Mbongeni Ngema, the author of the acclaimed musical "Sarafina, died in a car accident on Wednesday at the age of 68.
Ngema died just as the 1992 film, co-created with famed jazz musician Hugh Masekela, was set to return with a screening in this year's Cannes Film Festival classic section and a streaming distribution.
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"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved brother, father, husband and patriot, Mbongeni Ngema," according to a statement released by the family.
"Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident on his way back from attending a funeral" in Eastern Cape province, according to the statement. He was in the car as a passenger.
"Sarafina" catapulted Ngema to pan-African fame. A stage adaptation had run for two years on Broadway in New York. It received Tony and Grammy nominations.
The film stars Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo, who had appeared in the stage production and eventually married Ngema.
Ngema also co-wrote "Woza Albert" in 1981 with Percy Mtwa and Barney Simon. The play took a satirical look at the predicament of black people in white-dominated South Africa and toured Europe and North America.
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