Mbongeni Ngema, South African playwright and creator of ‘Sarafina!’, is killed in a car crash at 68

Ngema’s body of work also included the lauded theatre production “Woza Albert,” which first showed in 1981.

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

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