Liziwe

Liziwe is a story of triumph against the odds. Set in the end of the seventies, the story is a harrowing account of the survival of the siblings of Ncadana following the simultaneous death of parents. The tumultuous events narrated in the story include Liziwe waking up very early in the morning, feeling that something is amiss. Soon thereafter, Manyawuza, the next-door neighbour, makes a gruesome discovery of Liziwe's dead father, which is followed in quick succession by the death of Nonzame, Liziwe's mother. The elders of the clan of AmaQwathi gather, and they decide to arrange marriage for Liziwe. On hearing this, Liziwe decides to run away from home, together with her siblings, in the process initiating a whirlwind of events that take the orphaned children of Ncadana to Johannesburg and back. Once more, Monde Nkasawe has wonderfully woven together a complex story that gives hope and which honours some of the best values of humanity, especially of lending a helping hand even to a stranger. Liziwe is no doubt a drama with which South Africans of all races and classes, fellow Africans and indeed people everywhere in the world, will definitely identify with.