The stories simply flow from Ngobeni's pen

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The South African literary world, and more specifically the Vhembe District, seems to be buzzing with new talent as more and more young writers start to take up their pens to tell their stories.

One such talented writer is Amukelani Ngobeni from Mavambe village in the Malamulele area, who has just published his debut novel, Vatswari a va lombi. It leans on the Xitsonga expression that simply means that parents cannot be borrowed.

A Bachelor of Education Student at the North West University, Ngobeni fell in love with writing after reading TE Mtileni’s novel Mhisi ya minkoka yimbirhi. “After reading Mhisi ya minkoka yimbirhi, I started imaging myself as a writer. It was an amazing feeling,” he said during the interview with Limpopo Mirror.

“I started writing poems and when I couldn’t find an editor or anyone to assist me in writing poems or to just look into my poems, I gave up for weeks. But because my talent was burning inside me, I started writing short stories and plays. And that's where I ended up writing this novel.”

Ngobeni, who has written other stories as well, finally managed to publish his novel this year. He says Vatswari a va lombi tells the story of a young boy, Tsetselelo Makeva, who comes from a wealthy family and would looks down on his peers because he is rich. On top of that, he orders his friends to clean his shoes in exchange for lunch money, all because they are from poor families.

Tsetselelo has a bad reputation at school, which leads to his being suspended several times. He is finally expelled after he is found smoking and recruiting other learners to do the same in the schoolyard. But his story does not end with expulsion, the author says. He abuses his own parents, and they are hospitalised several times because of that.

The story seems to have interesting twists and turns. Ngobeni invites people to buy his book for the complete story.

“When I hold a pen, the stories just flow onto the pages. But I put all my energy into writing this book and I hope people will enjoy reading it,” he says.

For enquiries about his book, Ngobeni can be contacted at tel. 071 912 1916.

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.