AFRICAN APOCALYPSE by Robert R Edgar and Hilary Sapire, year 2000 1) This book is about The story of Nontetha Nkwenkwe, a Twentienth-Century South African Prophet. It is a fascinating and troublesome book. 2) The remarkable story of the prophet Nontetha began to take shape in the eastern Cape of South Africa in 1918, when the disastrous influenza epidemic was sweeping the world. Nontetha had a series of visions convincing her that the flu was a punishment from God and that she must lead her people to reform their ways. Her preaching alarmed government officials, who sort to silence her by committing her to a nearby mental asylum, eventually relocating her to a Pretoria asylum some six hundred miles from her home. 3) Somewhere in 1974, a young American researcher, white, was researching about the Bulhoek massacre (May 1921), for his PhD thesis and came across a young African woman who asked him the question: Are you American, he said yes. And she said to him: Halleluja! And then she said to him: our prophet Nontetha said to us that we must look to the good Americans, they will help us one day. Our prophet also said two things: look to the good Americans and I shall return. Are you going to help us bring her back from Pretoria? Bob Edgar stupidly said yes. 4) Nontetha had began proselytizing in the rural areas around King Williams Town, Middledrift, and East London, but as her movement appeared to be gathering strength, the Bulhoek massacre occurred. She was declared insane by the government of the day. But her movement grew from strength to strength. That is why she was confined to the mental institution at Middledrift. Her followers grew in numbers and camped outside the institution. Then they moved her to Witskoppies. Her followers walked all the way to camp there. She died there. 5) Bob Edgar forgot about his promise. After the 1994 freedom, he visited the area again. This time, a professor of African studies at Howard university in Washington. The same African woman saw him and confronted him saying: I should have known that you bloody American Imperialists are liars! You have not kept your promise to bring back our prophet! Bloody agents! Prof Edgar promised, again, to do something about his promise. So, for a period of time, he spent time, painstakingly going through the records at Witskoppies and found a reference to Nontetha. 6) She had been buried in a popers grave. With the help of the University of Pretoria, they dug a grave. But there were two popers buried there. With the help of modern technology, it was found that there was a male and female buried there. The female was none other than Nontetha Nkwenkwe Bungu! 6) Her remains were taken back to her home in Middledrift and re buried there. Her prophecy had been fulfilled: look to the good Americans and I shall return. And she did!! An amazing African real story. 7) Prof Bob Edgar and myself met in Lesotho whilst I was a student at the National Univesity of Lesotho and he teaching history. He is my official biographer together with my niece, the energetic and bright Fumani Mthembi. They are putting the finishing touches to my biography. I hope so. 8) Find the book and read it. A fascinating but troublesome book. Oh, by the way, Nontetha is related to the famous boxer, Vuyani Bungu, from East London. Regards. baTito 2 August 2014
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 23:30:08 +0000