Current:Home > NewsMbongeni Ngema, South African playwright and creator of ‘Sarafina!’, is killed in a car crash at 68 -ProfitLogic
Mbongeni Ngema, South African playwright and creator of ‘Sarafina!’, is killed in a car crash at 68
View
Date:2025-04-16 16:25:46
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema has died in a car crash at the age of 68, his family said.
“Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral he was attending in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape this evening,” his family said in a statement Wednesday. The celebrated playwright was a passenger in the vehicle involved in the crash.
He was best known for creating the hit Sarafina! which first premiered on Broadway in 1988. It was adapted into a musical drama starring Whoopi Goldberg in 1992, becoming an international success and was nominated for the Tony and Grammy Awards.
Sarafina! told the story of a young student and how she inspired her peers to fight against racial segregation in apartheid South Africa after her teacher was thrown in jail.
Apartheid was an institutionalized system that discriminated against non-whites and ensured South Africa was ruled by the minority white population from 1948 till the early 1990s.
Ngema’s body of work included the lauded theatre production Woza Albert, which first showed in 1981 and went on to win more than 20 awards across the world. The political satire explored the second coming of Jesus Christ as a black man, returning to South Africa as a black man.
Tributes to the noted playwright have been pouring in.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa praised the late Ngema in a statement.
“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,” Ramaphosa said Thursday.
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party and one of its biggest rivals, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters both conveyed their condolences.
The ANC said in a statement: “He was a globally acclaimed playwright, composer and producer. We have lost a true legend, a doyen, and a genuine ambassador of theatre.”
The Leftist party described him as “more than just an artist; he was a cultural icon, and a beacon of hope during some of our darkest times”.
Zizi Kodwa, South African minister of sports, arts and culture Zizi Kodwa said in a tweet Negma’s loss was significant to the South African art scene adding that his work “touched and moved audiences around the world and made an important contribution in telling the South African story.”
veryGood! (848)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- I try to be a body-positive doctor. It's getting harder in the age of Ozempic
- David Beckham’s Reaction to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Is Total Goals
- At $1.2 billion, Powerball jackpot is now third-biggest ever: When is the next drawing?
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- More than 20 Indian soldiers missing after flash floods in northeastern Sikkim state
- Jill Biden urges women to get mammograms or other cancer exams during Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Homeless 25-year-old Topeka man arrested in rape and killing of 5-year-old girl
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Turns out lots and lots of animals embrace same-sex relationships. Why will surprise you
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Lottery club members claim $1 million prize from Powerball jackpot just in the nick of time
- Kevin McCarthy has been ousted as speaker of the House. Here's what happens next.
- This MacArthur 'genius' knew the initial theory of COVID transmission was flawed
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Looking for innovative climate solutions? Check out these 8 podcasts
- Will Leo Messi play again? Here's the latest on Inter Miami's star before Chicago FC match
- 75,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers launch historic health care strike
Recommendation
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Grizzly bear kills couple and their dog at Banff National Park in Canada
A timeline of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena's disappearance and how the missing girl was found
Splenda is 600 times sweeter than sugar, but is the artificial sweetener safe?
Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
Too hot to handle: iPhone 15 Pro users report overheating
Why Travis Kelce Wants the NFL to Be a Little More Delicate About Taylor Swift Coverage
Zimbabwe’s opposition boycotts president’s 1st State of the Nation speech since disputed election