Acclaimed playwright and musician, Dr Mbongeni Ngema has been laid to rest at Chesterville’s Hero’s Acre cemetery in Durban on Friday.
Ngema was hailed by friends and family as not only a musical genius but also a family man and anti-apartheid activist who used art and storytelling to fight segregation.
Amongst the dignitaries were friends in the music and film industry, Leleti Khumalo, Yvonne Chaka-Chaka, Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse, Sello Chicco Twala and Somizi Mhlongo.
There was a special performance by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Reflecting on the life and times of the accomplished artist, speakers gave personal accounts and shared special moments with him and remembered the lasting impact he had on many.
Ngema, who was born in 1955 in Verulam, rose to stardom when he moved to Johannesburg and joined the arts fraternity. He would go on to become an award-winning musical maestro, composer and choreographer.
Ngema was hailed as an anti-apartheid activist who was instrumental in documenting and using theatre in protest against the oppression in the townships during the height of segregation.
His wife paid tribute to him in a moving letter. Vusimuzi Gumede, on behalf of Mpumi Gumede, Ngema’s Wife, thanked him for 17 years of a marriage that was a friendship. “He was Africa’s icon but a loving husband to her and she will miss him.”
Ngema’s son, Africa Ngema, says his father, who set up his own company ‘Committed Artists’, created masterpieces such as ‘Asinamali’ and the internationally renowned ‘Sarafina!
Sarafina! went on to become a major international musical production and was successful on Broadway.
Mourners heard how Ngema inspired many in the industry and helped build the careers of many actors and singers. And with songs like “Freedom is coming tomorrow’ many believed in the dream of a rainbow nation.
Musician Chicco Twala says that Mbongeni Ngema inspired many artists such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Brenda Fassie and others to sing against the atrocities that were taking place, and that the songs Ngema wrote inspired black South Africans and gave them hope.
The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa, claims that Ngema was a pioneer in ensuring that struggle songs were on the airwaves and says we must ask ourselves what needs to be done to celebrate his legacy.
Ngema was laid to rest at the Hero’s Acre at the Chesterville cemetery.
VIDEO | Mbongeni Ngema Funeral I Minister Zizi Kodwa pays homage:
