle.

Born in 1955 in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal, Ngema is best known for hit songs Stimela sa se Zola and the 1992 hit musical Sarafina which starred Hollywood actress Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo.

Ngema also co-wrote the 1981 play “Woza Albert” with Percy Mtwa and Barney Simon. A satirical look at the plight of black people in white-dominated South Africa, the play toured Europe and North America.

His works “reflected the spirit of resistance” during the “apartheid and liberation struggle”, the family said.