Living to Tell the Tale

by Gerhard on May 8th, 2007

Thembelani Ngenelwa is deeply suspicious of his fellow South Africans. He reckons they see him only as a wallet, not a fellow human being. It’s not that he has bulging pockets, but he believes out-of control crime is placing everyone in danger and devouring the country’s humanity.

In October 2003, Ngenelwa was the victim of an attack that was so brutal it’s left him deeply troubled about the anger of his assailants. His shocking and vivid description of what happened in his book The Day I Died, has sent shudders across South Africa and been featured heavily in the media (including a 10-minute “Morning Live” interview last week).

Read a review of Thembelani Ngenelwa’s appearance at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Sunday Independent)

A graduate in computer science and information systems, Ngenelwa was in Johannesburg at the time, looking for a job. After leaving a friend’s house in an informal settlement one night, he and three companions were attacked by a group of gunmen.

When they tried to escape, Ngenelwa was shot five times at point-blank range and then dragged over a railway crossing to die. Miraculously, he pulled through after being in a coma for four days.

It’s a remarkable story of surviving the brutal and senseless violence that erupts daily on South Africa’s streets. But Ngenelwa is still perplexed that his anonymous attackers were filled with such hatred and wanted to kill him “as slowly and painfully as they could”.

In a country where crime is political hot potato, Ngenelwa’s story has made him something of a cause célébre. The Day I Died is both a powerful, graphic account of how we’re all affected by crime and an important contribution to the emotive debate about the seriousness of the problem.