WRITERS and storytellers of varying generations gathered at the Killarney Country Club for the launch of the book, Soweto Stories, on the evening of the last Wednesday of November.
A literary initiative resulting from a discussion over golf and drinks by erstwhile Musi High School pupils, V. Zwelibanzi Mntambo and Thabo Ndabeni (who’ve been buddies since 1975) – the tome is an anthology of the contributions of twenty-one second and third generation Sowetans who have first-hand experience of living in Soweto.
Published by Mntambo – currently the Chancellor of the Vaal University of Technology – the collection comprises of tales of resilience, humour and hope as narrated through storytellers such as Miriam Tlali, Letticia Sihlali, Pearl Luthuli, Sibongile Mkhabela, Thami Mazwai, Motsumi Makhene, Oupa Ngwenya, Nume Mashinini, et al.
Converse to most of the contributing writers’ anecdotes (which hark back to the pre-1994 epoch), the accompanying imagery of photographer Lehlohonolo Khoza add a depiction of Soweto from a youth perspective.
To place into perspective what Soweto mean to folks, in the intro editors Mntambo and Ndabeni mention the observation of the late journalist, Nat Nakasa who wrote: “Soweto lives precariously, dangerously, but with a relentless will to survive.”
An anecdote titled A Living Hell, contributed by ex-journalist Pearl Luthuli is blunt about various incidents of violence she witnessed and harassment she personally experienced during 1960s to 1970s of her residing in Soweto – culminating in her pronouncing the township in its present form as still a dangerous place.
Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba’s recollection isn’t downrightly critical though – with his reminiscences expounding of fond experiences of growing up in 1970s and 1980s Pimville comprising of zones housing people according to tribal designations.
Having been forcibly removed from Alexandra aged 14 in 1974, the cleric says relocating to Soweto shaped his spirituality and identity.
One recollection which resonates with most Sowetans’ upbringing is that about the ubiquitous red stoep. Imagery of nostalgic occurrences around the front porch is evoked vividly by Vivian Moila as she relates how her family’s one in Meadowlands Zone 10 served as a space for communal rendezvous.
In a departure from the composition of contributors, the collection includes a story by the late Miriam Tlali – the first black South African woman to publish an English language novel, as well as one of the first writers to write about Soweto.
The narrators prose expresses a sort of laissez-faire as only they could master. And in the opening story, one even reveals a hitherto unknown layout of township which were once fenced in – with municipal police monitoring the movements of residents and visitors, in and out.
The occasion, graced by seasoned scribes such as Sandile Memela, Fred Khumalo, Lesley Dikeni, Phakama Mbonambi (who oversaw copyediting of the tome), as well as other luminaries such as the Joburg Art Gallery’s Khwezi Gule and ex-Councillor Kid Sithole, was hosted by Miss Soweto Mbali Khumalo and comprised of a panel discussion at which contributors reminisced about experiences of residing in the renowned location.
Other storytellers and writers are invited to contribute to the second edition of the anthology mooted for release in 2026, and may send their Soweto stories to: submissions@sowetostories.co.za
